The Old Red Dallas Museum is in the former historical Old Red Courthouse ... originally completed in 1892. It is quite a pleasant and richly decorated museum about the history of Dallas including some of the darker sides of that history. Very informative if you are in the city for the first time.

A great place to learn about the history of Dallas and how it came to be. It also highlights local town heroes who have contributed to the past while building the future of the DFW metroplex. The 50 interesting objects exhibit is nice and there is an interactive kids exhibit. Each exhibit offers a 10min video to introduce you to the exhibit youre about to enter. See the worlds 1st margarita machine as well as other artifacts. Did you know that Fritos was founded in Dallas? Wish all the floors were open for your when I went. May return just to see them.

Such a cool old courthouse. Lots of great architecture to look at.

After being dismissed from jury duty early, I crossed the street to the old red courthouse and did the Old Red Museum of Dallas county. The museum focuses on Dallas history and culture. It is divided into four periods: early years (prehistoric to 1873), Trading Center (1874 to 1917), Big D Gallery (1918 to 1945), and World Crossroads (1946 to 2007). Located on the second floor each section is in each corner of the floor. A theater with a short film (little less than 10 minutes each) accompanies artifacts for each period. Good museum especially for half price with jury summons. If you show your jury summons for that day, you get half off.

A few small complaints, though my overall opinion is very positive. First, closed captioning on the small interactive stations is pointless as the text doesnt scroll and you dont get all the information. Also, the larger theatre rooms leak sound and do not offer closed captioning.

Wow!!! What an awesome time....spent New years Eve party there.... awesome place and people. Cant wait for next year to attend...!

Great museum besides J.F Kennedy memorial. Highlymaintained

Set right in the heart of Downtown Dallas, this bold red sandstone brick building has stood as an icon of old Dallas ever since it was constructed back in 1890. Inside of what used to be the city courthouse, you will find a museum exhibiting the history of the city as well as an area for people to host weddings, parties or community programs. Outside, the brick detail and the pointy rooftops make it feel as though you’re looking at a little castle in the city. I recommend this place for educators or parents wishing to take their children on an informative tour of the museum. I also recommend this to lovebirds wishing to tie the knot in a beautifully constructed and politically historical location. The Museum is a quick walk from the West End or Union DART stations so it is easy to get to and very noticeable from the streets and nearby freeway. There is also an available parking structure on the premises (located on Houston St. & Commerce St.).Museum Admission Prices:$10 - General$8 - Student, Senior, Military (With ID)$7 - Children (3-16 years)Free - Children (under 3 years)$7 - tickets purchased before 12pm (Sunday only)Special Exhibit Admission Prices:$5 - Adults$3 - Children (3-16 years)Group Pricing:$7 - per guest of

The building is beautiful and well maintained. There are Texas design flourishes that made me smile: the grand staircase has iron steps with a Lone Star design. The exhibit itself is well laid out taking you from one era to another and there are some interesting artifacts on display. I was disappointed in how some of the history was presented. They glossed over a lot about Native Americans. There was one phrase in a video about how some of the diverse people who “came” to Dallas were slaves and I pretty much tuned out after that.

Good place to play Pokemon go and take nice photos. Its always nice to see them keeping it up to date since its such an old building.

As a Dallas transplant, I wanted to learn more about the city and surrounding area. The Old Red Museum has some great exhibits about the history of Dallas, including many of the people, places, and events that have made it what it is today. I was impressed by how the museum had exhibits on all aspects of Dallas life, from utilities to media to religion. Its amazing to see how far the city has come! Whether visiting or living in town, check out the visitors center downstairs for some great tips on new places to see around Dallas!

They have a great collection and history of Dallas. Worth seeing again. Building has been gutted and repurposed as a museum and offices but has been restored as best they could. Well go back to see the 4th floor courtroom which is now used for events.

