Cityplace West Development

Uptown Dallas Today

   The old Mary Shiels buildings on Lemmon  and Howell are slowly being disassembled. Looks like asbestos abatement at this time. The Mary Shiels Hospital is still in operation only these old buildings,along west bound Lemmon, that are no longer in use are being torn down. 

   These buildings were purchased a few years back by the Cityplace development company . At this time I know of no planned buildings on these lots. I am sure a Bank or CVS will be looking at these prime locations. East bound and West bound Lemmon are very busy almost 24 hours a day. This property sits between both streets and should be a good location for both types of business. 

   Money has been allocated for Unity Plaza at the DART Cityplace Station. Three million dollars has been put aside from the Cityplace TIF to help build this plaza. DART is supposed to come up with the next two million dollars to complete the funding. A new entry way and street,Cityplace West, realignment and of course the plaza are all planned. 

   Currently there are no new developments in the West Village area . On the East Side of Cityplace a new Kroger was just approved for the old Loews Theatre vacant lot. This will take at least 18 months to build so do not expect a new store any time soon. The Mc Kinney Ave Trolley expansion begins in early 2010 and should be completed before the Woodall Rodgers Park is completed.

   Today is Freeshippingday.com on the internet for those still shopping  

   

Artisan Style on Mahon

Uptown Dallas Today

   The marathon was great on Sunday hope everyone got a chance to encourage the runners. A great Dallas event with more than 20,000 runners . Looking forward to next years event.

   Artisan Style is a relatively new ,opened about 2 months ago, art house in the Uptown neighborhood. They are located at 2417 Mahon near the Crescent. Between Maple and Fairmount just down the street from Uncommon Market. They have a great selection of work produced by local artists. A great little store to find a unique gift for that certain someone. Give them a try and soon  just 11 days left till Christmas. Support your local Uptown stores and small business. 

   BigDNye will be December 31st at ACC starting at apx. 6pm . Live music and the NHL Stars vs Ducks. Then an exciting countdown and fireworks at midnight. You will need wristbands to enter the event ,but, they are free. Chek out the web page for more information. 

Hello 2010        

Tailwaters Meets Red Mango Saturday

Uptown Dallas Today

   Saturday December 12th Tailwaters Fly fishing will have their annual Christmas Party. If you have never gone it is a lot of fun and Tailwaters is a great unique outdoor store. The party will include a chili cook off , hot dogs ,keg beer and maybe a fried turkey or two. Tailwaters is open 10:00 am till 5:00 pm on Saturday. A great store with lots of last minute gift ideas for the outdoors person in your life. Located at 2416 Mc Kinney Ave just across the street from Golds Gym.

   Red Mango Yogurt will have a grand opening on Saturday December 12th from 11:00 am till 6:00 pm . Stop by the new store and get a Free small size yogurt   . They are located at 2811 Mc Kinney Ave across the street from Greenz. Look from the bright red store front.  

     In between the the events you can stop at Crooked Tree Coffeehouse at 2414 Routh and recharge for the rest of the day. Beer, Chili, Coffee and Yogurt , although maybe not in that order, and even some Christmas shopping.

   

   See you on Mc Kinney Ave   

Uptown Ice Rinks

Uptown Dallas Today

   New ice rinks  have opened in Uptown in the past couple of mornings. If you have a sprinkler system please turn it off. You will get a ticket or worse a car through your building. At 24 degrees water freezes very fast. The sidewalks are not the best and ice does not make them better. Although I know a few lawyers that could help make the right decision in the future.

   On a more fun note the Run the Rock comes to Uptown this Sunday morning. The beginning of the race will come up Mc kinney Ave  and make a left turn at Hall St as it heads down to turtle Creek. Thousands of runners and even more fans will be on Mc Kinney Ave. Expect traffic delays on Sunday Morning. The  Half Marathon will also have a portion of the run on the Katy Trail. The return route will be the Katy Trail on the way to ACC. 

    If  you want to watch the fastest runners they will be on Mc kinney Ave shortly after 8 am . It will only take a few minutes for them to get to Hall St. The rest of the thousands of runners will be there soon after. This is a world class event and should be a lot of fun . 

  Happy Holidays !    

Tex Mex in Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

   We have several Tex Mex restaurants in Uptown and they are very different from each. My two favorites ,which was very difficult decision, are Mannys Uptown and El Fenix Downtown. One is the old reliable restaurant that has been in Dallas for many years and served millions of enchiladas. The other , Mannys Uptown , is one the newest restaurants in Uptown.

   I will start with Mannys which is located in an old house at 3521 Oak Grove. That is the corner of Oak Grove and W. Lemmon Ave. One block  east from the trolley stop in front of Albertsons.Mannys has great spicy salsa and as do most food food places it has a reasonable happy hour. They are known for the brisket tacos which are very good and possibly the best in Dallas. The best times to go to Mannys are just before the lunch and just before 6 pm in the evening . The weekends are always very busy. 

  El Fenix has been in Dallas forever it seems and always has good inexpensive Tex Mex . The Uptown location is at 1601 Mc Kinney Ave at the point where Uptown meets Downtown and Victory . This location has been called the downtown location for years although now it really is in the Uptown neighborhood. The specialty of the house for El Fenix is the cheese enchiladas although any of the enchilada plates are very good.  Every Wednesday is $4.99 cheese enchiladas, they also have a great salsa, and it is usually very busy all day. El Fenix is also very busy just before Stars and Mavericks games at ACC although it is a big location and they do know how move the crowds in and out. Expect a remodel of this location sometime next year .   

   The rumor is that Glorias El Salvadorian restaurant will be moving into the new Cityville at Katy Trail apartments next year. Sounds like even more good Tex Mex in Uptown coming soon.   

Uptown District 9 School Board

Uptown Dallas Today

   The run-off  election for DISD School Board of Trustees District 9 is Tuesday December 8th. Early voting will continue through Friday December 4th and the dalcoelections.org has locations for early voting. The candidates for this election are  Sally Cain and Bernadette Nutall both candidates would be new to the School Board. 

   There were 2383 people that voted in the November election for this position. 140 voted in precinct 1202 , William B Travis School, which is in the middle of Uptown. District wide Bernadette Nutall received 1074 votes and Sally Cain received 790 votes . Less than 10% of registered voters showed up at the polls. Needless to say your vote will count in this election. 

   The great thing is that even if you did not vote the first time around you can still vote this time. Tuesday December 8th from 7 am - 7 pm you can vote for your favorite candidate. Just show up at 3001 Mc Kinney Ave with your voter registration card or your Texas ID . With less than 10 persons per hour I do not expect long lines.  

   JUST VOTE !

Yes that is Snow in Uptown !  

    

The Rock Runs Through Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

   The White Rock Marathon is coming on Sunday December 13th. The half marathon and the full marathon will both travel up Mc Kinney Ave from Victory Park. The marathons make a left turn at Hall St. and a right at Turtle Creek. The race begins at 8:00 am and the very fast runners will be at Hall St within less than 10 minutes . Traffic will be blocked along the route all the way to White Rock Lake and back to Downtown and back to Victory Park. The half marathon returns along the Katy Trail and it too will be block for the runners . 

   A 5k fun run is scheduled for Saturday the 12th of December in conjunction with the White Rock Marathon. Called the Mayors Race it will begin at City Hall and cross the Trinity River in to Oak Cliff. This race begins at 9:00 am on Saturday. Again expect traffic delays in Downtown Dallas.  

