Dynamic DFW

Visitors to Dallas know that Dealey Plaza and Elm Street is the site where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. But in their casual exploration of this area, they may notice a red brick building whose elaborate design (including turrets and terra cotta wyverns ) contrast the utilitarian design of the surrounding properties. Built in 1892, the Old Red Courthouse looks like a storybook castle. This may account for its popularity as a wedding spot (what bride doesn’t want to feel like a princess?). But as cool as this building looks from the outside, the inside is definitely worth a visit for history buffs, Dallas tourists, or really anyone with a sense of curiosity. Pictured above is "Little Maggie", the frozen margarita machine invented in Dallas. The former courthouse is now home to the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture . The museum features highlights and low points of Dallas County history, dating from prehistory to modern day....

View of the entrance to the Museum of Biblical Art from the Boedeker Street side. If you ask average North Texans where to go locally to see great works of art by renowned Masters, they’ll probably point you to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth or the Dallas Museum of Art in the Arts District. But there’s one more museum to add to the list and it’s in an unexpected location. The Museum of Biblical Art, located on Park Lane just behind NorthPark Center, appears closed from the street with one entrance blocked off and heavy wooden doors shut against the blistering Texas heat. I had been past the plain, sandy-looking building many times thinking it wasn’t open until I read the hours on the museum’s website . However, once inside the building, there is a much more welcoming vibe. The only photos allowed inside the museum are of the "Tapestry of the Centuries" mural by Vladimir Gorsky. I like to surprise myself when visiting new places, so I have to admit I ...

The Dallas Uptown skyline looms behind the Freeman's Cemetery Memorial. I like this view because of the combination of past and present. On the corner of Lemmon Avenue and North Central Expressway lies an often overlooked piece of Dallas history. I myself drove past it several times in the years I lived in Dallas without realizing what I was driving past. From the outside, it appears to be nothing more than a green space or park intended to offer a little scenery. But those willing to walk up and examine it closer will find that the fenced off green area is actually a stark reminder of the city’s troubled past. These photos show the walkway toward the central monument. The figures pictured in the middle represent freed slaves.   A plaque next to Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial states that the area near what is now Uptown was once home to a settlement of freed slaves following the United States Civil War that was known as Freedmantown. In 1869, an acre of lan...