"Where in North Texas?" is an occasional series highlighting unique facets of life in the North Texas area. First, we post a photo on our Instagram and Facebook, giving readers a chance to guess where in North Texas the image is taken. Then we give the answer in a story.
Dallas Public Art Program manager for the Office of Arts and Culture, Lynn Rushton-Reed believes that the Pioneer Plaza sculpture tells a story of where the city once was while giving way to a brighter future. Becoming one of the most well-known attractions downtown.
“It’s remembering a moment in time. It is to remind us of the Shawnee Trail,” Reed said.
Named after the pioneers that founded Dallas in 1841, the plaza was created in the mid 90s to honor the cattle drivers who passed through Dallas on the Shawnee Trail in the mid-1800s.
“If you're out there and just talking to people, they're from all over,” Reed said. “And it's not just convention all over. It's people coming out, you know, trying to come downtown to see this installation. So, it is truly beloved by visitors and residents.”
Texas artist Robert Summers created the historic sculpture. Summers, was chosen for the piece based on his success with recreating images inspired from the ranching and cattle driving traditions of Texas.
The sculpture symbolizes cowboy culture in the Lone Star State, as the history of cowboys in Texas is deeply intertwined with the state's identity as well as its rich tradition and cultural significance.
And as Texas evolved, the cowboy became a symbol of the rugged and expansive West, a figure who played a central role in driving cattle along the trails. This era saw cowboys thrive in the 1870s and 1880s, a time when their way of life was defined by the demands of the trail drives and the camaraderie that developed among them.
The Plaza, located in front of the Dallas Convention Center, features native plants and trees and a flowing stream in a natural setting and a cattle drive-in bronze that features 40 longhorn steers being guided by three cowboys on horses. Each bull has its own individual look, from facial expression down to the hooves. They do all have one thing in common, however — a branded “D” on their sides for Dallas.
But the something that stands out about the sculpture is the representation of diversity in the cowboy culture.
“There are three cowboys on horseback. There's an African American, an Anglo trail boss and a Hispanic Vaquero,” Reed said. “And if you look at the Anglo cutter on the very top…he is supposed to remind us of Rodin’s Thinker in Paris. He is sending us all the way back to the 19th century, and his pose is the same on horseback. It's kind of a play on art history.”
Reed says she hopes that the sculpture will continue to shine a light on the history of the metroplex.
“This culture was inclusive,” Reed said. “I would hope that those who visit it would learn that this history is rich, and they would be interested in learning more about all people who were part of Dallas's history.”