   The Adolphus Children's Parade will be this Saturday December 5th in Downtown Dallas. The Fair Park Holiday Lights will be Sunday December 6th from 2pm-7pm. Free admission and the Museums will have free afternoon admission. The Dallas Wind Symphony Quintet will also perform. An Antique show , a Holiday Market and Children's Market will also be going on during the event. Of course there will be the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and light show on the Esplanade and introduction of two , replicas of 1936 sculptures,new  sculptures over looking the Esplanade. 

   

   Happy Holidays     

Light Up Lee Park

Uptown Dallas Today

   On Sunday night there will be a Christmas celebration at Lee Park. There will be 500,000 led lights illuminating  the sky along Turtle Creek. Home Alone the movie will be shown from 6pm - 8pm for those of you that like a good Christmas about abandoning children in a high crime neighborhood . Just kidding of course as it could be worse like shooting your eye out with a Red Ryder BB gun. 

   After the movie , at 8pm, the Lee Park Christmas tree will be illuminated and then at 8:30pm the fireworks begin. This is when my ear sensitive cat will go into hiding. Should be a great time had by all. The weather will be winter like and hopefully the rain will hold off. 

   The YMCA in Downtown Dallas is having a food drive for the North Texas Food Bank . Take the elevator to the 3rd floor and drop off non-perishable food. Since you are there check out the new T Boone Pickens YMCA looks great. If you can not drop off food there then try another location around town as many groups are participating during the holidays.

  See you at the movie in the park   

Adolphus Children's Parade Dec 5th

Uptown Dallas Today

   The Adolphus Children's Parade will be in Downtown Dallas on December 5th at 10:00 am. The Children's Parade will proceed down Commerce St. and of course will be seen on television ,too. Selena Gomez will be the featured entertainer for the Children's Parade. Always fun to watch a parade and I am sure there will be many thousands watching this one. 

   On Little Debbie Share-a-Thon will be arriving on December 8th at Mockingbird Station. The little cupcake cars ,as seen on tv, will be there. Free Little Debbie Cupcakes will be given out and you can enter a drawing to win one of the Little Debbie Smart Cars. The cupcakes arrive at 2:00pm in front of Urban outfitters on December 8th. 

   Have a good Thanksgiving and I will see some of you, 33,000 + expected , at the YMCA Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. 

   gobble gobble 

    

Katy Trail Snyders Union

 Uptown Dallas Today 

   The Katy Trail will open Snyders Union officially on Saturday November 28th. The Plaza looks great and has a wonderful view of Turtle Creek and Lee Park. The entrance from Carlisle will be closed for the time being. The new apartment complex is in moving on up mode. They are beginning the 5th, and last, floor. The crane and construction equipment will keep the Carlisle entrance closed . 

   The new entrance from Hall St. is also nearing completion as most of the frame work is completed. The Hall St. entrance will enter from the Turtle Creek side of the Katy Trail. Another stair way and entrance is planned for Blackburn. It may be the next new entrance to the Katy Trail. 

   Lots of stimulus funds were awarded last week for Dallas Trails. The extension of the Katy Trail , connecting to White Rock Trail , may not be to far away. Although several bridges will need to be built and of course that takes time. The good news is that construction should begin early next year.

   The 60 foot tree in Main Street Gardens is fantastic. Supposed to be the tallest tree of its kind in the U. S. If you were not there last night , in the light mist , you missed a good show. A trip to Neiman Marcus should be high on your list. If you have kids in he 4-10 year old range they will really enjoy the science tubes in the Nieman Marcus windows. Today is Music in the  Park , Main Street Gardens ,from 3pm-7pm .   

The Turkey just missed becoming the National Bird.     

Lee Park Brightens the Sky

Uptown Dallas Today

   On November 29th from 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm the sky will glow and for a few minutes fireworks will explode over Turtle Creek. Light Up Lee Park will be having their annual Christmas Tree lighting and music and fireworks. The tree lighting should be around 7:00 pm followed by fireworks. I know where my cat will be during the fireworks , sensitive ears, as she not amused by the loud bangs in the sky. This should get you in the mood  for the holiday season. 

   Tonight the Gardens , in West Village , will team up with Cork Wines to help the North Texas Food Bank and Goodwill. Bring in non-perishable food or a new or slightly used warm winter coat and receive a discount on a purchase. A very good thing to do all year ,but, even more important this time of year. 

   Jazz tonight at the Dallas Museum of Art and Friday night it is Late Nights at the DMA. A busy Friday night downtown and fun will be had by all. Main Street Gardens will have its first Christmas celebration on Friday night,too. Neimans will be open late for your shopping pleasure. Neimans downtown always looks fantastic for the holidays inside and outside the store. If you have never been then now is the time to do so.   

Perot Museum Breaks Ground

Uptown Dallas Today

   The Perot Museum of Nature and Science will break ground today. Across from the El Fenix you can see the giant tent set up for the ground breaking. The Museum construction should begin sometime next year and be completed in early 2013. This will be a wonderful museum for all North Texans to enjoy. 

   City Lights is Friday night in Main Street Gardens and this year there will be a 60 foot tree in the center of the park. The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm and continue till 10:00 pm. On Saturday there will be a free music event from 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Thrift Store Cowboys and Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights will be performing.

   The DMA Jazz in the Atrium is Thursday night from 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm and as always it is a free event. On Friday night ,the 20th, it is the DMA Late Nights event. From 6:00 pm till midnight. The Trolley runs late on Friday and Saturday nights , till midnight, and is free . 

   Enjoy the Day !   

Uncommon Market in Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today 

   Uncommon Market located at 2701 Fairmount is having a sale . Over 15,000 square foot of antiques and other neat things. Just in time for the holiday season,too. There are several little shops and gallery's up and down Fairmount and on a nice cool day like today there is nothing better than walking about Uptown. 

   When you do need to warm up a bit try the Crooked Tree Coffeehouse at 2414 Routh. A great little place to rest and get a caffeine fix. They have live music on the weekends so check out the schedule when you visit. 

   The Uptown PID is in the process of greening a spot in front of William Travis School. The Uptown PID provided $20,000 for the new iron fence around the school. The Uptown PID will also pay for the new green space. Should look good for spring.

   Remember to lock your car and hide your valuables do not make your car an easy target. You will notice DPD officers on horseback and on bike patrol in the Uptown Neighborhood. They are there for your protection ,but, you have to do your part too. Try the Trolleylinecrimewatch.blogspot.com for information on the crime information in the neighborhood. 

     

We Need Real Sidewalks

Uptown Dallas Today

   Ok it is time for the Uptown PID to build some real sidewalks in Uptown. How about a project that goes from El Fenix to West Village on both sides of Mc Kinney Ave. A minimum 4 foot wide sidewalk with a 6 foot wide being even better. On both sides of the street and no barriers. That means no trees,bushes,poles,signs,cables,trash cans and anything else that gets in the way of a real pedestrian sidewalk. Four to six feet wide with no barriers. 

   The time is now while the economy is a little slow. The tax money is available ,your public improvement tax money, to spend. This would create that "Best Walking Neighborhood in Dallas" for real not just in words. A mid rise public parking garage might be a good idea too. That would take care of the suburban tourist and their car. We already have the Mc Kinney Ave Trolley to move people up and down the avenue. Now we need a real sidewalk on both sides of Mc Kinney Ave. If you agree then let the Uptown PID and your local leaders know your opinion.

