Crutchfield House

"Dallas' first real hotel was the Crutchfield House, built in 1852. When I say "real" hotel, I don't mean that everybody had a private room but everybody at least had a private bed. It burned a few times but was rebuilt each time. In business for about 30 years. Photo circa 1880."

Link to Twitter photo:
Crutchfield House

Nice photo, especially for the time. Regarding the question a tweeter asked about how the perspective of the photo was possible at the time: The photo was probably taken from a nearby tall building. Others are visible in the photo. I suppose overexposure gives the appearance of snow in the streets, which probably were not paved and so were Houston clay black gumbo. Nice traveling in wet weather!

Dave McNeely

There is a prior discussion on the forum about this hotel dating back to 2014 I believe. Some work was being done at Dealey Plaza which uncovered a cistern near the corner of Houston and Elm/Main.

At top left is a rare lateral view of the ca 1874 Texas and Pacific Railway Bridge across the Trinity River. it was all timber construction and looks to be a Howe Truss. The eastern portal is hidden behind Todd Mills. There is a portal view here:
[digitalcollections.smu.edu]
but it is incorrectly captioned. This bridge was replaced about 1888 with the two steel trusses most often seen in the 1908 flood photographs but that bridge was not destroyed by the flood, only a portion of the timber pile causeway was damaged. The steel trusses were removed in the 1930s after the Trinity Diversion Channel was completed.

The vantage point for the photographer would have been atop the courthouse. Main Street runs to the left in the foreground and Houston Street runs to the right.