JasonParis
Moderator
This is my journey to the last of the great red states!
As a few of you may know already, I have a dirty dark secret, but I'm going to let the rest of you know now too. Here it is...I've long been obsessed by the TV show "Dallas" and couldn't resist the temptation to celebrate the show's 30th Anniversary in style at Southfork Ranch with many of the living cast members. So, yes, that is why I took a trip to Dallas.
However, I also used the opportunity to use a few extra vacation days to further check out the (somewhat interesting) Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
I'll keep the "Dallas" pics to a minimum and focus more on the city. This will be a multi-parter. So y'all sit back and enjoy!
Day #1 - Shortly after arriving at DFW I grabbed the rental car and headed downtown. I found a parking spot close to the Greyhound station (near Dealey Plaza).
The Philip Johnson-designed J.F.K. Memorial Plaza is in downtown Dallas a few hundred metres from Dealey Plaza. The memorial's design has been fairly controversial since its opening in 1970.
J.F.K. Memorial Plaza (cont.)
J.F.K. Memorial Plaza (cont.)
The Old Red Museum sits on Dealey Plaza (next to the J.F.K. Memorial) and is an old court house that has basically been turned into the museum of all things Dallas. The Romanesque style reminded me much of Toronto's "Old City Hall," both inside and out.
Inside the Old Red Museum sits the original Pegasus (symbolizing Exxon Oil) that sat atop Dallas' Magnolia Building and became a symbol of the city. A newer version still graces the Magnolia Building to this day.
A skyline view from Old Red.
For "Dallas" fans, that's Ewing Oil #3 on the left and Valentine's Lingerie next to it. On the right was the building that housed J.R.E. Industries (in the last season) and immediately next to it on its left is the Ewing Oil #2 (where J.R. was famously shot).
J.F.K. Memorial Plaza from above.
For "Dallas" fans, the older building just beyond it was the original Wentworth Tool & Dye.
Inside one of Old Red's restored court rooms.
Old Red's neighbour.
Inside Old Red.
Dealey Plaza (from Old Red).
(Some of the plaza is currently under construction)
Inside Old Red.
The Dallas museum inside Old Red features everything you could ever want to know about the city.
This was Dallas' short-lived version of The New Yorker (magazine).
J.R. Ewing's stetson!
For "Dallas" fans the museum also features the script of the "Barbeque" episode from the 1978 miniseries. I wanted to open it and see if they actually wrote-in Digger Barnes drunkenly singing the "Yellow Rose of Texas," but I decided to continue letting the glass separate me from it.
I knew I was in Texas when I cam across this at the entrance to the Old Red Museum.
Dallas skyline.
Dallas traffic signals that were used throughout the downtown.
Dallas' Union Station offers DART (light rail), AMTRAK (intercity) and Trinity Railway Express (commuter rail to Fort Worth) services.
Union Station (cont.)
The front lawn of Union Station. Not nearly as busy as the continent's other great "Union Stations."
A DART train pulling into Union.
I would assume the station once had a large indoor train shed, but that it was knocked down at some point.
An AMTRAK train at Union.
Reunion Tower (closed for renos) and the Hyatt-Regency Dallas.
Inside Union Station. Quite depressing to be honest...and super empty! This was a Wednesday afternoon!
The Dallas Morning News.
Old Red from another angle.
Then it was over to Dealey Plaza and the infamous Grassy Knoll where many (who don't believe the single gunman theory) believe a second assailant also shot Kennedy from around here.
Dealey Plaza, Reunion Tower, Hyatt Regency.
The Texas School Book Depository (now the Dallas County Administration Building) is where it is believed that Lee Harvey Oswald shot J.F.K. from a 6th floor window. It now also houses the excellent Sixth Floor Museum (dedicated to the life of J.F.K. and his assassination). No photography was allowed in the museum though.
See that X on the road?
X marks the spot where Kennedy was fatally shot!
The Grassy Knoll (cont.)
Dallas' tallest - the Bank of America Plaza at night.
Day #2 - I also started downtown and parked closed to the "Arts District" as that was my destination for most of the day.
Some downtown shots....
Pacific Avenue is a DART-LRT transit mall for much of its downtown length.
As I headed over to the arts district the tri-level building that supposedly housed the "Oil Barrons Club" in the TV-show Dallas came into view.
I really wanted to go up and have Dora Mae greet me and Casey prepare me a bourbon & branch, but reality kept me in check.
Downtown Dallas is honestly quite nice. It's clean, but incredibly sterile and you are left with the feeling of "where is everyone?" You can be standing in the middle of one of the largest CBD's in the South, yet it still feels like nobody is around. This was taken on a Thursday morning around 10:00 for the record.
