The town of Grand Prairie, with a population 300 in 1890, now sits at the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The aviation industry spurred city growth before and during World War II, and remains a staple of the city’s economy today. The Bankhead Highway appeared in Grand Prairie in 1920, when the main streets were paved as part of the completion of the Dallas–Fort Worth Turnpike. Over time, the Bankhead route through town was beautified to attract tourists. Many auto-related businesses opened along the highway and much of the futuristic signage common to the 1950s and 60s remains. The Uptown Theater, also built in the 1950s, offers a regular schedule of live performances, and recreational opportunities of all kinds are the name of the game in Grand Prairie today.
Theo’s Drive In
2626 E. Main St.
Stop at one of the oldest operating restaurants in Grand Prairie for a cruise down memory lane. Opened in 1958, Theo’s Drive In is still dishing out milkshakes and burgers to automobile‐diners under its eye‐catching canopy.
More Locations in Grand Prairie
Don Juan’s Romantic Mexican Food
325 E. Main St.
Stop at Grand Prairie’s first Mexican fast-food restaurant and enjoy dishes made using the same recipes that founder Don Chiavario used when he opened Don Juan’s around 1965.
Weber’s Root Beer
421 W. Main St.
What better way to advertise a root beer stand than to build it in the shape of a root beer mug? The former Weber’s Root Beer stand is a rare remaining example of the commercial architecture that emerged with the onset of the automobile era that tried to mimic the product being sold. With so many options of places to stop along the Bankhead Highway, companies needed to stand out, and Weber’s did just that. Opened in 1946, the former restaurant was sure to have caught the eye of passers-by.
Main Street Motels
1600-2406 W. Main St
Hop in your Ford Bonneville and cruise down Main Street Grand Prairie for a trip down memory lane. This stretch of the Bankhead Highway is lined with 1960s motels sporting their original themed illuminated signs. Escape the Texas heat at the Swiss-Alpine-themed Golden Chalet Motor Inn, or head to the tropics at the Tradewinds Motel.
Hi-Ho Ballroom
2315 W. Jefferson St.
Look past the fact that the Hi Ho Ballroom is closed and you can see it for what it was during its glory days -packed on a weekend evening with people who traveled down the Bankhead Highway to let loose and dance the night away.
Ritz Starlite Room
2321 W. Jefferson St.
The former Ritz Starlite Room stands out on Grand Prairie’s main drag for its retro (and original) neon signs, harkening back to its time as a dance club in the 1950s and ‘60s. The Ritz and the Hi Ho Ballroom are both jewels among the quickly-vanishing dance clubs along the former Bankhead Highway.