Not only a great old building and an interesting museum, but also one of the Dallas filming locations of the best rock musical movie ever: Brian de Palmas Phantom the Paradise from 1974. It was used as the exterior of the Swanage mansion (interieur is a mansion in LA).

The Old Red Courthouse was always magical to me visiting Downtown Dallas! The gargoyles atop are looking down and I wondered who was in there! It is masterfully built and restorations will keep it guarding the entrance to Downtown for many years!! Be sure and visit Old Red now and look at the great exhibits to learn about the making of our big city here in Dallas! Bling Blinky of Texas Shout Out: Native Dallasite! Proud Texan! Oak Cliff Raised!

This place is SO cool!! Follow the exhibits in chronological order and watch the film in the theater first. Watching the short film will help with what you are seeing in that particular exhibit. They have so much interesting history. The staff are very helpful and knowledgeable. Shout out to the visitor center ladies too!!

Interesting architecture & ground breaking toys from back in the day

Lots of fantastic original time peices from the early 1800s. Tom Landrys hat, spankys pants and more. Did you know Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde was a wood maker? He made a jewelry box for his sister in law. I put the picture here to view.

Plenty to see in upstairs galleries on history and growth of Dallas. Could have done without an argumentative attendant at front desk. He did not explain the parking validation process clearly, then coped an attitude when I asked questions. Cleaned up his act when I returned to ask more questions. Still, a good museum to visit first in Dallas.

Buyer Beware, do not use this place for a wedding venue! A week before our wedding the building went under severe reconstruction. Scaffolding surrounded the building and black construction fencing and tarps enclosed our grand exit. The scaffolding was visible in all the windows from the reception hall and in our wedding photos. At no point did they notify us there would be construction. The event coordinator, Kristen, was beyond unprofessional. She no-showed to both our preparation meeting and our rehearsal, made several false statements, and got into a verbal altercation with our wedding coordinator. The day of the wedding the ceremony room wasn’t set up, and she insisted to our coordinator that we were getting married in a church down the street causing confusion and frustration. She misled her staff, saying that we never set a date and time for the preparation meeting despite us having email records of her agreeing to the day and time. When confronted about the construction, she told me that it would rain on my wedding day anyway, implying that the construction was a moot point. She misinformed her boss, Zac, saying that she offered us a chance to cancel and find a new venue the day before the wedding. Even if she had offered us a chance to cancel, who in their right mind believes less than 24 hours before the wedding is adequate time to switch venues? We contemplated suing them but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth our time or money. Avoid this venue!

Good place to learn a bit about history

A simple wonderful interdiction to Dallass genesis and history. A comprehensive range of materials means you learn more with each step you take through the museum. Just one thing: dont allow for an hour as was suggested to use. We were there for nearly 3... The operators and volunteers for this museum have great cause to be proud of their efforts

Today is February 2, 2020. We are from Florida and we’re very excited to visit your Museum. We finished our Red Trolly Tour at 3:00 PM today. We went directly to your Museum with others finishing the tour. The Trolly parked directly across the street from the Museum. All entrance doors were locked. Your sign on the doors read open daily until 5:00 PM as did your website. Your website also read Sunday afternoons were a perfect day to visit. A woman Museum worker unlocked your door and told us all that the Museum closed at 3:00 PM today because too many tickets were sold. We peeked over your Museum worker and hardly saw anyone. We are going back to Florida February 3, 2020. Very huge disappointment to our Family.

A fantastic spot to enjoy a fun Halloween costume party!

Great history of Dallas, TX. Well done and only takes about 1.5 hours. The cost is $10. Great value. Beautiful building.

This place was great! When we went it was almost empty and we got to just wander around and learn about Dallas County from its start. It was pretty cool to see all the interactive things they had, movies that knew when to start, videos throughout the exhibit, phones that you could listen to recordings, and an interactive kids room with lots of activities. The items that they have collected are also really neat. All kinds of stuff. Would recommend anyone that wants to learn more about where they live at to go.

