Before there were professional building models and AutoCAD, there were Lincoln Logs, TinkerToys, Erector Sects, and Legos. Playing with those toys as a child may have led some kids to grow up to be architects, and playing with those toys as an adult may remind some grown-ups why they became architects. An exhibit at the Dallas Center for Architecture, Building Toys and Toy Buildings: Architecture Through a Child's Eyes pulls together the toys we all know, and the toys we might not know: German stone Anchor blocks from the early 1900s, AstroBrite, Girder & Panel, and the first Barbie Dream House. The toys—alluring then—are still appealing now. Last-minute holiday gift, anyone? Through Jan. 4. • dallascfa.com
