I’m headed to Dallas after this Seattle sojourn, arriving Wednesday evening and returning to Boston on Friday. In theory the trip is all business, but I might be able to sneak away to do a little sightseeing downtown. What do folks recommend? How about the George W. Bush Presidential Library? That seems like it would be good for a laugh, at least, when remembering that Democrats said that they would never find a Republican president whom they would hate more.
Would anyone like to meet for coffee downtown on Thursday or Friday morning? Feel free to comment here or email me privately. Also, I should be free on Thursday evening if anyone has a brilliant cultural event suggestion.
10yrs ago, but my strongest memory of Dallas is going to Dealey plaza, walking up the infamous grassy knoll and behind the wooden fence (alleged position of 2nd gunman). The back of the fence was covered in graffiti that was unexpectedly poignant. I was struck by the contrast of how small the plaza is vs. its huge impact on history.
–Dallas–
There’s not much to see at Dealey Plaza, but in some sense you can’t not go. People say the Sixth Floor Museum (where Oswald shot from) is worth going to, but I haven’t gotten there yet….
The neighboring Old Red Museum is a city history museum. Some interesting stuff, though too “boostery” (pictures of meetings of the Chamber of Commerce, etc.), and it is mostly a triumphalist rich white businessman’s view of history. Almost nothing about how the Indians were, um, “cleared”. Very little on urban development. A small afterthought section on African-American and “ethnic” (i.e., not northern European) groups. Come to think of it, just up your alley…. Also, a great old Victorian brick (hence red) building where the Museum takes zero advantage of the architecture. A missed opportunity in many ways.
One really basic fact about Dallas that doesn’t seem to be well known is that it is *not* an oil-producing area. Dallas had two economic functions: one, as a major railroad junction between E-W and N-S lines (its river turned out to be functionally non-navigable despite efforts documented in the Red museum); but the other, less well known but in the end much more lucrative, was as the *financial* center of the oil industry.
My favorite place in Dallas was the State Fair of Texas, which was built in the 1930s. Amazing Art Deco venue (small museum, too). Imagine Rockefeller Center in world’s fair format.
The Bishop Arts District is a formerly bohemian area now full of gift shops — skip.
Dallas Museum of Art has some good stuff, mostly not specific to Dallas in any interesting way. Skippable.
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens are good in the genre, some “rooms” pretty spectacular, actually. Perhaps the most typical local scene there is Mexican-Americans taking wedding and quinceanera photos. The fancy house in the middle (DeGolyer Estate) is not worth it.
For more quirky stuff, the Dolly Python vintage store has a lot of weird and fun stuff, including cowboy boots, but also weirdly mounted animal skeletons, etc. etc
Even quirkier is Orr-Reed Salvage, an architectural salvage store, which is great if you like that sort of thing (which I do).
——-Fort Worth——-
If you get to Fort Worth, you have to go to a rodeo performance if you’ve never seen one before. They really do the thing with women in white cowboy boots and enormous US flags….
The small Sid Richardson museum downtown is all about Western art. Kitschy but very much of the place. You’ll understand Fredric Remington better. Worthwhile.
The Amos Carter museum is also very much of the place. Worth going to not because the artwork is great in some absolute sense, but because it is *characteristic* of the area.
In FW, the Kimball Art Museum is a fantastic building by the amazing Louis Kahn, and has a collection where every single piece is beautifully chosen. Nothing at all to do with the region, but a small and highly selective collection in a jewel-like building.
By the way, FW’s main economic driver was cattle. FW is the beginning of the West as we know it (stockyards, cowboys etc.); Dallas is the end of the East (finance, industry).
Getting together for coffee would be great. Let me know where and I can be there.
The Bush Museum is fairly small, and pretty banal. Really not that different than any other presidential museum. If you want something really different then you might want to check the Bible Museum just down the street. Or head up to Frisco and see the other religious museum full of icons call the Dallas Cowboy Headquarters. Either one probably captures more the zeitgeist of Dallas than the dead history of Dealey Plaza or the local bigwigs attempts to keep up with the Northeastern art collectors.
http://www.museumoftheamericanrailroad.org/
I really enjoyed this place
SMU campus is great laid-back place to walk about and meet students from all across America, esp. the south and southwest and Texas, and weather in Dallas in late Feb. – early March can be beautiful.
One thing you’ll notice is that we leave bicycles laying around all over town.
I’m up for coffee too. Please notify me too.
I’m in general agreement with Stavros. When I want culture I go to Ft. Worth and tour the art museums.
Guys: How about coffee on Thursday morning at 7:30 at Hotel ZaZa? Or dinner tomorrow (Wednesday) evening near Hotel ZaZa? Maybe around 7 pm?
Don’t go near the Bush. Dallas and Atlanta are pretty much interchangeable, Atlanta is greener and more diverse ethnically. Fort Worth for the win, but sounds out of range for your itinerary.
Catch the free trolly outside ZaZa which will take you a mile or so north turning around at West Village and then going back past ZaZa to northern part of downtown. See http://mata.org
Klyde Warren park is walking distance (or trolly) from ZaZa. LARK in the Park has great patio there to eat. Nighttime is great with Dallas skyline in distance.
Greenwood Cemetery is a 15 min walk from ZaZa. Lots of Dallas’s long-ago leaders are buried there. A family of foxes live there. Go at dawn for best chance of seeing them.
Pecan Lodge in nearby Deep Ellum serves great beef ribs. There is every type of food you could want within a 2 mile radius of ZaZa.
It is supposed to rain Thursday. My favorite “museum” is the The Samurai Collection which is close to ZaZa and upstairs from Saint Ann’s Restaurant. Nice to get lunch and then go see the collection upstairs. Nasher Sculpture Center and Crow Asian Art are also good and next to one another. All are short Uber from ZaZa.