Dynamic DFW

*Editor’s note: I originally wrote this in December, but due to a series of personal events was never able to post it. I hope you enjoy this belated winter post! Up to this point, my blog has mostly focused on the Dallas half of “DFW”, so I wanted to write a little about Fort Worth.  I was so excited when a friend invited me to see “The Nutcracker” at Bass Performance Hall in Downtown Fort Worth . I would never have guessed that the most memorable part would be the train ride there. For those who have never been to the DFW area, it’s important to note that living in the Metroplex is a lot like living in Los Angeles: Most people have cars and public transportation is typically used only for special occasions.  However, in the last few years, the Dallas Area Rail Transit (DART) and the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) have made an excellent marketing effort to get more riders. Because it’s about an hour drive from Dallas to downtown Fort Worth, including several highw...

View of AT&T Stadium from Lot 13 One of the largest draws to the Dallas area for out-of-towners is AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Dallas Cowboys fans still refer to the complex as “Cowboys Stadium” or “Jerry World” in honor of billionaire Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. But the move to rename the stadium in honor of corporate sponsor AT&T is a huge financial plus for the Cowboys that is expected to draw $17-$19 million per year with 5 percent going to the City of Arlington, according to this Dallas Morning News article . Let’s face it, after the great Super Bowl Debacle of 2011 , the stadium could use the image makeover. Side view of the HD display board. I was fortunate to check out the stadium when my alma mater, Texas Christian University, squared off against Louisiana State University in the Cowboys Classic on August 31. Although my Horned Frogs were ultimately defeated, it was a heck of a game and I am excited to watch the mostly-sophomore team grow over the next c...

I’m going to be completely upfront and say that I have a personal connection to the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance. I began volunteering there in 2012, and I currently assist with special events as well as work a monthly shift at the front desk. So let me tell you about why I am so passionate about this little museum. Many of our World War II Veterans and Holocaust Survivors are now in their 80’s and 90’s, and beginning to die out. As time has distanced us from the events that occurred during the Holocaust, it has become easier for Holocaust deniers and conspiracy theorists to spread their lies. Today, in many parts of the world, people believe that the Holocaust never happened or was exaggerated for some sort of political gain. For this reason, the preservation of history is more critical than ever before, and the Dallas Holocaust Museum offers visitors the chance to connect with the real stories of local survivors. Founded in 1984 by a group...

Near Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial there are a few other historical burial sites that the Uptown Dallas Public Improvement District has designated as part of the Uptown Trails Cemetery Tour. The nice thing about these cemeteries is that they include informational signs so that visitors who don’t opt for the Dallas Historical Society’s tour will still have some exposure to the history and famous residents of each graveyard. Today’s post will focus on Calvary Cemetery. According to a signpost at the entrance, the cemetery was established in 1878 following the land’s purchase by the Bishop of Galveston.  This was not the first Catholic cemetery in Dallas, and the oldest dated headstone remaining is for carpenter P.T. Clark, proprietor of the Railroad Planning Mill, who died on April 22, 1877, suggesting that the cemetery was in use prior to the acquisition by the church. The style of tombstones in Calvary Cemetery are diverse. Many of Calvary Cemetery’s graves b...

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...