   Ocean Prime located at the corner of Cedar Springs and Pearl opens today. Good luck to a new Uptown Restaurant . Outtakesdallas.org celebrates there 11th season at Magnolia Theater , in West Village , tonight. The City Lights Christmas Tree Lighting is next Friday at Main Street Gardens. 

   FRIDAY The 13TH !

       

Main Street Gardens Friday the 13th

Uptown Dallas Today

   This Friday the 13th Main Street Gardens will have the official dedication and ribbon cutting. 

It will be a private event for all those people that will not use the park . Starts at 5:30pm - 8:00pm and will have a light show after the ribbon cutting . That should be a little after 6:00 pm. 

  On November the 20th from 6:30pm - 10:00 pm City Lights will ring in the Holiday Season. A 60ft Christmas Tree will be tower over Main Street Gardens . On the 21st Main Street Gardens will have the first free concert in the park. From 3:00pm - 7:00pm on Saturday the 21st you can enjoy a free concert. 

  November 16th should be the last day for whats left of Reunion Arena. That day should be the implosion day to bring down the roof . Expect delays on the nearby freeways as traffic will be stopped . 

  If you want to watch the light show at Main Street Gardens you will be able to see everything from the sidewalk in front of the University of North Texas soon to be Law School.    

Vote Today !

Uptown Dallas Today 

   3% of the registered voters will vote today. That is the prediction from election officials. Good thing we fought for the right to vote . Otherwise we would have to set at home and complain about government  doing a poor job, being corrupt and inept . Oh Wait ! That's what 97% of you are doing right now. Go Vote. 

  Kroger wants to sell beer and wine in the front yard of Alex W Spence School and the Dallas Light House for the Blind. Good thing Kroger is a good corporate neighbor and is a good source of political contributions. Kroger wants the Dallas City Council, that means Angela Hunt, to give them a variance to sell beer and wine at the old Lowes Movie Theatre site. The state law is that you can not do that if you are within 300 feet of a school. The City Council can give a variance much like they have for William B Travis School on Mc Kinney Ave. Which was and is a bad idea. A taco joint will be doing that very soon and they are less than 100 feet from William B Travis.  

  My opinion is no. There are more than enough places on Mc Kinney Ave to buy beer and wine . Kroger will not add to the selection or price of either. If they to build a store there then they should have to abide by the rules . With 2 Kroger stores nearby my thought would be that one of them would be closed. My bet would be the Cedar Springs store. Why not build this store where they planned . On Live Oak and Good Latimer where it would do Old East Dallas and Downtown Dallas a lot of good. 

  just my opinion       

Downtown YMCA

Uptown Dallas Today

   The Downtown YMCA will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday November 5th at 11:00 am . T Boone Pickens will be there for the ribbon cutting . Mr Pickens donated 5 million dollars to the Downtown YMCA for the renovation. For the most part the remodel is complete and they did a great job. The 3rd and 4th floors have been completely redone and made much more open. New machines and new rooms for Yoga and Pilate's . Check out the YMCA on Saturday the 7th for an open house from 11:00 am till 2:00 pm . Make sure you check out the outdoor rooftop track. Great views of Downtown Dallas. 

    Get out and Vote Tomorrow  from 7:00 am till 7:00 pm. The William B Travis school at 3001 Mc kinney is one of the places to vote. Check your voting status and where you vote with Dallas County Elections on line at www.dalcoelections.org . To check out the 11 Amendments go to League of Women Voters at www.lwvdallas.org . Democracy in Action it's a wonderful thing !       

The 411 on 311

Uptown Dallas Today

   Recent studies show that a neighborhood that is active and concerned about what is happening in there neighborhood can reduce crime and increase property values. A recent graffiti study showed that those areas that removed the graffiti quickly had less crime. Basically the study states that a neighborhood that is concerned with what is happening in the area  will have a better neighborhood. Now is your chance to be active.        

   Reporting problems that you see to city government can sometimes seem like a big hassle. Getting a street light turned back on, filling a pothole or reporting loud noise from a bar. These problems and others are no longer difficult tasks. Yes we can fix these problems. 

   The first thing to do is know where to look on the Internet. Angela Hunt ,you city council person,has contact information on her web site. It is a very easy to use web page and she is always keeping it up to date . She is also a good person to contact when things are not as quickly as they should. 

   Oncor , the people that keep the lights on, now has a great way to report street light outages. On the web page it has a map with all the street lights that they are responsible for. They are supposed to have them working within 5 business days. They are very good at doing this ,but, they are not perfect. The map gives them the location and pole number which makes it much easier to find. It is incredible how many street lights we have in the City of Dallas.

   When reporting problems to the City of Dallas you can call 311 or go to the web page . With budgets cuts in the city do not expect them to be proactive or quick. If you look on line you will find the many things that you can report. High weeds , damaged sidewalks , pot holes and traffic lights not working. One problem we have in Uptown is construction without a permit . happens in the neighborhood all the time and cost the city money. Usually means higher taxes for you and me . Permits are required at all stages of construction and there are rules for noise and how early and how late they can work. Again code enforcement is not proactive you must do your part.

   A new  fast growing problem is the amount of bars opening on Mc Kinney Ave. I am not totally opposed to them ,but, there needs to be some limits. Parking , late night noise and the trash left behind is starting to look like Lower Greenville. These problems are also a 311 issue and can be done on the web , but, may be faster reporting by phone. 

  Here are the web pages / www.311.dallascityhall.com / www.oncor.com / www.angelahunt.com / .  Here is Angela Hunts email address at city hall. angelahunt@dallascityhall.com  / hope this helps a little. 

       

   To make things better someone needs to hear your Voice !   

  

Uptown Security Cameras

Uptown Dallas Today

   If you are interested in the security cameras that are placed up and down Mc kinney Ave then today is your day. The Post Apartments at 2808 Mc Kinney Ave will have a meet and greet from 3 pm - 4 pm today. The Dallas Police Department will have representatives there to explain how the new cameras work. If you have not seen them in action they are very cool and have great clarity and sharpness. More of these security cameras are planned in the near future for the Uptown area. 

   Woodall Rodgers will be closed again this weekend. You have been warned . This weekend is the demolition of the St Paul exit ramp . This includes the exit ramp bridge over Woodall Rodgers ,but, not the St Paul bridge. TXDOT was very quick last weekend and finished early. 

   The DMA is free on Thursday nights with live jazz music. Next week the UNT One O'Clock Lab Band will perform at the DMA. Again that is FREE ! Enjoy the Arts District and  ride the Mc Kinney Ave Trolley to the events. It too is FREE . 

           

Halloween,Full Moon,Election . Oh My !

Uptown Dallas Today

   If you missed the big Halloween Party on Cedar Springs you will have to wait till next year. As a consolation you still have Halloween Saturday night. Another thing you might consider before heading out for the night. Change the clock ! Fall back one hour. Either that or you will be a early bird all day Sunday and will be grumpy that you missed the one time each year to stay in bed an extra hour. Without any guilt that you did not seize the day.

   November 1st Standard Times Begins again. The clocks go back one hour just in case you missed the last paragraph. Sunday is also All Saints Day and the official first day of the Christmas shopping season. Hopefully this being the Day of the Dead does not mean something to the retailers out there. 

   A full moon rising on an election eve. Good thing no one will be voting as I am sure we are still celebrating the extra hour of sleep we got over the weekend. If you do get out and vote , our civic duty , there will be 11 Texas Constitutional Amendments and one DISD School Board member to vote for  or against. See you line . 

