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With the caveats that it is not summer and that I have only been out and about in the historical end of the downtown district wandering for a few hours, I find myself not minding being in Dallas. I am a bit frustrated that everyone who I ask about what their city has to offer says "Well, there is the grassy knoll... and the Sixth Floor Museum." The city is larger than San Francisco and Oakland combined... this many people must have something worth sharing beyond a murdered president and good barbecue, but no one I talk to seems to know what that is.
Some of that makes sense as generally, in any city, an out of towner asking what to do is referred to a set of things tourists favor. Dallas is not a get-away type destination and doesn't seem to civically promote specific attractions as unique to Dallas (the only postcard of Dallas I could find that was about the city advertises it's light rail system). The internet informs me that Deep Ellum is the warehouse arts district and has some pretty phenomenal graffiti and murals; if work ends at a reasonable hour tonight, I may try and wander over that way. Also, there is a new Audubon Center with short hikes into a restored river/forest area that I hope to make it to if I have Friday afternoon free.
I did enjoy my wander downtown. Dallas seems to have steadily grown through the last century such that the business district buildings are an even mix of beautiful old brick and granites, shiny skyscrapers from the last two decades, and incredibly ugly steel monstrosities from the sixties and seventies. Many of these buildings and their ground floor storefronts are standing empty, probably due to the bum economy, but there were folks out and about, eating at the restaurants and walking their dogs (there were an awful lot of dog owners out and about). Also, cheerful friendliness runs rampant. I think of the Bay Area as relatively friendly, but I am not so sure that is accurate. Here if I make eye contact and smile, I generally get an immediate return smile and possibly a greeting, where at home there is usually a very brief flash of confusion and sometimes suspicion before returning the smile; a small thing that I hadn't noticed before.
Some of that makes sense as generally, in any city, an out of towner asking what to do is referred to a set of things tourists favor. Dallas is not a get-away type destination and doesn't seem to civically promote specific attractions as unique to Dallas (the only postcard of Dallas I could find that was about the city advertises it's light rail system). The internet informs me that Deep Ellum is the warehouse arts district and has some pretty phenomenal graffiti and murals; if work ends at a reasonable hour tonight, I may try and wander over that way. Also, there is a new Audubon Center with short hikes into a restored river/forest area that I hope to make it to if I have Friday afternoon free.
I did enjoy my wander downtown. Dallas seems to have steadily grown through the last century such that the business district buildings are an even mix of beautiful old brick and granites, shiny skyscrapers from the last two decades, and incredibly ugly steel monstrosities from the sixties and seventies. Many of these buildings and their ground floor storefronts are standing empty, probably due to the bum economy, but there were folks out and about, eating at the restaurants and walking their dogs (there were an awful lot of dog owners out and about). Also, cheerful friendliness runs rampant. I think of the Bay Area as relatively friendly, but I am not so sure that is accurate. Here if I make eye contact and smile, I generally get an immediate return smile and possibly a greeting, where at home there is usually a very brief flash of confusion and sometimes suspicion before returning the smile; a small thing that I hadn't noticed before.