Great museum to learn of the history of dallas. Wasnt able to do the full guided tour but will go back again sometime.

Great museum for learning the history of Dallas. It spans from prehistory through modern times and divides the information into four eras of the city. Each of the four sections has a little theater. Sit and watch for an overview of the period or branch out to the many items on display.

Wow... Loved this place! Went there only planning to stay for one hour and ended up staying for over 3! Lots of history and interesting exhibits about Dallas and General American history! I would go again if in Dallas and would for sure recommend to others. Actually, I have already done so!

Not very engaging.....only second floor and half of first floor have exhibitions. Staff have great attitude, though!

Such a beautiful location. Parking wasnt too bad either. Went here for a wedding, and it was so lovely--even while under renovation and construction.

Undiscovered little-known some very insightful exhibits. Avoid the modern corporate-sponsored exhibits. The 1900s and 1960s are best. The exhibit on the Confederacy is seemingly tacked on, and an insult. Not not only an insult to the union cause and Lincoln, but all those millions who suffered under the slavocracy and continue to suffer under racism, Jim Crow, KKK, unjust imprisonment and segregation. Louisiana museums are making more progress. This museum is in badly in need of updating. Its borderline explicitly racist and moreover in light of recent scholarship -factually incorrect.It would be easy to correct, consider eliminating the Confederacy section.

I really enjoyed it here. What a great use of this old space. Lots of information here. And some beautiful old features. Bathroom could have used a good cleaning.

Loved this place for the history and nostalgia. Its right on the Dart rail for easy transportation without downtown parking hassles.

The architectural style of the museums is perfect. I love it.

Museum on Dallas history. Staff is friendly. We only made our way upstairs. They have a really cool large map of Dallas on the ground once you get upstairs. Broken down by 4 eras of the history, we did start on the wrong side of some of the exhibits. Maybe signs were there, but we couldnt leisurely determine where the start was. I cant wait for the restoration of the outside to be completed. Great looking building.

Kristen was amazing. The venue has the supercool factor. Look foward to my next project there.

This place is very interesting with the history and pictures from the past.I found it to be a great date spot with your special love or friend and learn things about Dallas even if you lived here all your life.

Spent a couple hours here on a weekday. Was pretty empty, so I took my time viewing the exhibits. It does a great job delving into the history of Dallas from prehistoric eras to the modern day.

Nice museum to spend and hour or so in.

Brilliant museum.. very clever with 4 movie theatres giving 4 periods of Dallas history from beginning to present day and each museum displaying artefacts from those periods. Superb museum.

We really enjoyed the museum. We stopped by for a quick visit before our flight and we were pleasantly surprised. It was very informative and went through the history of Dallas from the beginning to today it was self paced which was nice. The staff was very friendly.

A lot can be learned from this museum about Dallas history. Very interesting and informative.

Very interesting! The history of Dallas on display. Even a section on the TV show Dallas and one of JRs hats. The building itself is great to see too!

Beautiful building! Even to appreciate the building from the outside is worth a walk by.

Very informative for history buffs but dont expect a very in depth experiene.

A wonderful facility with a great history of the DFW area. Wish I would have visited years ago!

It was great very historically.

Very interesting museum with exhibits on the history of Dallas and the local area. I thought $10 was perhaps a little bit steep for admission, but it certainly was not excessive.

The building is beautiful and the staff were great. Good layout and presentation of the museum. In a way theyre doing everything right, their only downfall is that Dallas history isnt that interesting which means that a lot of exhibits are pretty boring.

A beautiful Courthouse, and the Pegasus is on the ground floor. On the second floor is an excellent 4 part very detailed exhibit to the history of Dallas!!! Definitely recommend!!

Well I just was walking it down stairs. I didnt go up stairs but its ok I didnt mind besides the price wasnt all that good. Well one good fact u need to donate some type of cash.