                  

Warning the Sky is Falling

Uptown Dallas Today

   If you are on Woodall Rodgers freeway tonight after 11:00 watch out. The Harwood bridge over the freeway will be knocked down. The Woodall Rodgers freeway will be closed ,in both directions, until 5 am Monday morning. They will be doing this again next weekend if every thing goes to plan. Expect many delays over the next 2 years as The Park, the new name, is completed. The freeway circle will be broken at least for a couple of days. Should be fun to watch the demolition.

   The Quadrangle will have an Oktoberfest concert tonight at 8 pm. Roccos has moved to the quadrangle and is now open. The old Roccos on Mc kinney is being turned into a taco joint.      

   It is Friday Enjoy !

Music and Troy Aikman

Uptown Dallas Today

   Harwood is now closed and will be forevermore. Weather permitting Woodall Rodgers will be closed this weekend for the demolition of the Harwood Bridge across the freeway. The first step in construction that will last at least 2 years. Parts of the service road are now also closed. 

   Thursday October 22nd at David's Way on the Katy Trail between 6pm and 7pm former star quarterback and current sportscaster Troy Aikman will be working the Trail . If you would like to join the Katy Trail Thursday will be a great time to do so. There will be live music and lots of people of course. You will see volunteers working tables all weekend long on the Katy Trail. They are there to sign you up and give you a t-shirt for becoming a member.     

   Texas leads the nation in wind power. Almost 25% of all the wind power created in the United States is produced  here in Texas. 8797 megawatts of power . Now if they can figure out how to harness the hot air from Austin and Washington DC we will be energy independent.  

Oprah to Arkin

Uptown Dallas Today

   Well the Great State Fair is over for another year. Hope you got your fill of deep fried foods at least till turkey day. The Green Line worked 23 out 24 days this year and with two big games scheduled for next year I would guess it will work 22-24 days next year. I went to the State Fair at least 13 times this year and used the green everyday but one. On that day I used the 409 from Cityplace along with a few smart UT fans . 10 minute trip took 35 minutes,but,was not unexpected .

   Saw Oprah along with her crowd , not as busy as expected, of screaming fans. A good show on a cool and wet day. Maybe we can get Ellen next year. Got on the Trolley last night from downtown and at the Ritz Carlton stop Adam Arkin boarded . The Trolley driver mention that Oprah stayed at the Ritz on her stay in Dallas. I do not think he recognized Adam Arkin who is also staying at the Ritz. He and a couple of friends were headed to Primos for dinner. Adam Arkin is currently playing a divorce lawyer in the Coen Brothers film " A Serious Man" . The Angelika Film Center is showing the film if you are interested. 

   The Quadrangle will have a Octoberfest concert this Friday October 23rd at 8:00pm. As of 7:00 pm last night Harwood was still not closed. Should be very soon . 

           

Harwood Closed Today

Uptown Dallas Today

   For those of you that use Harwood as your entrance to Downtown Dallas nevermore. Harwood will be closed today 10-19-2009 and should remain closed forever. The section that crosses the Woodall Rodgers Freeway is being closed so that work can begin in earnest on the Woodall Rodgers Park. Some of the frontage road on both sides of the freeway will also be closed at times for the next 2 or more years. There will also be times when the entire Woodall Rodgers  Freeway will be closed so that support beams can be set in place across the freeway. Sounds exciting and will be fun to watch the engineering feat.

   The Woodall Rodgers Park now has an updated web site . A blog is in the works and maybe a webcam of the construction site. There are a few more diagrams of the new park. Just a  reminder Main Street Gardens opens in November.

   The Dallas City Arts Festival usually held in June will be in May 7th-9th in 2010. The big surprise, as predicted here, is that the City Arts has been moved to Fair Park. Maybe a name change is in order . The Arts District just reopened , an amazing opening too, and now we move the City Arts to Fair Park. As I recall this is the  home of ArtFest and now Fair Park Art Fest. Makes perfect sense in this City move the Arts District Art Festival from the just completed Arts District to Fair Park so that it can compete with ArtFest. 

   I think it must be Monday.    

Dog Trot And Treat

Uptown Dallas Today

   Halloween is around the corner for all you goblins or in this case Dogs. The Katy Trail will be having a Dog Trot and Treat on October 31st from 11 am - 1 pm. That is a Saturday too. Halloween should be very interesting as it is on a weekend and 2 days from a full moon.  

   Next week is your turn to become a member of the Katy Trail and if you are very lucky you can have Troy Aikman sign you up. Troy will be on the Trail next weekend and will be at a booth at Davids Way near Knox street. I hear he is a regular on the Katy Trail . 

   The Main Street Gardens in Downtown Dallas is nearing completion.Grand opening will be in early November and a new 60 foot Christmas Tree will be installed in the Gardens near Thanksgiving.University of North Texas is beginning to have a presence around the Main Street Garden. The UNT Law School will occupy the North and East sides of the Gardens.  

   The W  Hotel in Victory Park is changing colors from Red to Burnt Orange and back again. Check it out tonight. The big square at One Arts Plaza is also having a color change this week .Look for Hunt Oil ,on Woodall Rodgers service road,building to change colors ,too.

           

Almost Super Target

Uptown Dallas Today

   The Target store at Cityplace is now a grocery store too. It is a Hybrid Target store instead of a super store. The Grocery section is open for business and the pricing comparison is similar to the Neighborhood Market. For those of you that dislike that store I will not use the W****** name. The competition will be great and should benefit the Uptown area. I am not sure how Albert will survive in between two retail giants. 

   3232 Mc Kinney is planning a remodel for the plaza in front of the building on Mc Kinney Ave. The look of the new building is located on the corner of Hall and Mc Kinney. Most , if not all, of the trees along Mc Kinney Ave will be removed for the building expansion. The vacant lot across the street,3207 Mc Kinney, now has a plan for a 15 story glass high rise. I will get the link and artist drawing posted soon. 

   The sun has returned good thing too . Almost thought we were in Seattle. Although that is not a bad thing. Last weekend for the Great State Fair and they have a football game this  Saturday  too. Sunday is the big day for the Performing Arts Center and fireworks at 7:45pm. A fun weekend ahead. 

     

Glorias and Red Mango

Uptown Dallas Today

   The rumor is that Gloria's El Salvadorian Restaurant will be moving into Uptown. The under construction apartments at Lemmon and Carlisle will be their new home. No word as to the Lemmon Ave location closing ,but, that would be my guess. If you have never tried them you should the food is fantastic. 

   Red Mango yogurt should be open by Thanksgiving. The location is at 2811 Mc Kinney Ave across the street from Greenz. I have never tried there yogurt ,but, they get great reviews on the net.  Another restaurant opening in November  will be Ocean Prime. They are located in  the new high rise Rosewood Court. They plan a 10,000 sq foot of  restaurant space bucking the national trend for smaller restaurant's . 

  David Sanborn will be at the ATTPAC , performing arts center, on Friday. The big grand opening is this Sunday. The Great State Fair of Texas ends this weekend with a bang depending on which team wins. 

  

The Weather Guys Promise Sunshine Soon !

     

        

Dallas Arts Opening Act

Uptown Dallas Today

   The ATT Performing Arts Center has a dedication ceremony Monday morning from 8-9 am .

The location will be on the stage in the 10 acre Sammons Park next to the Winspear Opera House . This event will kick off the Grand Opening Week for the Performing Arts Center.

