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...

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....

In my last post about Calvary Cemetery, I told the story of Father Jeffrey Aloysius Hartnett, the  first priest ordained in and for the Dallas Diocese, who died of smallpox after walking into a quarantined hospital to provide last rites for the sick and dying. Not being Catholic myself, I wanted to better understand why this ritual was so important that a priest would risk his life to administer last rites. To get some context, I spoke with Dr. Heidi Miller, Associate Professor of Christian Worship with Southern Methodist University’s (SMU’s) Perkins School of Theology. Although she was not familiar with the exact circumstances in Fr. Hartnett’s case, she was able to provide some clarity regarding the significance of last rites at the turn of the century. In the act of performing last rites (now known as the Anointing of the Sick), the priest’s role is to represent the authority of the Church and to stand in for Christ by extending the opportunity for absolution from sin ...

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 ...

What do a “ Flying Pancake ,” a “ Tiger Moth ” and a “ Recruit ” have in common? Each of these aircraft are on public display at the  Frontiers of Flight Museum  in Dallas! This little museum is one of my favorites because I never fail to notice something I missed the last time around. It also does an excellent job of blending audio, visual and sensory elements so that all types of learners can find something that will stick with them. Chance Vought V-173 "Flying Pancake" Tiger Moth DH82A Ryan PT-22 "Recruit" The Frontiers of Flight Museum was founded as a non-profit organization in 1988 and featured aviation historian George Haddaway’s collection of artifacts and archival materials, according to the history section of the museum’s website . Originally located on the mezzanine level of the main terminal building of Dallas Love Field Airport, the museum moved to its current 100,000 square foot location on Lemmon Avenue in 2004. Tod...

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...

View of the Wilson House from the front yard illustrating the wraparound porch and rising turret. Today (July 26, 2013) marks the 23 rd  anniversary of the  Americans with Disabilities Act  (ADA), so I thought I would focus on a piece of Dallas that is ADA accessible and totally free. Initially, I was going to try to visit the statue of communist icon Vladimir Lenin mentioned in the book  Texas Curiosities  (published in 2000). According to the book, the statue was located in front of the Lover’s Lane location of Goff’s hamburgers, facing west, with a small plaque at the bottom that said “America Won”. I quickly learned that Goff’s Hamburgers relocated to its current Hillcrest Road location several years ago, and  Roadside America  reports that the statue was auctioned off on  eBay  in 2004. That’ll teach me to use a 13-year-old guidebook. So instead, I turned to  tripadvisor.com  for recommendations. That was where I sa...