Top 8 Abandoned Places In Dallas

Dallas is one of those cities that is skyrocketing in popularity. As one of the biggest EDM hotspots in the South, Dallas offers up a nightlife scene that most other places can’t. More importantly, major tech firms are now bringing business to Texas. People are flocking to the city in hopes of a better future. Everything there is so bright and shiny, right? Well, not quite…

While Dallas is famous for having excellent growth, there have been multiple areas that experienced urban blight. These venues became notorious for their abandonment:

Take one look at this massive hotel, and it becomes clear that it’s one of the most famous buildings in the city. At the beginning of 1929, the Baker was the lavish, exquisite hotel in the DFW area that everyone wanted to party at. It was the main hotel for hosting soldiers during the Second World War, too. After the war ended, it became the famous hotspot for Republican meetups and conventions.

Though the hotel was elegant, it was not exactly easy to maintain. By the 1950s, the hotel was clearly struggling. It closed in 1963, was resurrected for a short period of time, then was permanently closed in 1973. People found the hotel to be too ramshackle to be able to compete with the chain hotels cropping up at the time.

The hotel is now a historic landmark in Dallas, and a company bought it. It’s currently undergoing a full refurbishing attempt and is partially open to the public.

Like most other cities, Dallas has underground tunnels that have been used for a wide range of different uses. Initially, it was made for bringing supplies from one district to another—usually factories to the fashion district. During the era of Prohibtion, these tunnels were used as a venue for smuggling liquor throughout the city of Dallas. (Some even say the cops were in on it, too.)

After the sale of liquor was legalized once more, the tunnels stopped being as necessary. There were more cars and trucks to carry everything. The tunnels began to become a thing of the past. While they were used to carry liquor to a local nightclub, the club got shot down and was turned into a series of lofts. Once the club was converted, the tunnels were all but abandoned for good. Spooky!

Dallas is famous for not having subways. It’s the anti-New York, right? Not quite. At one point in the city’s life, the DART Light Rail System wanted to expand into the underground. The proposed subway had three major stations that were to be built, one of which was the Knox-Henderson station. This station would have been right underneath the North Central Expressway.

The subway station was created, to the tune of $1 million. Unfortunately, the project immediately hit the skids. The neighborhood refused to allow excavation underneath their homes and raised complaints about the noise levels. In the 1990s, the neighborhood shifted its opinion and petitioned for the station to be built. Unfortunately, it never was. There wasn’t enough money to make it happen by the time it was wanted.

As a result, it’s a subway station to nowhere. Chilling, isn’t it? Check out these abandoned places in Virginia.

The Old Dallas High School is the city’s oldest high school. Erected in 1905 as a wooden structure, the stately school eventually expanded into the elegant brick building people recognize today. Dallas was meant to be the replacement for an older school that burned down, Bryan High School. Regardless of its upbringing, it was in service for quite a while.

The school always seemed to struggle with finances, often changing hands and names. At one point, it was Main High School. Then, it was Bryan Street High School. Yet again, it was changed into a magnet school called Dallas Technical, then it was J.M. Crozier High School. By 1976, it was the Business Magnet School. With every name change came more students and more money problems.

By 1995, the school’s struggles became too much to bear. The final class graduated and the school building was closed for good. Since then, it was left to sit where it remained. In recent years, a private investor has chosen to buy and refurbish the school. With hope, the school will be able to work as a mixed-use building that still retains its old architecture. However, the true fate is up in the air.

Though Dallas is a city that’s known for its religious population, there are a fair amount of churches in the area that were abandoned. Such was the case with Oak Cliff. The imposing historic church remained in action for far longer than most other abandoned churches. This one was active from 1915 to 2015—a full 100 years of work.

Due to dwindling presences at sermons and a decision to merge churches with a neighboring congregation, the building made the motion to dissolve the church. Since then, there have been several groups who wanted to step up and give the impressive structure new use. No one is sure which group will get the church.

Ask any real estate developer in Dallas, and they’ll tell you that they hate the Tri-City Hospital. Built in 1957 as a four-story nonprofit hospital, Tri-City was meant to work as a way to assuage the heavily burdened hospitals of the time. Over the years, overcrowding forced the hospital to create a second building to house more individuals.

Whether it’s due to the fact that hospitals are morose areas, or due to the fact that the hospital itself was not exactly made with the best care, something happened here. It got a bad reputation among people who went there. Cutbacks in budgeting put everything on a redline, which meant that Tri-City regularly struggled to keep the lights on.

Eventually, they had no choice but to close up shop in 1995. Between the terrible reviews, the high prices of medication, and the fact that people weren’t paying their bills, they couldn’t feasibly make ends meet. Ever since then, the structure remained abandoned. Many people believe that the hospital grounds are haunted, so it’s a paranormal hotspot too.

Tyler Station is one of those places that is a bit strange. On one hand, it was initially an old-school wax plant that was abandoned when the need for wax waned. On the other hand, it didn’t stay entirely abandoned. While the most recent photos we were able to find still show the gutted warehouse that marked where the old wax factory happened to be, there are offices here.

This is one of many urban revitalization projects that try to make use of older factories in and around Dallas. The current trend focuses on companies that could use the space, such as those which specialize in the arts and music. However, big tech is starting to get a hand in it too. With that said, you can’t just break into Tyler Station. Since this is quickly getting converted into a fully occupied area, it’s trespassing.

Related Questions

What happens if you abandon your apartment in Texas?

If you abandoned your apartment in Texas, your landlord has the right to bring you to small claims court and try to recover the money that you were supposed to pay them for the remaining months on your lease. If you damaged your apartment, the landlord also has a right to sue for damages that resulted from your vandalism. If it’s deemed to be criminal in nature, you can also get charged for a crime.Your landlord has the right to throw out your possessions after a couple of weeks, too. So if you want to make sure that you get all your possessions intact, do so by moving your stuff out of your apartment before you leave.

How long does it take before property is considered abandoned by Texas?

Texas has some of the laxest options for people who want to walk away from their homes. It takes a whopping three years before a property is considered to be abandoned by the state. After those three years, others have the right to establish something known as “adverse possession” or squatters’ rights.In other words, if someone moves into your home after you leave it and maintain it well, they may be able to establish a legal claim to the property. Thankfully, this is not easy to do.

Can you buy an abandoned mansion in Texas?

Yes, but it takes a lot more work to do so than in other states. Along with paying the abandoned property’s back bills and past due taxes, you have to make an active effort to contact the last owner of the property you want to. Several other steps also have to be included, including a public announcement in some cases. It’s best to hire a lawyer if you want to do this, since it can easily fall through.