The Rescue of Pegasus

Three years ago, developer Jack Matthews launched a search for the original red Pegasus that blazed atop the Dallas skyline from 1934 until 1999. (It was replaced with an updated version the next year.) After the flying horse was located in a shed near White Rock Lake, a few local artists were brought in to restore it. Upon inspection, they realized small holes and indentations in its porcelain enamel were from bullets; in a mark behind the Pegasus’ head, you can actually see a bullet’s rotation. Jeremy McKane, one of the artists who worked on the project, says they assume most of the bullet holes came before 1963. “After 1963, there was no one on top of a building in Dallas with a rifle,” he says. In April, Matthews had the refurbished Pegasus—its skeleton is pictured here—installed in front of the Omni Dallas hotel.