RP Brooks (Merriman) Park

LH 01/15

As told to Keri Mitchell by Sally Rodriguez, retired Dallas Park and Recreation Department historian. All photos are courtesy of the Dallas Municipal Archives and curated by Rodriguez. She authored the books “White Rock Lake” and “White Rock Lake Revisited,” available at area bookstores and through arcadiapublishing.com.

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1950s

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Merriman Park, between Skillman and Abrams in Lake Highlands, was acquired by the city in 1955 and renamed RP Brooks Park in 1986. Abrams hasn’t always been elevated like it is today. The flooding is why there is a bridge. And you know, some things haven’t changed. It sometimes still goes underwater. It’s still a flood plain.

1950s

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That’s the old Abrams long before the bridge, and then next to it is the park. You see, there’s Abrams underwater. That’s White Rock Creek, and you see there was nothing. There’s a school now near the top of the photo — Merriman Park Elementary — and there’s a playground next to Merriman Parkway. Look at the trees. There’s little to no trees, and Merriman Parkway ends before it reaches Abrams.

Skillman is the wide road at the bottom of the photo, and Merriman Parkway has been extended to Abrams; it’s the white [new concrete] curvy road off Skillman. You don’t see the bridge so it hasn’t been elevated yet. The park at the top of the photo is Fair Oaks. White Rock Creek Trail now comes through and goes underneath Skillman through the park. In the bottom left corner is the Tom Thumb that just closed.