The Music Hall at Fair Park could get a digital video board on its east side, if Dallas's Landmark Commission signs off on Monday, Nov. 2.
The request, filed Sept. 28, calls for a 10-foot by 20-foot LED display mounted on the building's 1970s addition, in the spot where a banner now hangs. The city of Dallas owns the 1925 hall, a contributing structure in the Fair Park Historic District, and the item sits on the commission's consent agenda.
Brightness limits
City preservation staff recommend approval with conditions. Anchors and power lines would have to run only through existing mortar joints, and all conduit and attachments would be hidden. The board would need automatic dimming from dusk to dawn and could not exceed 300 nits after dark or 5,000 nits in daylight.
Content and light levels would have to be set so the screen does not throw glare onto neighboring historic buildings or into protected view corridors.
The staff report says the addition has no protected finishes, artwork or character-defining features, so a sign there would leave the Spanish Baroque-influenced 1925 facade untouched. It also notes the commission has approved signs at the hall before: identification signage in 2014, LED lighting in 2015 and a marquee over the entrance in 2021.
Fair Park's preservation task force reviewed the plan Oct. 7 and voted unanimously to recommend it, with the condition that installers stay out of the existing brick. Drawings in the case file show a Daktronics Galaxy display.
