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Dallas, TX
Save downtown Dallas building destroyed by squatters? No, thanks
Summer was just getting started when Dallas City Council member Jesse Moreno set off alarm bells about a vacant city-owned building that had been vandalized and ravaged just blocks from City Hall.
That this happened under the noses of city leaders was embarrassing, but even worse, it was expensive. The building at 711 S. St. Paul St. was no longer suitable for public use, covered in graffiti, with its plumbing and wiring ripped out and its rooms reeking of feces and urine. It required a cleaning company to remove the biohazards throughout.
By Aug. 28, after intense debate, the City Council voted to sell the building at auction.
If you interact with City Hall regularly, you know that glaciers move faster. By those standards, the council’s decision to liquidate the property three months after the squatting and the vandalism came to its attention is, well, progress.
So we couldn’t help but sigh in frustration when Dallas preservationists stepped in to say this building that no one but squatters paid any mind to for so long — not city officials, not the preservationists — is in a historic district recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Wouldn’t it be a shame if it were demolished? The leader of a preservation group suggested the city advertise the availability of state and federal preservation tax credits along with the property.
Why complicate the matter? The city was right to stick to a basic advertisement for an auction Oct. 2. Find out what the market wants and sell off the property. Take care of this nuisance to residents and business owners.
Under the council’s chosen two-tier bidding process, potential buyers will offer a price for the property as-is and one for just the land, with the understanding that the city would demolish the building before transferring the property.
As for this historic building, we’re not talking about John Neely Bryan’s original cabin here. The low-slung structure was built in 1947 and served as a regional plant for American Optical, an eyewear company. Not exactly the stuff of postcards (or city manager recruitment brochures).
Perhaps there is a developer out there who would pay top dollar for an anonymous building that has been stripped of the infrastructure that made it functional — maybe someone who is passionate about the history of American eyewear manufacturing. That developer would have to apply for and agree to the strings attached to preservation tax credits, which require that properties be rehabilitated according to meticulous federal standards. That seems unlikely.
The city’s economic development department is right when it says that a one-story building is not the highest and best use for the land. This is an area that is set to be transformed by the redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and where higher density is planned.
We often lament how the city doesn’t take care of its history, but the drama with 711 S. St. Paul St. is a chapter that City Hall should be eager to close.
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DALLAS – After Norway won on Tuesday at Dallas Stadium, its star player has one more stop to make before heading out of town.
Erling Haaland and his teammates visited a Western wear store in the West End.
It’s already changing things for the store owner.
Y’all can kiss my Dallas
What we know:
Just hours after the Norway’s star striker helped his team advance in the World Cup, Haaland had one more goal in Texas – becoming a cowboy.
He and several of his teammates visited Wild Bill’s Western Store in Downtown Dallas.
The store’s owners Cody and Julie Newport told FOX 4 they got a heads-up about the special guest and had part of the floor roped off when Haaland walked in.
He ended up buying multiple hats. He traded cleats for cowboy boots and swapped his jersey for a shirt that says, “Y’all can kiss my Dallas.”
What they’re saying:
“Did he know anything about cowboy hats?” FOX 4’s Peyton Yager asked the store’s owners.
“No. He knew nothing,” Cody Newport said. “Actually, he was sitting in this chair. And we had someone fit him for a cowboy hat.”
Wild Bill’s owners said Haaland and his teammates gravitated to some of their beautiful exotics.
Haaland also purchased a buckle with a longhorn for his belt and branded his initials and jersey number onto his purchases.
“He was saying this is literally the only time I have and the only time in Dallas,” Julie Newport recalled. “He had an amazing time, and we gave him that.”
“We exude the Dallas welcome, the southern hospitality. For him to want to come in and hang out is everything,” Cody Newport said.
Big picture view:
Haaland shared photos of his visit to Wild Bill’s on social media, earning millions of views and likes.
That “Y’all can kiss my Dallas” shirt is nearly sold out in the store, with many of Haaland’s fans snagging gear of their own. And online sales are rolling in.
The store expects a new shipment of the shirt on Thursday to replenish the racks.
The owners said that normally their customers are 90% tourists. But after Haaland’s post, they are starting to see customers come in from North Texas.
The Source: FOX 4’s Peyton Yager gathered information for this story by interviewing the owners of Wild Bill’s Western Store in Dallas.
Dallas, TX
Dallas City Hall named to World Monuments Fund’s ‘Irreplaceable America’ list – Lake Highlands
Dallas City Hall
Dallas City Hall has been recognized as one of 10 heritage places included on the World’s Monuments Fund (WMF) “Irreplaceable America” list.
The list highlights significant locations across the United States, ranging from landmarks and colonial buildings to Indigenous heritage sites, that face urgent preservation needs. Dallas City Hall, designed by I.M. Pei, was built following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as part of an effort to rebrand the city and look toward the future.
In addition to being named to the Irreplaceable America list, Dallas City Hall has also been placed on endangered lists by Preservation Texas and Preservation Dallas. As uncertainty remains over whether the building will be renovated or demolished, its inclusion on the Irreplaceable America list comes at a pivotal moment.
“Dallas City Hall is irreplaceable as a major civic anchor in downtown Dallas,” said Zaida Basora, vice president of the Save Dallas City Hall Coalition and executive director of AIA Dallas, in a press release. “Not only is this an architecturally and historically significant building, but it has all of the elements to serve as a catalyst for the kind of development and revitalization that the southern area of downtown Dallas needs.”
The nationwide open call for nominations resulted in 75 submissions. Nominations were evaluated based on cultural significance, urgency of conservation needs and the potential community benefit of preservation.
The World Monuments Fund is an independent organization dedicated to protecting culturally significant places around the world. For more information about Irreplaceable America, visit the organization’s website.
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Syra Castillo is a recent graduate from Southern Methodist University and is the Lake Highlands Editor. She is a Dallas native and is passionate about local news. She studied English, journalism, and Italian while at SMU. She spends her time with family and tries to discover new places to eat across the city. You can email her at scastillo@advocatemag.com.
Dallas firefighters are battling a large fire at a Pilates studio in Uptown early Wednesday morning, officials confirm.
Dallas Fire-Rescue said at about 4 a.m., crews responded after someone reported smoke coming from the second floor of Pilates Methodology, located in the 2600 block of Routh Street.
When firefighters arrived at the two-story business, they began an offensive attack, and by 4:50 a.m., a third alarm was called, bringing in dozens of crews to help fight the blaze.
No injuries have been reported as crews work to extinguish the fire.
This is a developing story. We’ll update as more information becomes available.
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