Underground Archeology

At the tail end of one of the tunnels is some "urban archeology" decorating the entrance by the escalators. Whoever did the design had a good sense of humor as everything is made to look like fossils made from found materials. Of course, given that the building above is boarded up and vacant, the fossils seem even more appropriate. The whole area should be lit up, but it's not, giving the dark area a slightly eerie feel.

The area is accessible from the escalators in the boarded up building at roughly 1500 Pacific Ave across from Thanksgiving Square. The other way would be from the entrance in Thanksgiving Square and head towards the yellow, yes, bright yellow, bricks.

The flash washes out just how dark this area is.
You can see the spot lights in the ceiling are all off.

The "artsy" fossil with metal bone spiral

A metal "snake"

McKinney Trolley Rails

Where the McKinney Trolley rails merge into one track for the brief trip down North St. Paul Street to the end of the line/reverse at Ross.

The Sylvan Avenue Mural

Part of the retaining wall beneath the Belmont Hotel at Sylvan and Commerce has a mural painted by local artists.

The current mural was designed and painted by Dallas muralist Carlos Donjuan and his associates, Sour Grapes and took less than 24 hours to complete.

Dallas Skyline - Victory Park Area View

The view of downtown Dallas from the Victory Park Area.

Shot from about midway between the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the House of Blues.

The West End

Come for the History, Stay for the Fun!
Or at least, that's what the official saying is for the Dallas West End. While it's a popular place in the evenings for dinner and drinks, it was all but dead over lunchtime when I was there. Of course, it doesn't help that the area really is all but dead compared to the quirky shopping and entertainment area I remember back when I first moved to the region.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a complaint. The historical buildings are all still standing and either in use or in renovation for future use. It's certainly worth walking around and seeing some of what Dallas once looked like.

At the corner of Lamar and McKinney.

There was once a quirky shopping mall and miniature golf course in the
building on the left. Then there was Planet Hollywood.
Then there was little to nothing left.

There was once movies and an unusual antique store in here.

Dallas Alley. It's pretty at night when the neon is on.

There's plenty of information about the history of the West End, as well as a current list of restaurants and shops, at the official Dallas West End site.

Thanksgiving Square

Thanksgiving Square is officially located at 1627 Pacific Avenue, but to put it into better perspecitve, it is bounded by Pacific Avenue to the South and Bryan Street and North Ervay Street to the North, making it a triangular oasis in the center of downtown Dallas. Built in 1976, it was originally planned as a "traffic relieving complex" for the city, and while the Bullington Truck terminal and pedestrian network is underneath it, the main thing to see if the park and its non-denominational chapel.

One of the plaques found throughout Thanksgiving Square.

 The Chapel of Thanksgiving was architected by Philip Johnson as a small, spiral tower for the urban pilgrim to find a peaceful enclave for prayerful thanks. It is accessible from either a spiral ramp originating at the Northern tip of the square, or from a 125 foot bridge spanning one of the square's waterfalls accessible from the middle of the square.

Thanksgiving Chapel and the waterfall.

Thanksgiving Chapel in front of Republic Center

A view up the bridge leading to the chapel.

The stained glass inside is truly a sight to see. Designed by Gabriel Loire of Chartres, France, it spirals from outside in, from dark to light, and is one of the largest horizontally mounted stained glass installations in the world.

Gabriel Loire's "Glory Window"

Pictures do not do the stained glass justice.

Further information can be found from the Thanks-Giving Square Foundation

Why this blog exists

I've been living in the Dallas area for over 15 years now, and while I've certainly been all around town and sampled much of what Dallas has to offer, I've stumbled across a new part of Dallas I didn't know much about. You see, I've taken a job downtown.

Sure, I've been downtown plenty of times, but I've almost always been driving, and it's hard to really see and appreciate parts of Dallas from inside a car. But leaving the office at lunch time and picking a direction to walk until you come across something good to eat (or even just eat if you pick the wrong direction) I've really been able to start to appreciate some of the little details this city has to offer. 

I'm a New Yorker by birth, and to bastardize an old joke, my parents got me here as fast as they could. However, I've always retained a fondness for New York City and all the visual treats that all the Burroughs have to offer. The architecture is just stunning. When I first moved to Dallas the architecture was just blah to me. The buildings all seemed to mimic designs from about 20 years before they were built, as if Dallas just didn't want to try something new and waited for the rest of the world to build something first. Even the modern I.M. Pei designs seemed outdated, but I digress... Now I'm seeing architecture and the city in general in a different light, especially since I'm seeing the city on foot now as opposed as from behind the wheel.

I plan on using this space to share some of my findings. Hopefully it will be more than just a repository for some of my pictures and rambling thoughts on them and others will get some use and insight from it as well.