Dallas News Blog

One of three John Sirigo originals from the '39 Texas Centennial being sold on the eBay

​I'm at Fair Park this very moment -- c'mon, you know why. But speaking of, Friend of Unfair Park PeterK -- who clearly spends more time on eBay than should be allowed, God bless him -- has come across this magnificent find: three original photos of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition taken by none other than Official Photographer John Sirigo, whose images from the event remain among the most iconic photos ever taken of Fair Park. They're a steal at $9.99, though I don't expect them to remain at the nice price for long.

Update at 12:50 p.m.: Seriously, someone should give Peter a commission. Bidding's now up to $51.

Justin Terveen

​Several Friends of Unfair Park, including the man responsible for this photo, have asked in recent days: What gives with the Chase Tower's color-scheme makeover? One call to building management later, and I can assure you: It has nothing to do with Valentine's Day or NBA All-Star Weekend doings. Rather, it's in support of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign, and it'll remain that shade till month's end. Here's how it looks when incorporated into the skyline.

Dallas IMAX Aerial Showcase from Phillip Thomas on Vimeo.

You may not know the name, but you're very familiar with the work of filmmaker Phillip Thomas -- he's the man behind the camera for such things as the Dallas Mavericks' home-opening videos, the IMAX intro at Museum of Nature & Science in Fair Park, countless commercials and, no kiddin', this Queenryche video. Over the weekend, Thomas posted to Vimeo his time-lapse aerials taken of downtown -- both day and during the night -- that have been cut and pasted into a few of his shorts; I've left messages, but this appears to be the first time he's let the whole reel roll. After the jump, a bonus: his State Fair of Texas short.

Photos by Harry Wilonsky

​The boy and I wound up spending several hours wandering Fair Park Saturday and yesterday, and he came away from the experience obsessed with a single building: the so-called Swine Building. It's the lone structure from the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936 that hasn't been retouched whatsoever, according to Nancy McCoy -- in other words, that "pumpkin" color George Dahl favored for Fair Park is the very same coat of paint put on the building way back when. Restorations are one thing. But, as my 6-year-old son said, "If things aren't old, they don't really have a history. If they got painted over, they're not historical. But if they're kept the same and they look good, that's historical." I love that kid. I also love the sign he found inside. Jump for that.

We came back with plenty of pics from Fair Park, but, for some reason, the one at top is a favorite of his. And mine.

One further item of note: No, the city has no money to run the fountain in the Esplanade except during the most special of special occasions. But if you show up at 1 p.m. on a Saturday, well, let's just say park employees need to "test" the thing to make sure it works. A genuine treat.

And: Best idea ever, turning Fair Park into a studio back lot. We stumbled across a Dallas Police Department Forensics van that's bound for prime-time FOX in May, if the slightly altered DPD logo's any give-away, not to mention rows of trailers and trucks, and crews converting Fair Park buildings into sound sets just in time for cameras to roll on Code 58 beginning tomorrow and lasting through July. So get ready for that.

Noe Medrano Jr.

​Things of which I am quite fond: Dallas. Documentaries. Brent Brown. And the work Brown and his bcWORKSHOP -- and the bcCORPS, quite an army -- are doing along Congo Street near Fair Park and, soon, in nearby Dolphin Heights. Noe Medrano Jr. has put them all together: The filmmaker is in the process of shooting wonderful mini-docs about the Dolphin Heights Initiative. A few weeks ago, he posted about bcCORPS's baby steps into the neighborhood; today, he posted another about the design of a "holding house," in which residents will live temporarily while their homes are being redone.

Writes Medrano on the bcCORPS's Web site, where he explains his project:

I am very excited to see the positive change that is going to occur in the next year in Dolphin Heights, and I look forward to capturing it on film, showing the world what happens when a group of people come together and create. I believe the story of Dolphin Heights will have the weight to inspire others to act, and I hope that I am up to the task of capturing that story.

Early evidence suggests he is. Jump for the films.

​I swear -- swearswearswear -- this is our last item about Fair Park. At least, for today -- I'm headed over to the George Allen, so. But, seriously, I highly recommend attending Park and Rec board meetings, mostly because Park and Rec's the only city entity I'm aware of that uses the Texas Discovery Gardens for government business -- the Grand Hall, specifically, which is an awfully nice place in which to hear City Attorney Tom Perkins go over lobbyist registration regulations, as he did today. (I did like it when one park member said, "Where are the teeth?" But that's another story for another time and another writer -- Sam?)

