Yesterday we watched ABC News’s David Muir do Diane Sawyer’s bidding and empty the Snow White Drive home of Jon and Anna Usry of everything not made in the U.S. and A. Though, as several Friends of Unfair Park noted, the couple and their kids did get to keep their…
A Friend of Unfair Park tipped us off earlier today: Dallas County property records reveal that the old Statler Hilton has indeed been sold; so too its next-door neighbor, the former Dallas Public Library. And according to the deed sale documents, both were purchased by none other than the Ricchi…
As promised, Patrick “Car-Free” Kennedy has posted his thoughts on the YouPlusDallas video in which Jack Gosnell regales viewers with tales of how Dallas came to bury its businesses beneath downtown. And, like Gosnell and the denizens of the Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum (where the video likewise prompted a…
Spoiler alert: Last night, Disney Street-ers Jon and Anna Usry and their two kids opened the doors of their house to World News with Diane Sawyer’s David Muir, who promptly backed up the moving truck and emptied their house of everything not made in America.That, after all, is the title…
From time to time we’ve revisited the damage done to downtown Dallas by Montreal urban planner Vincent Ponte, who proposed in the June 1968 issue of Esquire that downtown Dallas bury its businesses underground — a decision then-Dallas Mayor Laura Miller referred to in The New York Times in ’05…
The Woodall Rogers Deck Park Foundation’s still $17 million shy of its fund-raising target, but with construction well under way, the series of major donations announced today was a fine chance for Mayor-For-One-More-Day Tom Leppert to take one last photo op beside a group of kids and wax dreamy on…
Just saw this hot-off-the-virtual-presses release about a February 8 wingding at The Trinity Trust concerning the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge opening-week ceremonies scheduled for October. As you’ll note, there’s a photo of Gail Thomas, Lyda Hill and Lynn McBee standing next to a placard bearing the new slogan: “It’s My…
As I was heading in to the office Tuesday morning, demolition man Scott Dorn shot me a note: JR’s Demolition was revving up the ‘dozers and about to tear down European Crossroads. Of course, we knew this day was coming — have for years, really. I got there as they…
Just got off the phone with Jim Witt, executive editor of the Star-Telegram, who pointedly did not deny this morning’s hot rumor — that the Fort Worth newspaper’s building, which has been on the market since September 2008, has been sold and the staff told to work from home. Sheesh…
At some point this morning I happened onto the Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum — specifically, the most recent Urban Development page related to the Statler Hilton downtown. And there I espied this posting from yesterday: “A deal has been made, a design team and contractor has already been hired…
Been a while since we’ve had much to say here about the big re-do out at Mineral Wells’ Baker Hotel — the 82-year-old wellness resort that, fingers crossed, is soon to be resurrected by a team including Jeff Trigger, who led the Stoneleigh makeover here in Dallas.But the occasion of…
On Christmas Eve afternoon, radio-radio’s Julia Barton stopped by the offices to interview Schutze and me for an episode of Public Radio International’s Studio 360, which is hosted by Kurt Andersen. Barton had been tasked with doing a piece on Dallas as part of the show’s “American Icons” series, which,…
Whilst cleaning out the in-box I came across this sent-yesterday heads-up from the city involving two new inconveniences for those heading to Love Field, which is presently getting with the Modernization Program. Long story short: Expect lane closures on Cedar Springs, and don’t try to use that West Pedestrian Bridge…
Today, of course, as we mentioned over the weekend, marks a fair-sized milestone in the city’s rich and storied tradition of urban plan unveilings, with a two-part ceremonial drop of the Downtown Dallas 360 plan. In keeping with the public-private partnership-ness of the whole thing, the good folks at MIG,…
An old friend of mine was kind enough to forward along the hot-off-the-presses Marcus & Millichap National Retail Report, the must-read amongst real-estaters; insists my pal of the mixed-to-optimistic forecast, it’s “a pretty thorough insight into the retail world.” In which case, by way of introduction: “Caution gradually gave way…
I’ve tried several times in recent weeks to reach Plano attorney Tom Keen, who reps the Hong Kong consortium that owns the Statler Hilton downtown, but so far, no luck. Not only do Friends of Unfair Park ask, oh, once or twice a week about the place, but Keen has…
The Belo Garden — slated to go in at the corner of Main and Griffin downtown, where the federal courthouse parking lot used to be — has been plagued by soil-quality delays practically since plans began six years ago. But the park, funded by “Belo-related parties” in conjunction with public…
Bobbie Wygant’s 2011 Coming Soon Film Reel from Atombomb.tv on Vimeo.Our pal Erik Clapp, keeper of the Bobbie Wygant Archive, just sent this most watchable teaser featuring little look-sees at classic interviews he’s in the process of restoring before posting to the site. Good Lord, that’s an estimable roster of…
As The Buggles famously sang in 1979, video, in fact, killed the radio star. As The Fort Worth Star-Telegram continues to share content with Dallas’ Only Daily and slice positions and send talented writers out into the cold in 2011, it’s apparent that the Internet is choking out newspapers. My first…
I’ll leave it to Schutze, who’s covered this subject at great length, to explain precisely how Larry and Ted Hamilton wound up including more affordable-housing units in their Atmos Complex project downtown. Perhaps Jim will do so as early as tomorrow morning, when, I see here, the Downtown Connection Tax…
Let me get this outta the way once and for all: I’m short(ish). Bald(ing). And, since I don’t adopt you guys’ system of surrendering to middle age but rather I try to combat it, I’m also douche(y). Yes, I work for a free newspaper and my radio station is No…
Those two women above, of course, are Faith Hill and Chrissie Hynde, the latter of whom was my first rock-and-roll crush. That was taken yesterday at the Verizon Theater in Grand Prairie, where, tonight at 9 p.m., the former Audrey Perry and the Great Pretender will perform in front of…
