Residents of the Dallas West RV and Trailer Park have until the end of the month to move out: Danny Fulgencio

Residents of the Dallas West RV and Trailer Park have until the end of the month to move out: Danny Fulgencio

John Freeman stands before his RV in the Dallas West trailer park.   He lived there for two years with his wife, D.J.: Danny Fulgencio

John Freeman stands before his RV in the Dallas West trailer park.
He lived there for two years with his wife, D.J.: Danny Fulgencio

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The trailer park is almost empty. Most residents of the Dallas West Mobile Home and RV Park moved out before the Jan. 31 deadline.

An apartment developer, Wood Partners, has plans to build high-end apartments on this 8-acre tract, where for decades there were singlewides and Winnebagos. Residents learned this past summer they would be evicted to make way for a luxury pool, fitness center, stainless steel appliances and high ceilings.

The trailer park opened in the 1940s as Good Luck Trailer Park, and it was next door to Pappy’s Showland, a nightclub that booked entertainment from heavyweight boxing matches to acrobats to big bands in the 1940s and ’50s, before Oak Cliff and West Dallas banned alcohol sales.

Some mobile homeowners lived there for decades. Others passed through for a night or two.

Self-described gypsies John and D.J. Freeman moved to the park two years ago from Seattle to be closer to family.

“We could’ve stayed here for years,” D.J. says.

But on this November evening, it was raining, and they hustled to pack their RV and be gone by nightfall.

Story by Rachel Stone and Danny Fulgencio