After the Band Shell and auto museum items were passed, and before the board got down to other business, First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers got up to talk about the legal nitty-gritty that'll allow the museum to move into the Grand Place. At which point, the board went into executive closed session, and I got the boot (I was the only reporter in the room). Which is how I came to spend the next 45 minutes wandering the fairgrounds.

The only people I saw during my sojourn were a few schoolkids and their teachers and a few park upkeep people -- hard to believe on such a glorious morning (well, not so hard to believe). No sign of the Code 58 set, but I did notice something else: One of the front gates to the Cotton Bowl was wide open, so I wandered inside.

Justin Terveen

​Because I can't go two days without posting something by the great Justin Terveen, his latest: a shot of Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Pearl Station. Actually, Justin explains, it's three shots in one: "Two were stitched, while the remaining shot was blended in to create the static effect within the moving train." Magic. And, magical.

Danny Fulgencio

​Speaking of Fair Park, yesterday, in our item about how the city's cutting deals to get folks to Fair Park, general manager Daniel Huerta said, "We locals take Fair Park for granted." Preservation Dallas wants to do something about it: I just visited their site and noticed that on Saturday, PD's hosting a Fair Park Tour and Tram Ride -- two, maybe, should demand be high enough.

The tour will be led by the McCoy half of Quimby McCoy Preservation Architecture, Nancy McCoy, who helped preserve the murals out at the fair. The tour last two hours and costs non-members $10. Among the highlights: "the park's recent restoration projects including the water show and Esplanade Fountain, the Tenor and Contralto sculptures and the Butterfly House at the Texas Discovery Gardens." And now I have Saturday morning plans.

All photos by Justin Terveen

​Over the weekend, I took the boy down to the former First National Bank tower to see what was going bye-bye January 29, when the building's owner lock the doors at 1401 Elm Street till someone else is willing to take over the 52-story monolith that was, upon its completion in 1965, the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Security would allow us no further than the lobby; we could ride the elevators, but the floors were closed off, and the guards warned us, "You might get stuck." So we stayed put and wandered the lobby -- nevertheless, quite the time travel.

As you can see, our pal Justin Terveen got quite a bit further yesterday. He didn't pick any locks or kick open any doors. He just walked in with his camera and shot what he saw in George Dahl's darling, from top to bottom. He was kind enough to provide Unfair Park with this slide show, for the Friends who once worked in there and for those who never had the chance to visit. We are, of course, much obliged.

Justin will, of course, post them to his Flickr photostream shortly; till our pending redesign, sadly our slide show doesn't do his photos justice. And so, after the jump, a few larger photos -- it's almost like You Are There.

This isn't exactly the hardest-hitting interview in the history of ever -- in fact, I only post DCVB boss Phillip Jones's brief Q&A (as in: one fawning and rambling question, one answer) conducted during last week's Professional Convention Management Association convention and just posted so I've got good reason to tack on the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau's "When I'm Big" more official promo. We mentioned it a long while ago, but it has since made its way to the YouTube, where it's been all but ignored. Shame.

Patrick Michels

​Michael May's the latest to wonder whether the AT&T Performing Arts Center is going to remake downtown. Brent Brown, of bcWORKSHOP and the Dallas City Design Studio at City Hall, says, Yup, sure 'nuff, so long as you include, oh, Main Street Garden in the mix: "It's still dead on weekends, but that's changing. There's a lot more green space downtown now, and it's giving people a reason to hang around." May, whose story is accompanied by a very NPR audio piece, also manages to work in Gene Jones's work decorating Cowboys Stadium with all that fancy-schmancy artwork. May encounters one Cowboys fan who was indeed mighty impressed with Olafur Eliasson's Moving Stars Take Time: "It just made me feel like I was floating, like I was high. I'd already had one margarita, so it just took me to another level."

Justin Terveen

​Had no idea, but should have known, that the former Baby Doe's Matchless Mine has become a sorta skate park following its '05 demise. Our boy Justin Terveen was on Goat Hill recently -- he makes the occasional hike up thataways -- and came across this scene. "As time progresses, it's been getting more and more painted up," reports The Photographer Known as The Urban Fabric, who's seen ramps come and go and return and fall to pieces in recent months. To fully appreciate, of course, one must dig Justin's monster-sized original.

And, right, here's the recipe for those who still can't get that taste out of their mouths.

Really. (Update: This was indeed made for the Professional Convention Management Association conference, which has posted a better version of the video. I've dropped in the replacement.)

Megan Feldman

From left: Judy Burns, Sherry Brant and Janice Nally of Boise, Idaho

​As we mentioned earlier, some of the meeting planners in town for the Association for Convention Operations Management's annual conference took a tour of Dallas this morning. They hit all the, um, hot spots -- meaning, Highland Park, the Arts District and, of course, the Grassy Knoll.