   The Grand Finale will be on October 18th ,next Sunday, from 11am - 8pm . There will be tours of the Winspear and Wyly performance centers. The Museums in the Arts District will be free from 11am - 6pm this includes the Nasher Sculpture Garden, The Crow Asian Art Museum and Dallas Museum of Art. A free fireworks show will conclude the activities at 7:45 pm . Many different groups will be performing throughout the day. 

   David Sanborn will be preforming on Friday October 16th beginning at 4:00 pm in Sammons Park . There will be an Architecture Forum on Thursday the 15th in the Wyly Theatre At 4 pm . On Friday the 16th an Architecture Forum will be presented in the Winspear Opera House at 10:30 am and again at 2 pm. 

   Parking will be mostly underground and , for a price , plentiful. For those willing to walk , I will be one of the willing, the Dart train stops at Pearl. This is just a few blocks south of the Arts District. The Mc Kinney Ave Trolley stops at St Paul and Ross , next to the DMA and Stephen Pyles, and is also just a few blocks. Of course those of you that live in Uptown and Downtown now is the time to make Dallas a Walking Neighborhood.

 

 Enjoy The Arts ! 

                       

West Village Votes

Uptown Dallas Today

   West Village will have a voting event this weekend just for you. Visit any store and you can vote on the new Mc Kinney Ave. Trolley stop shelter. The voting contest starts Friday and runs till the end of the day on Sunday. There are 23 trolley stop designs and they are very cool. The Mc Kinney Ave, Trolley is always free and runs till midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.The Starbucks at West village will be having a photo exhibit tonight starting at 7pm .  

   The State Fair has been great. If you have not been this is the weekend to go. Cool weather and no football games. Take the Green Line from Pearl it works great , but, expect it to be busy. Lots of free and low cost things to do.You do not have to spend a fortune to have fun although the vendors would like you to spend a fortune. The Discovery Gardens Butterfly exhibit is $3 per person,but,look inside the daily guide book and there is a $2 off coupon .       

  The ATT Performing Arts Center opens on Monday the 12th. There will be fun and free events all week long.  Sunday the 18th will be the busy day as many events are scheduled for this day. This is a becoming a world class arts district and will bring tourists from all over the world. Enjoy !  

   

Monarch Tagging

Uptown Dallas Today

  The State Fair of Texas will be tagging 500 Monarch butterflies this year. At 11:00 am and 3:00 pm you can watch and maybe help tag a butterfly. This cool front today should bring a few more butterflies this weekend. If you have not checked out the new indoor butterfly garden you need to. There is a $3 fee per person,but, if you look in the State Fair guide book there is a $2 off coupon. 

  The Uptown Stoneleigh Residences,not the Hotel, will be up for bid on October 9th. This is the 12 story shell that is to the west of the Stoneleigh Hotel. Opening bids start at $4 million and so far there are 30 interested bidders. Hopefully this building will not be unfinished for long.

  On October 7th you can join members of City Hall and bike to work with them . The event will start at 8:30 am at Union Station . For more information try the web site www.dallasbikestocityhall.com .

  Watch for thunder storms today and enjoy the Great State Fair of Texas !

  

State Fair and Uptown Fest

Uptown Dallas Today

  The State Fair of Texas begins Friday.The parade is in downtown Dallas from about noon time till 1:30pm . Expect delays and road closures during this time. More road delays will be on Mc Kinney Ave on Saturday morning till about 11:30am. The Mc kinney Ave Trolley will have there 20 year celebration parade on Saturday morning. This will be followed by The All About Uptown Festival . Should be a very exciting weekend all over Dallas .  

  The Dallas Amateur Radio Club will be broadcasting all day Saturday to ham operators all over the world. They will be broadcasting live from the MATA trolley car barn located at 3153 Oak Grove. Follow the tracks down Bowen,from Mc Kinney Ave, you can not miss the car barn. 

  Deals at the State Fair / bring an empty Dr Pepper can on Tuesdays get in for $3 / 3 cans of food on Wednesdays and get in for $1 / free on Thursdays if you are 60 or older/bring a 20 oz Coca Cola product on Thursday and get in for  $4 this also works tomorrow September 25th opening day / Mc Donald's has  $4 off coupons and they can be used anytime of the week. Soft drinks and water for $1 at the DAR Colonial House next door to the Women's Museum.

See you at the Great State Fair of Texas !  

All About Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

  The All About Uptown Festival will be this weekend Saturday September 26th. Looks like fun and there will lots of things to do on a great fall weekend. The Mc Kinney Ave Trolley will have a parade on Saturday morning celebrating the trolley and Rosies birthday. The Crescent Rose "Rosie" is 100 years old this year. 

  Most of the Trolleys have a new paint job and the name of the trolleys are painted on the front ,or back, depending on where you are standing. Rosie looks good for one hundred years old .She is a little slow and noisey , but, looks great. The parade of course will delay operations on Saturday so expect a few morning delays.

  The State Street Spirits store has closed. They expect to reopen as a neighborhood wine bar very soon. We wish them luck. They  have been at this location in Uptown for many years. Roccos Pizza has now moved to the Quadrangle in case you were wondering. Arcodoro Pomodoro has moved to 100 Crescent Court Ste 100. 

  See you at the Great State Fair of Texas !

       

The Corner of Uptown and Victory

Uptown Dallas Today

  The Perot Museum of Nature and Science will be built on 4.7 acre plot at the corner of Field and Woodall Rodgers.This is the corner where Uptown meets Victory Park . If you have seen the renderings this will be a very impressive building. World class with out any doubt.

  The Perot Museum will cost about 185 million dollars of which the Perot family have given 50 million dollars. The building will be 150 feet tall and have 180,000 square feet of space.Groundbreaking should be near the end of 2009 with completion in 2013. A large scale model will be available for viewing at the office on Field and Woodall Rodgers in the near future. 

  Woodall Rodgers has become the place to be in Dallas. The Calatrava bridge , the Arts District ,several new high rises , the Woodall Rodgers Deck Park and now this wonderful museum. With the Perot Museum and the Convention Center Hotel , the Woodall Rodgers Park and Mc Kinney Ave Trolley expansion downtown Dallas will be very busy for the next several years. Just a reminder that Harwood,at Woodall Rodgers, will be closed for ever sometime in October. 

  Thank You to the Perot Family and the other contributors for this amazing building.              

Target Goes Hybrid

Uptown Dallas Today

  I am sure most of you have noticed the major changes occurring at Cityplace Target. If not then this will be exciting news. Target is going Hybrid. The store is being change so that it will include a grocery store. The store will not be as big as a Super Target,but, will carry frozen foods,meats and produce. That will be in addition to all the other foods they already carry. Competition is always a good thing and I am sure they will compete with Walmart Neighborhood Store. Albertsons will come in a distant third in this grocery competition. The remodel will be completed soon and I for one can not wait. 

  The Green Line is open for business. I noticed Monday morning lots of Baylor medical workers using the train. I am sure this Friday and Saturday night the Deep Ellum And Baylor station will be very busy.If you do not want to pay for a cab ride home the witching hour is midnight. The route to take is Cityplace to Pearl ,on Red or Blue, and Pearl to Baylor on the Green Line . Go in reverse on the way home or look for the pumpkin. 

    

To Fair Park from Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

  Monday  September 14th DART will begin Green Line operations. You will be able to go from Cityplace,the Uptown station, to Pearl station and transfer to the Green line. Each station along this route is about 2 minutes apart. 

  For those of you that work at Baylor Hospital there will be a stop just for you. For those of you that like Deep Ellum there will be a stop for you. For me there is a stop at Fair Park in fact it is at the front door. Thanks DART. The MLK stop is the last stop on the Green Line for now. It too is just a hop, skip and a jump to a front gate at Fair Park.  

