Pioneer Plaza — The Cattle Drive

The story

This is Dallas before skyscrapers — the cattle trail cast in metal so you can walk through it.

Forty-nine bronze longhorns and three trail riders — sculpted by Robert Summers of Glen Rose — pour across a man-made ridge, stream, and limestone cliff in the middle of downtown. Developer Trammell Crow pushed the idea; private donors and the city opened the plaza in 1994 on land that was once rail yards. The herd commemorates the Shawnee Trail cattle drives that helped make Dallas a town before oil and banking did. Ranch brands, including the 6666, are set into the sidewalk. It is one of the largest bronze monuments of its kind anywhere.

Sources: City of Dallas — Iconic Landmarks (Pioneer Plaza 650 S Griffin) · Visit Dallas — Pioneer Plaza · Wikimedia Commons — Pioneer Plaza

On the map

Open on the photo map →

Reunion Tower → Old Red Courthouse → Pioneer Park Cemetery →