So happened we were downtown today, not far from the Westin City Center, and bumped into a few of the out-of-towners in charge of their own cities' convention centers and visitors bureaus and had the chance to ask them: "So, whadya think of downtown Dallas, anyhow?" To which they responded ...

​Speaking of Kettle Art ...

I noticed that on his blog yesterday, U.K.-based illustrator Damien Weighill posted a note that he's all set to make his Dallas debut at Frank Campagna's Deep Ellum gallery. The exhibition runs January 28 through February 2, but on the 30th, Weighill will be joined by Giggle Party, for whom he co-directed the brilliantly NSFW video for "Jason Bought a Hatchet," which, in mid-June of '09, Pete proclaimed "the best video of the year," just maybe. I sent Weighill a note yesterday, to which he responded today:

Truly exciting news about the art show. Obviously I've had the pleasure of working with Giggle Party on various artwork for a little while now and the idea for the show came from the band and John from Parade of Flesh. I'll be trying to peddle some kind of goods at the show but what form those goods will take is yet to be finalised. For certain, I'll have a couple of limited edition screen prints on sale.

It will be my first journey anywhere near Dallas so I'm unbelievably excited about coming over. Can't wait.

Like and wise.

In case you missed Mark Birnbaum and Manny Mendoza's mini-doc Dig Deep -- about the keeper of Kettle Art, Frank Campagna, and his work on Deep Ellum murals extinct and extant -- when it debuted at the Dallas Video Festival in November, Mark was kind enough to post it to Vimeo last night. See for yourself if Frank's a curmudgeon. Like you don't have 10 minutes to spare. Please.

Dig Deep from Mark Birnbaum on Vimeo.

No doubt we'll call it an early day -- I can tell the Friends of Unfair Park have better things to do, and good for you. But before we say, "Till next year," a few words, very few, about a night spent in Deep Ellum -- my first since, well, I can't really can't recall. At first blush, standing amongst familiar faces likewise venturing out for a small taste of the time warp, it felt like a high-school reunion held in the dressed-up school gym -- never more so than when The Toadies, the first night into a two-night stand at Trees, dusted off "Run In With My Dad," a two-decades old deep cut. Good Lord, it's been how long? Many thanks to Jeff Liles for providing the video above: the title track to 2001's Hell Below/Stars Above, a highlight among many. Dallas, this is our classic rock.

But on this New Year's Eve I'll restrain from the backward-glancing; nostalgia for Deep Ellum seems so passé at this late date besides. Onward to the future: I was mightily impressed with Trees' cross-the-street neighbor La Grange, which opened on the very night The Toadies had their downtown homecoming. I ran into Pete, who asked me what I thought. "Nice," I said. "Too nice," he countered, as though such a thing is possible in a neighborhood still dominated by empty storefronts and eateries that close early on ghost town weekdays. With The O's and the King Bucks on the bill, the bar was primed and packed -- a welcome addition to any part of town. I'll return to La Grange sooner than later, and when I do I hope to discover a band I've never heard of. Just like the good old days.

U.S. Army/Bob McElroy

​Members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were in Korea last night -- the United States Army Garrison Humphreys, to be precise -- bringing some ho-ho-ho to more than 300 troops, civilians and their kinfolk stationed there. Check out the Official Slide Show for some US-oh! Hit it, Bert Convy! Suggestion to Mayor Tom: Leave the Mavs jerseys at home next time you hit up Korea for some business.

Just a few of the items, courtesy Brad Oldham and Brandon Oldenburg, available in this year's auction

​This reminder: You've got till noon today to bid on those items up for grabs in the auction benefiting North Texas Food Bank. At present, the package consisting of the extremely rare miniature Traveling Man bird and Kristian Donaldson's original comic-book art sits with a high bid of $425. And Danny Hurley's Rockers v Mods one-off coffee-table collection is up to $175. I will update this item at noon with the winning bids.

Update at noon: The auctions are now closed. ymereJ wins the Traveling Man-Kristian Donaldson prize pack with a $450 bid. And Ben D'Avanza wins Danny's book with a bid of $195. Great thanks to all the Friends of Unfair Park who bid on these auctions, benefiting North Texas Food Bank. I will contact the winners immediately.

Danny Hurley made three hardcover books featuring Rockers vs. Mods photos. One of them can be yours.

​Good Friend of Unfair Park Bill Holston just returned from a tour of the North Texas Food Bank's operations in advance of a KERA-FM (90.1) commentary he's writing for broadcast next week. He sends word:

Their goal is 20 million meals by year's end. Remember that one dollar means four meals.

