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! 

Uptown Friday

Uptown Dallas Today

  A new restaurant coming to Uptown. Perry's Steakhouse will open early next year in the 2000 Mc Kinney office building. They will be taking aim at the Ritz Carlton and the #1 rated restaurant in Dallas. Speaking of the Ritz Carlton they have begun building the town homes o Olive Street. A new short crane has been erected across the street.    

  Lola the restaurant on Fairmount and Cedar Springs will be closing in October. Another on the list of restaurants that have closed in Uptown in the past year. New ones are opening almost as fast as the old ones close. If you have a favorite place you like to eat they need your help today.

  For those of you that like to stretch you dollar and muscles you might try yoga. The Uptown Yoga  at 2636 Thomas has a new student price of 10$ for 10 days . You might also try the new YMCA downtown. They are remodeling the building and are improving the Pilate's and Yoga classes. Much of the construction is complete and should be finished by late October.

 Free modern art can be found at the corner of Bowen and Carlisle. The Madi Museum is located at 3109 Carlisle and has a great collection of geometric art. Just look for the old Arcadia sign that hangs over the entrance.            

 Enjoy the day it is Friday !

Trolley By the Ton

Uptown Dallas Today

  The Mc Kinney Ave Trolley,Mata, has been serving the Uptown area for 20 years and will have a celebration in early September. That will also be the 100th year birthday for the smallest trolley ,Rosie, the Crescent Rose. September will be a busy month for the politicians . The Mata celebration, DART green line opens and construction on Woodall Rodgers Park begins for real.

  Within the last couple of days I have seen some amazing attempts at thinning out the herd. Cars pulling in front of the Trolley, a train on tracks, and of course expecting a 80-90 year trolley to stop on a dime. Thank goodness the volunteer drivers are paying attention as this seems to happen often. Even saw one guy step in front of the trolley like he had the right of way. With only a few exceptions the Trolley always has the right of way. 

  Getting hit by a Trolley. Take your choice.Here are the weigh in facts. Petunia, 636 , weighs in at 10 tons of solid iron. Matilda , 369 , tops out at 17.5 tons of Australian steel. The Green Dragon , 186 , leads the weigh in at 21 tons, that's 42,000 pounds, the heaviest of the Trolleys.   These are trains not cars and only a semi-truck is going to put a dent in one of them.Even at 5 mph this Trolley will total your car and it will be your fault for not yielding.

 The Mc Kinney Ave Trolleys have the right of way . You are by law supposed to stop when the trolley stops. Let passengers get on and off the Trolley and even walk across the street.On Mc Kinney where the trolley runs down the middle of the street you are legally supposed to stop ,on both sides , for boarding or deboarding. A bright red sign will be displayed when you are supposed to stop .

 Give the Trolley the right of way,like the turn lane at Blackburn, and yield to passengers. There are more Trolleys and Streetcars coming to Dallas in the near future. Downtown and Oak Cliff are both going to have Trolleys in the very soon. I guess you could say we are going back to the future.

    

             

St John's Regatta Time

Uptown Dallas Today

  The George Street Festival ended this morning just in time for the Royal St John's Regatta . This event has been going on since 1816. The Regatta is always scheduled for the first Wednesday in August. Unless the weather is to poor for a Regatta . In that case it occurs the next good weather day. 

 The Regatta is always held at Quidi Vidi lake.This is small fresh water lake in St John's. St John's is a medium size  city in Newfoundland, a province of Canada, on the eastern coast of North America.One of the oldest cities in North America with a great port and view of the Atlantic . The Titanic sank just off the coast and the first radio signal was sent from here.         

 The weather is a big deal in St John's . Especially for this event. For you see it is also a city holiday . So if the weather is poor then you have to go work. This could be a problem seeing as how the George Street Festival did not end until the sun came up. This festival occurs the week before the Regatta.  

 George Street is considered to have the most pubs and bars per square foot , even more than Uptown, than any street in North America. It is one giant party street and the pubs do not usually close until daybreak. Now you see why the George Street Festival could be a problem for getting to work on that first Wednesday in August. Everyone hopes for , or drinks to, good weather today. 

 If you would like to watch some of the festivities try these web pages. www.stjohnsregatta.org and www.ozfm.com . The last web page is a radio station . Click on George St webcams and you will have webcams for the entire area of St John's.          

Fire Station #1

Uptown Dallas Today

  2400 Mc Kinney Ave on the corner of Leonard and Mc kinney. The gray painted two story  building is now home to  Accent Gallery and Framing . Just behind this building is Hotel Zaza.   

 In 1894 this was home to Dallas Fire Station #1 covering the North Dallas and Downtown area.

This station stayed in operation until 1928 when a new station was built on Ross Ave.These were horse drawn fire engines in the beginning . When you go to the State Fair of Texas this year check out the Dallas Fire Department Museum.It is just across the the street from new Dart green line station at Fair park.They have some of the old photos showing the fire engines of the time. 

   While you are checking out the Old  Uptown fire station head down to the other end of this building. Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co. is located at 2416 Mc kinney Ave. If you enjoy fishing or know someone who does then this is the place to go in Uptown. A truly unique store to the Uptown experience. Get on the mailing list they have some great Saturday events.    

Two Buildings in Uptown

Uptown Dallas Today

 In 1913 a building was completed on Mc Kinney Ave. The building is no longer there of course and now is just another vacant lot. Soon to be a parking lot . A 15 story  apartment building was planned to rise  from the dust of the old church. The economy has deflated those high expectations. The building was the Mc Kinney Ave. Baptist church for many years. At the end though it was the Hard Rock Cafe.    

 Just a few blocks from here another building was completed in 1905 . Now located at 2907 Woodall Rodgers it was in the middle of a residential neighborhood at the time. A school was completed in 1908 in an addition to the other building.

 Today this building is the St Peter Apostle Catholic Church as it was in 1905. When opened this was the first Catholic Church for African-Americans in Dallas. In 1905 this was Freedmans Town or North Dallas. A thriving neighborhood with shops and other businesses and now a African-American Catholic Church.

 In 1908 the school was added for African- American children and was also the first in Dallas.

Today the Church is still in use and has a strong Polish-American congregation. Just across the street from this Church , across the feeder road, is an urban forest. Built under the Woodall Rodgers Freeway . A connector park is planned for this park in the future.