Historic US highway endpoint in Dallas, TX

1927-1960s
Originally US 75 came into Dallas on Ross Avenue, then turned south on Lamar Street.  US 77 came in via Maple Avenue, jogged a few times, and ended up on Lamar.  It met US 75 at Ross, so it could have ended at that intersection.  But it is more likely that US 77 would have overlapped with US 75 down Lamar to Commerce Street.  At that point it left US 75 and joined westbound US 80, ending at the courthouse on Houston Street.

​Meanwhile, US 67 came in on Gaston Avenue, which becomes Pacific Avenue downtown.  That junctioned with US 75 at Lamar (a block or two from the US 75-77 junction), so US 67 could have ended there.  But again, it is more likely that US 67 was co-signed south with US 75-77 to Commerce, then west to a common terminus with US 77.
Picture
c. 1927, Rand McNally
Already by 1930 US 67 had been extended southwest from Dallas.  A couple years later, US 175 was commissioned.  It has always come into Dallas from the southeast on what is now known as the Hawn Freeway -- but historically that corridor was known as "Seagoville Road".  Where northwestbound Hawn (and modern US 175) today veers due west to connect with the S.M. Wright Freeway (formerly S. Central Expressway), the 175 designation formerly continued northwest on 2nd Avenue, past the State Fairgrounds and the Cotton Bowl.  The 1936 TXDoT map seems to show it ending on 2nd at Commerce (US 80).  However, it is probable that US 175 was overlapped with US 80 along Commerce.  At Lamar it picked up US 67 and US 77, and the three designations ended at Houston, which was where the courthouse was located at the time.  It was common for routes to be signed from the courthouse, even state routes, as shown in this photo:
Picture
c. 1930s, "Dallas Then and Now"
The book "Dallas Then and Now" incorrectly identifies the location of that sign as the east side of the Old Red Courthouse; actually it was on the south side.  It was taken from the corner of Houston and Commerce, looking north on Houston towards Main.  US 175 began to the right, and prior to the time of that photo, US 67 and US 77 also began to the right.  Here is another old photo, taken looking ​that direction (east along Commerce at Akard).  As a side note, it is interesting that US 75 was signed here, because according to a 1961 TXDoT map, by this time US 75 traffic was using Central Expwy and Good-Latimer Expwy -- a routing which runs perpendicular to Commerce:
Picture
c. 1965 (linked to source)
That same TXDoT map indicated the beginning of US 175 was quite a ways further east: where 2nd Avenue split off Commerce.  But clearly US 175 was signposted further west, along with the other routes.  Possibly that was the first eastbound marker on US 175, but where did signage begin?  Quite likely the route would have been signed from the courthouse... and during the late 1920s and early 1930s that was probably the beginning of US 67 and US 77 too.  Here is a modern view, looking east on Commerce from the courthouse, visible at left:
Picture
Karners, Jan. 2012
US 175 was co-signed with US 80 for nearly two miles, to the intersection shown here:
Picture
swissJohn
That was also looking east on Commerce; the angle to the right is southeast on 2nd (where US 175 split off).  US 175 still ends in Dallas, but no longer makes it into the downtown area.  US 67 and US 77 did not end in Dallas for long; for decades they have each been serving Mexico border crossings.
Research and/or photo credits: Justin Cozart; Bill Grunnah; Karin and Martin Karner; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; swissJohn
Page originally created 2007;
last updated Dec. 2, 2016.