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Located in Downtown Irving, in the heart of the Historic District, Big State Drugs was established in 1948 when the B&H Dry Goods Store was sold to Clay and Jean Burney. Downtown Irving, especially establishments off of Main St. were very popular during that time period. Big State Drug boasted a soda fountain, jukebox, banana splits, sundaes and air conditioning (a luxury at the time) and was a popular hang-out for high school students. In 1992, Brian and Stacy Smith took over the operation, keeping the drug store/soda fountain atmosphere that made the establishment such a popular attraction mid-century. Today Big State Drug is catering to a much older clientele but is also widely respected as one of only a handful of Soda Fountains still fully operational in the Metroplex.
Historically, the property that Big State Drugs is located on was originally developed by Charles Stovall for his Banner Mercantile store. It was a large frame building at the time. Eventually circa 1914 C.T. Lucas, a former employee, turned renter, turned owner, moved the frame store located at the corner of First and Main and built the permanent brick building in its place where Big State currently resides. Mr. Lucas also used the vacant land just south of the building as a poultry farm. He owned and operated the Banner Merchantile until the early 1930's.
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The heart of a small town still beats strong in Irving.
In a city where the crossroads of the world meet and big business thrives, the roots of small-town life still run deep! Welcome to the Heritage District of Irving, Texas. Here, friends are neighbors and neighbors are friends. The pace of life is a little more relaxed. And people take pride in Irving's past -- as well as its future.
The Heritage District of Irving is an area that sometimes gets overshadowed, but is integral to the quality of life we enjoy in Irving. It was in this area that J.O. Schulze and Otis Brown first laid out the design of Irving in 1903 as a railroad town on 80 acres of land acquired from the Britain family. The original section of Irving has gone through numerous changes over the years, but the heart of the city still beats strong in the Heritage District.
Settlers came to the area that is now Irving in the 1850's, and communities such as Sowers, Kit, Shady Grove, Union Bower, Finley, Estelle and Bear Creek sprang up in the last half of the century. Schulze and Brown, who were employed by the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway, arrived in 1902 to survey a railroad route between Fort Worth and Dallas. Having decided that this area would be an ideal town site, they bought 80 acres from the Britain family in 1902. The co-founders sold the first town lots at a public auction on December 19, 1903. The post office at nearby Kit was moved to Irving in 1904. Irving was officially incorporated April 14, 1914. The City Council adopted author Washington Irving as the city's namesake in 1998.
The history of Irving, Texas is alive in Heritage Park. Located in the heart of the heritage district, the park contains a number of historic relics: Caster Cabin, one of Irving's original cabins, built in 1887 by Henry Caster; Irving's original water tower; a windmill original to the area; a depot symbolizing the Rock Island Depot built in 1903; Irving's first library building, opened in 1941; and a gazebo.
Irving’s Heritage District has been honored as a Texas Main Street by the Texas Historical Commission. Three of America’s best small businesses (as ranked by the US Chamber of Commerce) call the Heritage District home: Big State Drug Store, Glory House Catering and Joe’s Coffee Shop! You can find nearly everything you want or need in the Heritage District including antiques, florists, gifts, and a drug store soda fountain where you can have a hamburger and milk shake for lunch. There is even a bed and breakfast to make your visit memorable.
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Enjoy the beauty and charm of a boutique hotel and and the calm and quiet of a home in a neighborhood with private off-street parking and wireless internet included at no extra charge. Smokefree premises.
Escape from the boredom of the big
box ! We can host corporate events and meetings. Contact us.
You will love the feel of the Texas frontier when you stay at the Jefferson Street Bed & Breakfast Inn. Built in 2006, the Ranch house is built in early Texas ranch style. The large comfortable quiet rooms are in a neighborhood surrounded by magnificent shade trees and city parks. Take your choice: Tree Suite with jetted whirlpool tub, the Gulf Coast Suite with jetted whirlpool tub, the Bluebonnet Suite, the Cowboy Suite, the Hill Country Suite, the Frontier Suite, the French Suite, the Mexican Suite, or the Cottage. Cable TV with over 160 channels and fiber optic wireless internet is included at no charge. Private off-street parking is also included.
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The Mustangs of Las Colinas
Those galloping creatures represent the world's largest equestrian sculpture, the Mustangs of Las Colinas, captured in bronze as they move across a granite stream at Irving's Williams Square. African wildlife artist Robert Glen installed this spectacular piece in 1984, as a memorial to the heritage of Texas. The sculpture recognizes that "Texas is not only a geographical place on this continent, but that it represents a distinctive spirit and way of life of a people who are committed to the freedoms of action, initiative and expression for each individual man and woman as no other culture before has exhibited." Mustangs
Las Colinas is an area in Irving, Texas which has been transformed from the open grassland of the past into an urbanized community for a new generation of Texans. It was determined to create within Las Colinas a grand plaza, a gathering place for future generations. In order to establish a unique identity for this urban space, a sculpture that captured the free spirit embodied in the heritage of Texas would be the centerpiece. Recognizing that the vanguard of European civilization arriving in Texas centuries ago was first evidenced by the herds of wild mustang horses ranging north from Mexico, there was created for this plaza in Las Colinas a bronze sculpture of nine mustang horses, larger than life, moving across the plaza through a stream of water.
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