This was our first time here. What a gem! We will be coming back!I appreciated the layout of the exhibits. It was easy to navigate from area to area. I learned so much about Dallas history, some historic and some nostalgic. Perfect amount of hands on activities to keep my littlest ones engaged.

Loved it!!!! Learned a lot about the area and its history, it was great really great.

Went to the JFK tour .... Used the restroom there ....... Nice building, friendly employees.

First time here, I came with a school field trip. The staff was pleasant and informative, great with our fourth graders. I want to come back on my own to go through the exhibits more thoroughly and appreciate the actual building structure as well. It’s fun to see your hometown as a tourist.

Was everything I hoped it would be.

Great museum for learning the history of Dallas. It spans from prehistory through modern times and divides the information into four eras of the city. Each of the four sections has a little theater. Sit and watch for an overview of the period or branch out to the many items on display.

For starters its a beautiful structure. It also has lots of interesting information and interactive stations

I came here for a wedding. Its a great building, but its confusing getting there from the parking garage.

This museum is not just for tourists, locals should not miss the opportunity to check this out. Plan to spend enough time to visit the various galleries upstairs, which each feature film presentations revolving around specific eras in Dallas County history. I recommend watching each film before going through each gallery, as each one will give a nice overview to what you will see in the displays and artifacts in the various galleries. There are also some cool things to see downstairs as well. There is a nice blend of history and nostalgia. You can park in the parking garage directly below The Old Red Courthouse for convenience. The entrance is on the left hand side of Commerce Street immediately east of Houston Street. Weekend rates are cheapest for parking. The museum is open from 9 to 5 /7 days a week.

Some cool places around this area, monuments etc.

We stumbled upon this museum and it was really informative and fun!!

It has some interesting tid bits and highlights of Dallas history.

Its in the ️ of downtown Dallas..interesting history lives here!

One of my first stops when I embarked on taking pictures of County Courthouses in Texas. Even the young ones are able to learn something new at this building.

Pretty cool place. If you look closely there are two gargoyles on the roof!

Small but interesting. A good way to spend 2 hours.

Great place to go if youre visiting Dallas or have never been

The museum is surprisingly interesting and not as dry as I thought it would be. There is a small area with hands-on activities for younger children and a few areas showing documentary films but otherwise, young children may be bored. Visiting the museum is a good way to spend a couple of hours on a hot day, and its within walking distance of Dallass West End. Street parking and garage parking are available and not too expensive.

Gives you a history of Dallas. Nice historical building. Parking is a bit confusing

Great TexMex place. Greta margaritas.

I has return twice and very enjoyed and recommend to everyone

Good exhibits on Dallas. Cool on a hot day. Sunday early bird special available.

If you have time stop by. It’s $10 per person but don’t except anything out of this world.

Not very well laid out. Or maybe I just didnt understand the flow. Most museums have some kind of path. Each gallery seemed to have a lot of history but not related to anything else around it other than maybe location. Again, not sure maybe it makes sense to them.It is no where near as big as you would think it is from the outside. The 3rrd and 4th floors are not museum.

Great museum for an affordable price, just not a lot to look at in it.

Good history of Dallas, lots of reading and listening to audio

As a new part-time Dallas resident, Ive been playing tourist and hitting some of the local spots for visitors while trying to learn more about the area. The exhibits at the Old Red Museum were exactly what I needed in order to get a better sense of the history of Dallas. The second floor galleries each have videos that are interesting and well done and that give both the mainstream history and some now almost forgotten bits, like the utopian colony of Reunion. Pictures and artifacts are well selected to give a sense of the conditions of life over time. Attention to Native American, African American, and ethnic communities is interesting and generally frank and honest -- I wish there was even more.

Really cool museum. The interactive video exhibits are awesome. I really enjoyed my trip here.

Went for a new year eve party was not at all how they described it. Drinks spilled in the elevators, food in hot plates for $25 each and was to be a black tie affair. Most people dressed trashy, men in jeans very disappointed. The building looked good from what we were aloud to see.