 Tickets can be had for as little as $4 per day and can be used almost anywhere DART ,excluding express bus routes, goes. DART express all day passes are $5. A regional all day pass is $7.50 for those of you that are coming from Ft Worth. Parking at the State Fair this year will be at least $10. I will let you do the math. 

  As you leave the tunnel , from Cityplace, remember to get off at Pearl station. Although if you live near AAC you can catch the Green line at Victory station. That is on the west side of ACC the TRE also stops at this station.When you get to Deep Ellum station check out the 38 foot Traveling Man sculpture,flickr now has many photos, a soon to be instant hit for anyone with a camera. If you need caffeine you can stop at Baylor station and partake in Its a Grind Coffeehouse. A very good place I would recommend. 

   We get to enjoy the new short Green line for about a year. In December 2010 Dart will complete the Green line and you will be able to connect with the A Train in Carrollton and continue to Downtown Denton. This should be a hit with the UNT students. 

   Soon you may not need a car in Dallas !                       

Fall Gallery Walk

Uptown Dallas Today

  The DADA Fall Gallery Walk will be this Saturday September 12th from 2-8pm. Check out the web page for more information (www.dallasartdealers.org). Uptown will have at least 6 galleries and museums participating and the events are mostly free.

  In Uptown the Madi Art Museum will have an artist reception from 2-8pm. At 3120 Mc Kinney the MAC will also be participating from 2-8pm. In the Quadrangle Afterimage Gallery will be open 2-8pm and of course the Quadrangle has plenty of free parking and restaurants . On Fairmount David Dike Fine Art and Galerie Kornye will be open from 2-8pm and on Cedar Springs Goss-Michael Foundation will be open. All of these galleries are a few blocks from each other and walking to each one would be very easy. 

  The Mc Kinney Ave. Trolley will be running late , till midnight on Saturday, and gets near each one of these galleries. The trolley is always free. September 26th is the All About Uptown Dallas Festival and the trolley parade will also be on this Saturday.         

Harwood Grove Cafe

Uptown Dallas Today

  The Harwood Grove Cafe coming soon on the Katy Trail . The Cafe will be a the south end of the trail nestled amongst a grove of trees. Thus the name of course. The cafe will between the plaza and Goat Hill and should offer a good place to stop and take a break or just watch people go past. Work should begin soon and may be completed for the great fall weather that is coming soon. I hope. 

  The Great State Fair of Texas starts on September 25th just two weeks away. You will be able to enjoy many great new fried foods this year. The new winning selection this year is Fried Peaches and Cream . Sounds good and worth a try. The most creative comes from the person that brought us Fried Coke . His newest invention gives us a buttery surprise or I should say Fried Butter surprise ! A paramedic will be available at this booth each day of the fair. I hear rumors that next years invention will be ..... Fried Lard . 

  During the fair I will be blogging about my day at the fair. Each year I try to make each day. There is something different each day of course. You can get a $29.95 season pass at Kroger that is good for each day of the fair. The pass also comes with a free general admission ticket and a Cinemark movie pass. You will not fine me in the Fried Butter line.   

    

  

 

Frozen Yogurt Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

  Hope everyone enjoyed the Uptown PID meeting last night . Very informative and they are doing a good job with your tax money. Lots of new projects scheduled for 2010. A Block Captain for each block in Uptown is one of the new projects. I volunteered for this and will let you know 

how it works in the near future.

  Well we have another new store opening in Uptown. Red Mango will be opening at 2811 Mc Kinney Ave across the street from Greenz. They are a very popular yogurt and tea franchise. Looks like several new stores in the Dallas area are coming soon. Founded in 2002 in South Korea and they have spread to many countries around the world. 

  I noticed the north part of Uptown got tagged Tuesday night. The graffiti needs to be removed within 24 hours or you could get a visit from code enforcement. This is first time I can remember that we have had a wide spread outbreak in Uptown. If you are at Cityplace DART station check out the iron bridge in the field. The east side is now highly decorated and I would say this was the  starting point for the taggers. 

  All About Uptown Festival coming September 26th    

    

Elusive PID Meeting

Uptown Dallas Today

  The card sent to each property indicates Tuesday ,September 2nd , 5:30pm. The website indicates Wednesday,September 2nd at 5:30pm,see below, . I live nearby so I will be going both days just in case.  My best guess is the 2nd of September since that seems to be consistent in both messages. Of course neither message indicates the year so maybe this is where the confusion comes in. This meeting is for you and they of course need your input like a new calendar. See you there ........

  Annual Community Meeting

William B Travis School

3001 McKinney Ave.

Wednesday, September 2, 5:30PM
The Uptown Public Improvement District invites you to our Annual Community Meeting. Come out to meet your neighbors, learn about the Uptown Public Improvement District projects and give us your input.

  

Monarchs using the Katy Trail

Uptown Dallas Today

  Out on my walk this morning and what a great morning to do so. I observed more than a couple dozen Monarch butterflies using the Katy Trail. They seem to enjoy the flowers near the southern end of the trail. 

  This is the beginning of a very long migration for the Monarch butterfly.Starting in the northern parts of the United States and some of Canada they will migrate to Central America to spend the winter. This Monarch is not the same butterfly that passed through Dallas in the spring although they are probably related. They generally live about two months. That means this is a 3rd or 4th generation Monarch flying through today. 

  They are protected in Texas as they are in most states. The Monarch is the State Insect for Texas as it is for several other states. At one time there was a move to make the Monarch the National Insect. They love flowers of course ,but, their favorite is milkweed. Besides being the favorite flower it also protects them from predators. Monarchs are foul tasting and poisonous so no eating the Monarchs. 

  Look for more Butterflies at Discovery Gardens in Fair Park.The Butterfly Garden will be open for the State Fair. You can also report sightings of Monarchs on the internet at  www.learner.org/jnorth/ - 

   Also noticed that Harwood has a sign up now for coming soon Katy Trail Cafe.          

        

The Uptown PID Meeting

Uptown Dallas Today

  The Uptown Public Improvement District annual community meeting will be Tuesday,September 2nd. The meeting is for all homeowners and property owners in the Uptown PID . You should receive a postcard in the mail this week.

  The meeting will be at William B Travis School , 3001 Mc Kinney Ave, at 5:30 pm. A great chance to meet a few neighbors and learn about the Uptown PID and most importantly give them your input. There is not a lot of parking at this school so it might be a good idea to walk over or better yet use the Mc Kinney Ave Trolley.

  This is your chance to give them input. Speaking of input the City of Dallas needs your help. When you see problems in the neighborhood , potholes,high weeds, loud music after 10 pm , construction with out permits , missing signs or new  signs needed and bunch of other things .

The City wants you to call 311 or use the Internet , http://311.dallascityhall.com/web_intake/Controller, to report code violations or problems in the neighborhood. I called 311 today on a growing pothole at the corner of Mc Kinney and N Hall . It is in the right lane at the stop light avoid if you are a big vehicle,making the hole bigger, or small car , you will scape the rail, low to the ground. With the City cutting back on services the only way for them to know of a problem is for you to report the problem. 

  You can also contact www.angelahunt.com  your city council person.Angela Hunt and her office do a great job helping her constituents.  Do not forget the City Budget Meeting is Thursday night,September 3rd, at Lee Park.  

