Some of you may enjoy these fairly high-resolution historic photos of Dallas. These photos document the various freeway projects in Big D, mostly from the 60's onward. A few of my favorites:

• 1953-present: US 75 North, Central Expressway
• 1969: Interstate 635, Stack Construction at IH-30 (above photo) and US-80 (formerly I-20)
• 1963: Interstate 30 (formerly Interstate 20), just East of Downtown Dallas

These photos are key to understanding the city in its temporal context; thank goodness somebody thought to archive them. The construction of these highways allowed for all the outward growth that Dallas experienced since the 1960's, and has changed the face and character of the city in countless ways.

Filed under architecture · culture · dallas · photography · texas

Posted by H. C. Hodges at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times has a nice take on modern Dallas in the Travel Guide's "Dallas Does Dallas."

The city seems willing to throw off its long-held infatuation with glitz and glamour, while remaining obsessed with maintaining a reputation for impeccable, indisputable good taste.

[...]

At the heart of it all — this zeal for glamour and sophistication, a supreme faith in the transcendent power of surfaces — is a Texan’s pride and a Texan’s insecurity: you don’t leave the house without looking your best, because you never know whom you might see, and who might want to find you lacking.

The quick rundown... what meets the Times writer's approval?

• NorthPark Center
• Nasher sculpture garden
• a new opera center by Norman Foster
• a new theater by Rem Koolhaas
• a proposed bridge spanning the Trinity River by Santiago Calatrava
• a Latino Cultural Center by Ricardo Legorreta
• a symphony hall by I. M. Pei
• Philip Johnson’s Crescent Court complex
• Dallas Museum of Art
• Campisi's
• Hotel ZaZa
• Uptown/West Village
• Oak Cliff/Bishop Arts District/Hattie's

I'd say that's a pretty decent list of things to do, see, buy and eat if you're going to be spending a few days in Big D.

Filed under architecture · art · culture · dallas · food · texas

Posted by H. C. Hodges at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First, there was the controversial idea of hosting Bush's Presidential Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Now, SMU apparently got picked to host an "intelligent design" conference. My favorite quote from the SMU faculty:

Other biologists compared the conference to a presentation by Holocaust deniers. Would the university allow that to happen?

That is an interesting question. It is clear that official government censorship should never be tolerated, but a private university like SMU has the First Ammendment right, as well as a responsibility, to limit the groups with which it associates. Clearly the University would cancel its hosting of the event and return all fees, even at this stage, if it found out the group advocated Holocaust denial. It's telling that the University does not see fit to cancel hosting an event for a group led by the Discovery Institute, which is devoted to denial of serious academic research. It's rather disgusting actually...

Filed under biology · dallas · evolution · intelligent design · texas

Posted by H. C. Hodges at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These planned bike trails look like a good idea to me (especially for East Dallas). My favorite quote:

"I'm a Texan and, boy howdy, I love my cars. But I also ride my bike 6,000 miles a year," he said.

...is that guy for real?

Filed under dallas · texas

Posted by H. C. Hodges at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Readers in Dallas will be glad to know that a Stradivarius violin is being returned to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra after 21 years. After the three hundred year-old instrument went missing in 1985, the DSO presumed it had been stolen. It resurfaced recently and will soon be played once again at the Morton H. Meyerson. The BBC has more.

UPDATE: Heh. The headline from fark.com: Stradivarius violin, one of only 600 known to exist, returning to Dallas Symphony Orchestra 21 years after it was stolen. Sadly, it will be called a "fiddle" and used to play songs about beers, steers and queers.

Filed under culture · dallas · texas

Posted by H. C. Hodges at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dallas is snowing! Look at our back yard!

Filed under dallas · texas

Posted by H. C. Hodges at 4:16 PM | Permalink

I went back to Dallas last week, for the hitchin' of Nick and Erin (the McWhirters, as I will now call them). Here are the pictures from the trip, and other such goodness.

Filed under dallas

Posted by H. C. Hodges at 10:24 AM | Permalink