My tour was conducted by Jan Pruitt, the President and CEO of North Texas Food Bank. She told me that their member agencies are seeing a 36% increase in NEW faces needing food.

Which is why, as I hope you noticed, we're auctioning off those one-of-a-kind items (Traveling Man's bird bud, Deep Ellum resident Kristian Donaldson's comic-book art) again this year for NTFB. Bids are already up to $400, so let's keep 'em coming, as we have till noon Wednesday till it shuts down.

​But speaking of auctions: Unfair Park contributor Danny Hurley, a man who's never shied away from the holiday spirit, just brought over A Very Special Item for a separate auction benefiting North Texas Food Bank: a 40-page hardcover book in which he collects his photos from the Rockers vs Mods showdown last March. You loved the slide show; now, the damned-near-one-of-a-kind coffee-table tome can be yours if the price is right. There are but three in existence, and Danny's keeping two. Vroom, vroom.

You know the drill: Post your bids for the book -- and bids only -- in the comments; be sure to also use leave your real e-mail address, which, of course, no one else will see. And we'll post reminders between now and then. This auction will also end Wednesday at noon.

​A few days ago, Brad Oldham sent over a Traveling Man cuff bracelet -- based, of course, upon the sculpture series he and Brandon Oldenburg created for the Deep Ellum Green Line stops -- which he's selling through his StackNWear site. I called to thank him and see if, well, maybe we couldn't find something to auction off to raise a few bucks for North Texas Food Bank, which, as you probably know, finds itself in desperate need of money at the moment. We did this last year as well, when Ian Dingman was gracious enough to donate his original sketch for the Criterion Bottle Rocket DVD.

What Oldham offered up, as you can see above, is pretty extraordinary.

That's a three-inch-tall version of the Traveling Man bird, stamped on the bottom with both Oldham and Oldenburg's signatures, as well as the year. And there are only a handful in existence: The two men made them to give to family and only a few friends as Christmas gifts; Brad had an extra one manufactured exclusively for Unfair Park. The winner of the auction will also receive the cuff he sent over initially, as well as a signed photo of Traveling Man.

But that's not all we're auctioning off. Because, yes, given the shape of the economy at present, I felt like we needed to juice up the offerings in order to make a substantial amount for North Texas Food Bank. And, perhaps, you and several of your friends can go in together and split the winnings. Or maybe you can just take care of all your Christmas shopping needs in one fell swoop.

Another local artist has also been generous to donate to the cause. His name is Kristian Donaldson, who, most recently, did the cover for Pete's cover story about Club Dada. Kristian's also a busy and beloved comic-book professional. Fanboys will recognize his handiwork from DC Comics' DMZ and Fallen Angel and IDW's Supermarket, among others.

Jump to see the three pieces of original art -- yes, three -- he's donated to the cause. And, you need to go on the other side to see how this will work.

Photos by Danny Fulgencio

​Fair Park's latest additions -- which is to say, sculptor David Newton's recreations of Lawrence Tenney Stevens's nine-foot-high Contralto and Countertenor statues perched at the ends of the overhauled-for-$12-million Fair Park Esplanade -- make their formal debut Sunday, during Fair Park Holiday. (And, look, I'm going to warn you now: Admission's free, but parking's $10.) But our Danny Fulgencio put on his heavy coat and headed down to Fair Park earlier this afternoon for the Esplanade's test run following its informal State Fair coming-out. The so-called "dancing water," a la the Bellagio's fountains, will be accompanied by four songs during the holidays, among 'em "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and "Jingle Bells." (What, no "Dreidel Song"?)

Crews were also installing Contralto, which, like its bookend, was created in '36 -- here's a look at the original -- but "mysteriously vanished" long ago. (Or did they?) More photos after the jump, but mind the construction.

​In the December 14 issue of ForbesLife, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's music director conducts a tour of his Dallas, which may not be your Dallas. Unless, that is, you tend arrive at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after an 11-hour business-class flight from Amsterdam on KLM, drive to your digs at The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton and have Fearing's take-out delivered to your door, and can swing getting Stanley Korshak to open its doors whenever you're in need of new threads. In which case, this is your Dallas. Mazel tov.

Justin Terveen

​A technical malfunction on our end delayed our receiving Justin Terveen's photos from Friday night's light show downtown, both in Main Street Garden and next-door Neimans. But, better late than never; a slide show's forthcoming. And, hey, good timing: DowntownDallas just posted a trippy, holly-jolly time-lapse video from Main Street Garden featuring the construction of the Christmas-tree sculpture all the way through Friday night's debut. It's after the jump.