  

Nasher and DMA Free

Uptown Dallas Today

   Free , what a deal. The Nasher Sculpture Garden will be free again tonight ,Thursday 5pm till closing, for the last time this summer. Take advantage of this great opportunity. Truly one of the great sculpture museums of the world . 

  The Dallas Museum of Art will also be Free tonight  from 5pm till closing. This is a regular event that the DMA does each Thursday night. The DMA will also be Free this weekend ,too. Saturday and Sunday the 29th and 30th the DMA will be Free during regular hours. 

  What a deal two museums for the price of Free!

Only 17 more days till they break ground on the Woodall Rodgers Freeway. Monday September 14th . Dart Green line opens the same day. The Mc Kinney Ave trolley may take another route to Dart rail downtown. Looks like it will extend from St Paul to a left turn on Ross before making a right on Olive St. It will continue up Olive to the Dart rail line. This will be great for Uptown and make getting Downtown even easier. The Mc Kinney Ave Trolley is nearing 300,000 riders per year and I am sure this expansion will have them exceed that amount easily. 

Enjoy the FREE Museums tonight !    

  

   

  

     

State Fair 2009

Uptown Dallas Today

  The State Fair starts in 30 days and a few hours. If you need tickets then starting September 1st you can get season passes at your local Kroger store. The season pass is $29.95 for admission to each and everyday of the State Fair. You also get a few one day pass you use to bring a friend and a free Cinemark Movie pass. What a Deal! 

   This year take DART to the State Fair on the Green line. Buy $4 day pass and take Red or Blue lines to Pearl station and switch to the Green line to Fair Park or MLK station. You can also catch the Green line at Victory Station or take the 409 bus from City Place to Fair Park . No car or parking required this year. Expect the Green line to look like the New York Subway system at rush hour all during the State Fair. Only takes 10 minutes to get to the State Fair from Pearl station. 

  There will be two football games ,for those that like college games, one on October 3rd and another on October 17th. You have been warned those are big days at the State Fair. You find me at the Celebrity Kitchen almost everyday and depending on the chef it too will be busy. I suggest stopping by the Continental DAR House for inexpensive bottles of water and soft drinks. They have begun a fundraiser  to restore the home , built in 1936, and add some new features.          

  This Thursday August the 27th at Borders , 3600 Mc Kinney ave, bookstore it will be Teachers Open House . Starting at 7 pm they will be having a special event just for educators .

Check out the web page, www.borders.com  for more information.  

The Budget and Things

Uptown Dallas Today

  The budget meetings are coming , the budget meetings are coming. If you did not already know the City of Dallas has a 190 million budget shortfall due mostly to a sharp drop in retail sales tax. The other big item cost is servicing bonds issued in the past to upgrade the city . There will be several District 14 meetings for you to attend. This is your money so it might be a good idea to go to at least one meeting. 

  Angela Hunt will be holding the 1st meeting tomorrow night at St. Thomas Aquinas School on Abrams , 3741 Abrams to be exact, at 6:30pm. All the meetings will begin at 6:30pm. Check out Angela`s web page for more info( www.angelahunt.com ). She has a great photo tour of the Wyly Theatre and tweets when she can. 

  The Uptown meeting will be held September 3rd, a Thursday, at 6:30 pm of course. The location will be Arlington Hall at Lee Park, 3333 Turtle Creek Blvd., and I am sure it will be busy. I am not sure many changes can be made to the budget , but, at least you will know what is coming. 

   Here are some cool webcams out and about in Dallas.

www.earthcam.com/usa/texas/dallas/         you can watch the State Fair Live !

www.earthcam.com/jfk                                     Dealy Plaza and Downtown Dallas.

www.earthcam.clients/baylor/                        construction of New Baylor Hospital and DART Green line in Deep Ellum

   www.dallasperformingarts.org                     Dallas Arts District live construction webcam

both new performance centers are on this web page. 

School Starts Today and so do tickets for speeding and using your Cell Phone in a School Zone

      

Cafe in the Park or 2

Uptown Dallas Today

  Looks like the City Of Dallas has decided on a 6,000 sq ft cafe in Woodall Rodgers Park. Ground breaking is on September 14th and will construction will take almost 2 years to complete. The Katy Trail is  too.Harwood International is working on developing a cafe just south of the Thomsen Overlook. Very good idea as long as tables and chairs stay off the Trail and they have a place for bikes and dogs. 

   Great things to do this weekend: A free summer concert at the Quadrangle tonight at apx. 8pm and a great weather weekend for the driving range at Hank Haneys Cityplace Golf Center.

Of course it is also tax free weekend for school supplies  a great time to buy school supplies. Even better idea knowing school starts Monday.

   Watch the School Zones , No Cell Phones ! 

Uptown PID

Uptown Dallas Today

  If you own a home,land or a building in Uptown then you are a tax paying member of the Uptown Public Improvement  District. You get a tax statement each year showing your contribution to Uptown. This taxing entity was created to help an under served neighborhood climb out of the economic doldrums. I think it worked. 

  The Uptown PID is set to expire on 12-31-2012 after having been renewed in 2005. This PID is one of  7 in the City of Dallas. Lake Highlands ,lots of construction going on now, South Side, Deep Ellum . Downtown has a PID and Prestonwood and another booming area Vickery Meadow. Each Pid can tax up to 0.15  per $100 valuation .Currenty the Uptown PID is at 0.045 per $100 valuation . We are the lowest taxed of the Dallas PIDs. Most of the PIDs are at 0.10 or better ours was higher in 2000 and 2001 at 0.06 and 0.07 respectively.

  A PID can use the tax money in several ways. Sidewalks,fountains,landscaping and signs. Along with public art , libraries , mass transit and parks. Big projects to like a pedestrian mall, off street parking and water/drainage  projects . The money can also be used for promotion of the area and up to 15% can be used for expenses and operation of the PID.

  The PID is required to have quarterly reports,  annual audit and a annual meeting that is open to all property owners. They have a board that you as a property owner can serve on. 

Look for a letter from the PID announcing the annual meeting. 

  From the 2008 PID district overview ,provided by the City of Dallas, the Uptown PID had a total assessment of $1,316,955.00 . That was  the most of all the PIDs except Downtown Dallas which had $5,743,714.00 in assessments. The Uptown pid has the largest percentage being spent on administration cost 12% of the assessment , apx. $158,000.00, The Uptown PID also has the largest promotion budget spending %40 of the assessment , apx . $526,000.00, value.

The property values increased 11.2% from 2007 to 2008 next to last when compared to the other PID districts . 

  If you live in the Uptown PID district,and own property, then you should be involved in how the money is spent. You can contact Telemachus Evans and the City of Dallas redevelopment office. Phone number is 214-671-8042 or email  telemachus.evans@dallascityhall.com. You can also contact Angela Hunt your District 14 council person. Maybe you have some ideas on improving our neighborhood .  

                           

Uptown Fed

Uptown Dallas Today 

  First of all if you want a tour you need to call 214-922-5250 or check out the web page at www.dallasfed.org . They only conduct tours by appointment  and only on Tuesday and Thursday from 10am-2pm. An contrary to all the rumors they do not have samples to hand out. Also there is no gold stored here.

  This is the Dallas Federal Reserve District 11 and they are located at 2200 N Pearl and Woodall Rodgers service road. The Fed has been located in Uptown since 1992 and I am sure they will be here for many years to come. The Fed began here in Dallas in November 1914 and the 11th district covers all of Texas and parts of all the surrounding states. They are the Central

Bank of the United States. You should know about what they do mostly because they have been in the news a lot lately. 

