UP History Quiz

1. It’s up for debate. Snider Plaza predates Highland Park Village by several years, accordingto Taylor Armstrong, Preservation Park Cities archives chairman. But what about the plaque in Highland Park Village near the current site of the Christian Dior boutique? It states that Highland Park Village was “the first of its kind” and “is the prototype for modern shopping centers.” Highland Park Village was the first shopping center with a unified architectural style and single ownership. Snider Plaza, in contrast, was “built by several owners without a single architectural style echoing a small town’s downtown diversity,” Armstrong said. Depending on how you define shopping center, Snider Plaza may be the Park Cities’ first, even though Highland Park Village was the first shopping center of its type.

2. Before incorporation, University Park was called SoMethUn, according to 2009 speech by former mayor Roy C. Coffee Jr. The name came from the bill of lading on building materials used to construct SMU’s Dallas Hall. Because no city surrounded the university, SoMethUn was written to indicate the supplies’ destination.

3. Most of the streets north of Lovers Lane are named for the nation’s universities, including Stanford, Bryn Mawr, Amherst, and Colgate. Hanover Street gets its moniker from the town surrounding Dartmouth College. Caruth is named for one of the two original families who owned the land that later became University Park. But what about Wentwood? No, it’s not named after Wentwood Forest in Wales. Wentwood was originally called “Wentworth,” which is also the name of a university, according to Coffee’s 2009 speech. The street was renamed to avoid confusion with a street in Oak Cliff also called Wentworth.

4. The original name of McFarlin Boulevard west of Preston Road was San Lorenzo Drive. 1925 plans for “Loma Linda, An Addition To The Town Of University Park,” include Spanish-sounding names for all the streets west of Preston Road between University Boulevard and Stanhope Avenue. Westchester Drive was originally Santa Rita, Douglas Avenue was Santa Rosa, Larchmont Avenue was San Lucas Drive, and Windsor Parkway was Loma Linda Parkway. But if you guessed that this section of McFarlin was once called Roberts, you’re close – that was the name of McFarlin Boulevard near SMU.

5. Let’s hope you like chicken! Bubba’s is on the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the University Park jail. But what if an inmate is vegan? Not to worry, says University Park Community Information Officer Paige Ruedy. Bubba’s has vegan and vegetarian options, such as vegetable sides, and the police department will ensure that it meets all dietary restrictions before placing an order.

6. A pitbull. Until at least 1947, Highland Park High School’s mascot was a scottie pup, who attended games in a specially made blanket adorned with the school’s colors. But at least once he had help. At a 1937 football game, the dog was joined by a goat presented by the Highland Park Dads’ Club as a “special aid to Scottie,” according to The Dallas Morning News articles. Sometime prior to 1957, the pup was replaced by a revolving roster of cheerleaders’ energetic younger brothers and sisters, according to the Morning News. But a pitbull has never helped cheer for the Scots.

7. “Old Frank,” a slave for more than 40 years, was the first burial in the Daniel Family Cemetery in 1850, according to the Historical Marker Database. But the conditions in University Park in the 1850s must have been hard on all members of the Daniel family. Isabella Harwood, the daughter of early settler Frances Sims Daniel, died in 1851, just two years after her arrival. Frances Sims Daniel herself died in 1853.

8. Seven and a half. Seven are entirely within University Park’s city limits: First Unitarian Church, Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Park Cities Baptist Church, University Park United Methodist Church, Preston Road Church of Christ, St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, and Christ Lutheran Church. Part of Highland Park United Methodist Church is in University Park, and part sits in Highland Park, Armstrong said.

9. Snider Plaza by W.W. Caruth Jr. in 1931. There had been a wild west show at the Caruth plantation, Coffee explained in his 2009 speech. But the show’s buffalo broke through a fence and headed down Lovers Lane. Most of the buffalo turned north, but one buffalo went south to Snider Plaza and started terrorizing the area’s residents. University Park’s lone police officer called Caruth, who came over and shot the buffalo. He gave its meat to the Salvation Army and mounted its head on his office wall. What happened to the rest of the herd? According to a May 19, 1931 article from The Dallas Morning News, two of the buffalo out of the original herd of eight remained at large and the hunt for them extended north 100 miles from Dallas. The fate of those last two buffalo has been lost in the annals of history.

10. Frogs. Hyer’s first principal, Newton Manning, was a “grown-up kid.” He showed up for Hyer’s carnival in a clown suit, complete with a red nose, and donned a Santa costume before Christmas, according to a 1969 Dallas Morning News article. Manning also brought a farm’s worth of animals to the school over the years, including goats, rabbits, chickens, and a calf. The calf, which was bottle-fed by students, had to go when it could no longer fit through the school’s door. The chickens also created problems. “They flew into classrooms until their wings were clipped,” according to the Morning News. No records exist, however, of Manning welcoming any amphibians into the school, including frogs.