Robert Wilonsky

​The missus, the wee one and I are presently sucking in the '70s downtown, where Effects, a riff-rockin' import from Nashville, is warming up the chilly throng-lite for Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights with decent Plant and Page and Joe Walsh offerings original and otherwise. The Dallas Chop House, due to open in Comerica on December 9, is passing out gratis kebobs; the Dallas Fish Market is doling out corn and clam chowder. Kids have filled the playground; dogs, the cement run; the curious frat bro, the grassy knolls. (The main lawn remains soggy and off-limits.) Food and booze and Led Zep well done, and the tree's been lit. Where are you, anyway? No excuse. And I don't even like Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights. 

​As we mentioned yesterday, Neiman Marcus's downtown flagship will formally unveil this year's Christmas window display Friday night, just before they light the big ol' Christmas sculptree in Main Street Garden. But downtown denizens have already had their sneak preview: Justin Terveen was downtown yesterday as set decorator Ignaz Gorischek and his elves were putting the final touches on the kiddie tube, and he sent Unfair Park a handful of early looks at the extraordinary display. (Justin's covering tomorrow night's shindig as well.) As not to spoil the surprise for those who prefer waiting to open their presents till the very last minute, I'm putting the entire series of photos after the jump.

Harry Wilonsky

What my 6-year-old saw beneath Neimans' window tarp last Friday night

​As we were leaving Main Street Garden Friday night, the 6-year-old who lives in my house wondered what the what was under the tarp covering Neiman Marcus's storefront. I told him: They're building a tunnel for kids to crawl in. He didn't believe me. I lifted him up to peek through a small tear in the tarp. What you see at right is what he saw on Friday -- a bit of the tube as it snakes its way through one of the windows.

At which point my son said, "What if somebody gets sick or scared in the tunnel?" A practical lad. I told him, well, if nothing else, parents standing outside the window will have a terrific view of the chaos that will ensue. I look forward to seeing how this plays out beginning Friday night, when Neimans unveils the holiday window as part of the City Lights shindig scheduled in Main Street Garden, during which Turtle Creek Chorale, Dallas Wind Symphony and Dallas Theater Center will perform following the lighting of Thomas Balsley's 60-foot-tall Christmas tree, which we mentioned a few weeks ago.

DowntownDallas's press release follows for those in need of further instructions. Also: Might wanna bring your raincoat and your rubbers.

Update: Here's more info on the tree, including pictures.

Justin Terveen

Keeping Rosa Parks company at the DART West End Station that bears her name

​So, how to end a Monday: with a Justin Terveen photo snapped downtown over the weekend, or with Gordon Keith and Rhett Miller performing the WKRP in Cincinnati theme song in a video sent to me by a Friend of Unfair Park who knows of my affection for WKRP, the Old 97 and Mr. Keith. Yes, please. The video, from the weekend's Cystic Fibrosis Concert Series benefit at the Granada, follows after the jump.

That's my grandfather, Harry, on the far right behind the counter of S&W Auto Parts on Elm Street; standing next to him is his brother Eli.

​Many thanks to the Friend of Unfair Park who directed my attention to the Daily Mustang piece about the long-gone Honest Joe's Pawn Shop in Deep Ellum -- must have been something familiar about the "Herschel Wilonsky" briefly quoted therein that caught this particular Friend's attention. Figured I might as well use the opportunity to show off my family's old auto parts store, which sat almost directly across from Honest Joe's at 2515 Elm Street from 1932 to 1955. I run everyone else's old pictures of Dallas on Unfair Park; might as well show you mine.

​Back in March, I came across a quite hard-to-find, hand-colored page from the American Architect and Building News from November 21, 1896: the "Dallas Flats," about which we still don't know much. A Friend of Unfair Park, recalling that historical gem, sends word of another American Architect page for sale, this one even older: from March 1, 1884. And though I can't say for sure exactly where it stood (somewhere on Maple Avenue, apparently), I can tell you to whom it belonged: Colonel William E. Hughes, who, after fighting in the Civil War, moved to Weatherford and finally settled in Dallas where, in 1873, he co-founded the City Bank of Dallas with Col. C.C. Slaughter with $50,000 in capital, according to The WPA Dallas Guide and History.

This ancient copy of History of Colorado has more about Hughes, who ended up moving to Denver in 1898; there's more still in this thesis on Dallas politics and business from 1872 to 1914. And the architects -- Ehrick Kensett Rossiter and Frank A. Wright, based up north -- were no slouches either. Me, I'd just like to know where the house was ... or, for that matter, if it was actually built. So would Preservation Dallas.