  Part of the tour I went on years ago allowed us to get into the money handing area.Behind thick glass and with video cameras everywhere.We could not actually get to the money just look at it on the carts. Each cart holds 300,000 bills and there are carts for all denominations. 300,000 20 dollar bills a truly  amazing sight to see . There may not be any gold ,but,there sure is a lot of green.  Anyway if you get a chance to tour the building you will enjoy yourself.

   For those of you that use Harwood street to get downtown. You have been warned. The Harwood  bridge across Woodall Rodgers  will soon be closed and will be a become part of a park.Never to be a street again.  School Zones Started Today ! Watch out for the kids .

                 

Whats Up Doc

Uptown Dallas Today

  "Whats Up Doc" this popular catch phrase was used often in the hallways of North Dallas High School. We often associate this  phrase with the popular animated character Bugs Bunny. So it should come as no surprise that Tex Avery was a student in those hallways.

   North Dallas High School is considered the oldest , built in 1922,still in use in DISD . Avery is one of many famous alumni. Earle Cabell the Mayor of Dallas and later U S House of Representative member. The federal court building in downtown Dallas is named for him. Harold Barefoot Sanders a well known U S District Judge is another alum. He is the Judge that presided over the desegregation of Dallas schools. There has been some discussion of renaming the High School after him.  If you are a fan of Walker Texas Ranger the school was used in several episodes. 

                

  So the next time you go past this High School , school starts August 24th, you will now know where  Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny originated. Go Bulldogs !

   

Arts in Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

  The Visual Arts Coalition of Dallas will be having a reception tonight from 6-9 pm. They are located at 2902 Maple Ave just one  block north of Cedar Springs. The Uptown area has many gallery's and antique shops for your artistic shopping needs. A walk on Fairmount and Maple Ave will keep you busy all day long.

  On Saturday September 12th Dallas will have the Fall Gallery Walk . Get out and enjoy the cool fall weather that I am sure will be here by then. Well at least I am hoping so. On Saturday September 26th The All About Uptown Festival will take place on Fairmount. There will be music,food and chefs and again some of that cool fall air. The festival goes from 11 am till 10 pm.   The Mc Kinney Ave Trolley , MATA.org, will be having a Birthday celebration and parade on Mc Kinney Ave at 10 am . The parade will go from Maple Ave to Oak  Grove.You can purchase rides on the Trolley or sponsor and entire Trolley. Hope you saw the FOX4 piece about Trolley safety. If not it is still on the Fox 4 web site.

  The Dallas Amateur Radio Club will be broadcasting live from the Trolley Barn on Bowen Street. This too will be on the 26th of September. A busy fall lineup and cool fall air ,too.

Enjoy The Day its Friday !

 

      

    

  

Uptown Schools

Uptown Dallas Today

  Driving in Uptown can always be exciting . Watching people and traffic and the Trolley all going by at the same time. Plus doing all this while you are talking and texting on your phone.

  Starting August 17th it all gets easier because you can now stop talking and texting on your phone while driving in Uptown. School zones start on Monday the 17th and you can get a 200$ fine for driving in a school zone while on your phone. This does not include the loan you will need to pay the speeding ticket in a school zone.

  North Dallas High School is located at 3120 N Haskell and is home to the Bulldogs. This school serves 9th - 12th grade students. Cole and Mc Kinney are the two streets that have the school zones marked. Coming off Blackburn and going north on Mc Kinney will get you a ticket almost every time. 

  William B Travis , an exemplary school , is located at 3001 Mc Kinney and is home to the Timber wolfs and serves grades 4 - 8. This school has 4 streets that have school zones. Cole Ave , Sneed ,Allen and Mc Kinney Ave. There is a Constable waiting on Mc Kinney Ave almost everyday and he is usually very busy.        

  There is also Booker T Washington in the Arts District ,but, there is so much construction at this time you can not go past 20 mph . Should be finished by the middle of October when the Arts District has its grand opening. So watch out in October.

  There are also several new cameras that are used by the Dallas Police Department. Not sure if they will use to give tickets at this time. The cameras will let them know where to put police officers. The City of Dallas gave out 3000 tickets last year for cell phone use in a school zone. Countless others for speeding. Please make sure you have current auto insurance . Otherwise they will also be towing your car when you get your sell phone ticket. The Trolley is free if that happens and Dart goes just about everywhere. Slow down and go cell free while driving.

  

Dallas Branch

Uptown Dallas Today

  The old Uptown area near Routh and Boll street was the beginning of the Dallas branch creek. This creek is all underground now although it has it moments when it wants to return.     The Dallas Branch  creek runs from Boll Street to Flora Street in the Arts District. From there it turns to the lowest part of Mc Kinney Ave. and then on to the Victory Park area. This creek emptied into the Trinity River until it was covered.Now it is part of the many miles of underground pipes that drain to the Trinity River.

   During a great storm on the 5th of May 1995 , known as the Cinco De Mayo storm to many, 10 inches of rain fell in the Downtown and Uptown neighborhoods. This storm allowed the Dallas Branch to return for one night. The Dallas Branch runs through the Dallas Museum of Art and on this night they were very busy with Cinco De Mayo celebrations. I know because I was there listening to a guest speaker. 

  All during the presentation we could here the thunder booming outdoors and indoors too. Upon leaving the presentation it became apparent that a Mother Nature was very busy. The upper floors of the Museum were flooding because of the water collecting on the roof so quickly. As we exited the building Harwood Street was flowing like a creek. The Dallas Branch had returned. We were unable to traverse any of the streets out of downtown and had to stay in the Reunion Hyatt. They were nice enough to give us the drowned rat special.                   

  Many of our old creeks in Dallas are underground and at times they return . They are covered , but, not forgotten . During this same storm a parking lot at Baylor Hospital returned to roaring creek form. Picking cars up and stacking them against buildings that were in the way. This of course is another old creek that runs through Old East Dallas.

Todays forecast : Late Afternoon storms 

     

Theatre in Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

  If you moved to the Uptown neighborhood for the arts then you have come to the right place. We still have several art gallery's and antique shops in Uptown. We have live performances at several Theatres in Uptown. In October the the Arts in Dallas goes Super size.

  There are 3 performance Theatres in Uptown. The Kitchen Dog Theatre and The-Mac both located at 3120 Mc Kinney Ave. The Trolley stops almost at the front door. The Theatre Three located in the Quadrangle at 2800 Routh St . Bakers and The Dream Cafe along with several other eateries are just next door.  

   There is also the Dallas Theater Center located between Lemmon and Blackburn on Turtle Creek. You can get there by walking down the Katy Trail. I do not recommend this at this time unless you are the outdoor type. At this time there is not a good connection to the Theater from the Trail. Several dirt paths lead to the Theater at this time.

 In October the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will have the grand opening for the new performance centers. The Winspear Opera House will open as well as the Wyly Theatre Center .From October 12-18th there will a grand opening celebration with outdoor concerts and tours of the new performance centers. The new building are really taking shape and trees are being planted and streets and sidewalks are being completed at this time. 

  At this time David Sanborn and Nestor Torres are scheduled to perform. The Dallas Symphony orchestra and the amazing kids at  Booker T Washington High School will also perform. On October 18th there will be free tours of both performance centers. The Dallas Arts District and Uptown is the place to be for the Arts.                   

www.the-mac.org

www.theatre3dallas.com

www.kitchendogtheater.org

www.dallastheatercenter.org

www.dallasperformingarts.org   check out the live webcams here too!