Museum is a tad over priced for what it is. Its a really pretty place for weddings and reunions but expect to pay quite a bit for a couple of hours. Parking is way too expensive. With all the construction going on it may be worth it to wait a bit if you plan on visiting. Staff is always nice and the inside is very well kept and maintained. PS watch out for cars when crossing the street for this place. No one stops at the red lights.

The museum was pretty fun. Clean and cool.

Great building, the museum is interesting, lot of things to watch

What a lovely old building filled with history. The picture below is from the old courtroom in the museum.

Wont let you go past the 2nd floor to check out the rest of the courthouse, the upper 2 floors.

Fantastic place to learn about Texas, Dallas, and US history!

Thorough presentation of Dallas history including race relations.

Very friendly and helpful staff.

I helped work a wedding event. the staff was very nice and very organized. The building was very interesting to explore.

I love also architecture so its best to be able to go but I was disappointed that they dont let you see the old court rooms any more that was a let down they do have hands on things for middle school and younger things to do

Would have been more interesting to people who live in Texas instead of out of towners

Said good morning to the employee at the front desk and he never looked up. Had to wait quite some time while the young man on his phone/watch finished his personal business. As we continued to stand and wait to pay, he said you all need somethin? This was not the right guy to have greeting customers at the entrance. The ladies upstairs were helpful and friendly, though.

Nice museum with a nice history of Dallas.

Very Good Architectural Building..

Went to a wedding. Its a beautiful building. But the Acoustics were terrible. If youre going to have a ban need to figure out how to do the Acoustics better.

Great place to learn the history of Dallas TX and the early settlers to Texas.

Review for museum as wedding venue: The building is absolutely beautiful. If this review were solely on the aesthetic quality of the building, it would be 5/5. We loved the colors of the walls. Plus, there was so much natural lighting from the windows. The lights in the reception room can be dimmed as needed, which meant we didn’t have to spend any money on extra lighting. It was a great location. But I had so many issues with the staff that cannot be cured with picturesque views and gorgeous staircases.When we first toured Old Red Museum as a potential wedding venue, we were shown around by Casey. At some point between putting down our deposit and the day of the wedding, Kristen became the contact person for venue rentals. We were planning this wedding from out-of-state and Kristen was extremely bad at communicating via phone or email. For example, I had a particular question about the venue’s table inventory that I needed in order to answer a separate question from our caterer. I emailed Kristen and then followed up with a voicemail and several calls over the next few days. The receptionist had no idea where Kristen was. Turns out, she had taken a week-long vacation without an out-of-office message on her email and without guest services knowing where she had gone. So unprofessional. Every time I had to communicate with her became a chore.A few days before the wedding, Kristen called me and said the floor plan I had created would not fit in the space (okay, my fault). So I gave her set-up guy permission to tweak it a little. When we arrived, the tables were scattered across the reception room and were not even close to being symmetrical. I am a little OCD, but even my most relaxed bridesmaids agreed that it looked awful. We moved all the tables and chairs and then the room looked so much better.Aside from that, the venue design itself poses some inherent challenges. There is no elevator from the parking garage, so your older family members have to walk up a steep incline or stairs to get to the entrance of the venue. They have a strict trash policy where all the vendors must remove their own trash (there are no dumpsters at the venue). There also is not a bathroom on the same floor as the wedding hall, so guests have to walk downstairs or take the elevator to go to the bathroom.All this to say, if your main priority is to get married in a place that looks like a castle, Old Red might be right for you! But beware of the challenges and be prepared to leave a lot of unanswered voicemails.

Loved learning about the history of the Dallas area..

Only took about a hour to see everything. Third and fourth floors were off limit and some artifacts were taken off display. The building looks amazing from the outside. Admission was only $10.

Great place to view history. The staff are extremely friendly and welcoming