Continued in Part II...
As a few of you may know already, I have a dirty dark secret, but I'm going to let the rest of you know now too. Here it is...I've long been obsessed by the TV show "Dallas" and couldn't resist the temptation to celebrate the show's 30th Anniversary in style at Southfork Ranch with many of the living cast members. So, yes, that is why I took a trip to Dallas.
However, I also used the opportunity to use a few extra vacation days to further check out the (somewhat interesting) Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
I'll keep the "Dallas" pics to a minimum and focus more on the city. This will be a multi-parter. So y'all sit back and enjoy!
Day #1 - Shortly after arriving at DFW I grabbed the rental car and headed downtown. I found a parking spot close to the Greyhound station (near Dealey Plaza).
The Philip Johnson-designed J.F.K. Memorial Plaza is in downtown Dallas a few hundred metres from Dealey Plaza. The memorial's design has been fairly controversial since its opening in 1970.
J.F.K. Memorial Plaza (cont.)
J.F.K. Memorial Plaza (cont.)
The Old Red Museum sits on Dealey Plaza (next to the J.F.K. Memorial) and is an old court house that has basically been turned into the museum of all things Dallas. The Romanesque style reminded me much of Toronto's "Old City Hall," both inside and out.
Inside the Old Red Museum sits the original Pegasus (symbolizing Exxon Oil) that sat atop Dallas' Magnolia Building and became a symbol of the city. A newer version still graces the Magnolia Building to this day.
A skyline view from Old Red.
For "Dallas" fans, that's Ewing Oil #3 on the left and Valentine's Lingerie next to it. On the right was the building that housed J.R.E. Industries (in the last season) and immediately next to it on its left is the Ewing Oil #2 (where J.R. was famously shot).
J.F.K. Memorial Plaza from above.
For "Dallas" fans, the older building just beyond it was the original Wentworth Tool & Dye.
Inside one of Old Red's restored court rooms.
Old Red's neighbour.
Inside Old Red.
Dealey Plaza (from Old Red).
(Some of the plaza is currently under construction)
Inside Old Red.
The Dallas museum inside Old Red features everything you could ever want to know about the city.
This was Dallas' short-lived version of The New Yorker (magazine).
J.R. Ewing's stetson!
For "Dallas" fans the museum also features the script of the "Barbeque" episode from the 1978 miniseries. I wanted to open it and see if they actually wrote-in Digger Barnes drunkenly singing the "Yellow Rose of Texas," but I decided to continue letting the glass separate me from it.
I knew I was in Texas when I cam across this at the entrance to the Old Red Museum.
Dallas skyline.
Dallas traffic signals that were used throughout the downtown.
Dallas' Union Station offers DART (light rail), AMTRAK (intercity) and Trinity Railway Express (commuter rail to Fort Worth) services.
Union Station (cont.)
The front lawn of Union Station. Not nearly as busy as the continent's other great "Union Stations."
A DART train pulling into Union.
I would assume the station once had a large indoor train shed, but that it was knocked down at some point.
An AMTRAK train at Union.
Reunion Tower (closed for renos) and the Hyatt-Regency Dallas.
Inside Union Station. Quite depressing to be honest...and super empty! This was a Wednesday afternoon!
The Dallas Morning News.
Old Red from another angle.
Then it was over to Dealey Plaza and the infamous Grassy Knoll where many (who don't believe the single gunman theory) believe a second assailant also shot Kennedy from around here.
Dealey Plaza, Reunion Tower, Hyatt Regency.
The Texas School Book Depository (now the Dallas County Administration Building) is where it is believed that Lee Harvey Oswald shot J.F.K. from a 6th floor window. It now also houses the excellent Sixth Floor Museum (dedicated to the life of J.F.K. and his assassination). No photography was allowed in the museum though.
See that X on the road?
X marks the spot where Kennedy was fatally shot!
The Grassy Knoll (cont.)
Dallas' tallest - the Bank of America Plaza at night.
Day #2 - I also started downtown and parked closed to the "Arts District" as that was my destination for most of the day.
Some downtown shots....
Pacific Avenue is a DART-LRT transit mall for much of its downtown length.
As I headed over to the arts district the tri-level building that supposedly housed the "Oil Barrons Club" in the TV-show Dallas came into view.
I really wanted to go up and have Dora Mae greet me and Casey prepare me a bourbon & branch, but reality kept me in check.
Downtown Dallas is honestly quite nice. It's clean, but incredibly sterile and you are left with the feeling of "where is everyone?" You can be standing in the middle of one of the largest CBD's in the South, yet it still feels like nobody is around. This was taken on a Thursday morning around 10:00 for the record.
Continued in Part II...
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