Dickson Street and it's Future

[Mith242]

There is an editorial in today's Northwest Arkansas Times about the direction that Dickson St is going. I thought I'd post this question to our forumers here and see how people feel. Some people are worried that Dickson St is becoming too upscale and liked the way Dickson St was in the early days of the Walton Arts Center or even before it. Of course there are people who also like all the developments and see it as progress. Personally I'd have to go with liking the direction it's going right now. I'm not saying I don't have any concerns on future developments but overall I like what it's becoming over what it used to be. Just my own personal opinion.

Hmmm...I tried including a poll but I don't see it.

[masons_dad1]

There is an editorial in today's Northwest Arkansas Times about the direction that Dickson St is going. I thought I'd post this question to our forumers here and see how people feel. Some people are worried that Dickson St is becoming too upscale and liked the way Dickson St was in the early days of the Walton Arts Center or even before it. Of course there are people who also like all the developments and see it as progress. Personally I'd have to go with liking the direction it's going right now. I'm not saying I don't have any concerns on future developments but overall I like what it's becoming over what it used to be. Just my own personal opinion.

Hmmm...I tried including a poll but I don't see it.

Considering all of Northwest Arkansas is going "upscale" there's no reason Dickson Street shouldn't join in. Besides if a person can't afford to go to Dickson Street they can just stay home because there's nowhere else to go that offers the same shopping and dining that's any cheaper.

[DickSonstreetDFW]

There is an editorial in today's Northwest Arkansas Times about the direction that Dickson St is going. I thought I'd post this question to our forumers here and see how people feel. Some people are worried that Dickson St is becoming too upscale and liked the way Dickson St was in the early days of the Walton Arts Center or even before it. Of course there are people who also like all the developments and see it as progress. Personally I'd have to go with liking the direction it's going right now. I'm not saying I don't have any concerns on future developments but overall I like what it's becoming over what it used to be. Just my own personal opinion.

Hmmm...I tried including a poll but I don't see it.

I agree Dickson is becoming more upscale.

I like the improvements on Dickson that the city completed a couple of years ago and I knew it would lead to higher property values and force some locally owned tenants out.

A lot of what made Dickson "cool" was its abundance of wacky headshops and hippie attitude.

Its losing that, and I think that's a shame.

One thing that was great about Dickson and still is to a degree, is that there was a diversity of businesses catering to different types of people, side by side. You had hippie bars, bars catering to older hippies, biker bars, mixed in with yuppie trendy places. It seems its all going the way of the yuppies.

Despite my fondness for burritos, the Q-doba building will always be Sound Warehouse to me. Incredible selection of music, head shop, hippies, etc. Unfortunately the rents are rising and some of the businesses not backed by wealthier clientel or national branding simply can't afford to be there anymore.

I'd like to see some of that preserved. Perhaps the mill district can fill some of that void.

[masons_dad1]

A lot of what made Dickson "cool" was its abundance of wacky headshops and hippie attitude.

Condom Sense and Dark Star Visuals are my favorite Dickson Street shops. There used to be a really neat Egyptian import shop owned by a woman who would bring back many wonderful items from Egypt. It closed quite a while back. I heard C.S. doesn't have a headshop in the back anymore. The law is cracking down on headshops all over the place.

It's been a while since I've been to Dickson Street... going to plan a family trip there one of these weekends.

[Mith242]

I agree Dickson is becoming more upscale.

I like the improvements on Dickson that the city completed a couple of years ago and I knew it would lead to higher property values and force some locally owned tenants out.

A lot of what made Dickson "cool" was its abundance of wacky headshops and hippie attitude.

Its losing that, and I think that's a shame.

One thing that was great about Dickson and still is to a degree, is that there was a diversity of businesses catering to different types of people, side by side. You had hippie bars, bars catering to older hippies, biker bars, mixed in with yuppie trendy places. It seems its all going the way of the yuppies.

Despite my fondness for burritos, the Q-doba building will always be Sound Warehouse to me. Incredible selection of music, head shop, hippies, etc. Unfortunately the rents are rising and some of the businesses not backed by wealthier clientel or national branding simply can't afford to be there anymore.

I'd like to see some of that preserved. Perhaps the mill district can fill some of that void.

Sound Warehouse has really gotten around. I've been trying to remember where they were when I first moved up here. It wasn't the current Qdoba location, I do know that. You're idea about the Mill District is a pretty good. It would be interesting to see something like that happen.

[CentralArkansas]

I agree Dickson is becoming more upscale.

I like the improvements on Dickson that the city completed a couple of years ago and I knew it would lead to higher property values and force some locally owned tenants out.

A lot of what made Dickson "cool" was its abundance of wacky headshops and hippie attitude.

Its losing that, and I think that's a shame.

One thing that was great about Dickson and still is to a degree, is that there was a diversity of businesses catering to different types of people, side by side. You had hippie bars, bars catering to older hippies, biker bars, mixed in with yuppie trendy places. It seems its all going the way of the yuppies.

Despite my fondness for burritos, the Q-doba building will always be Sound Warehouse to me. Incredible selection of music, head shop, hippies, etc. Unfortunately the rents are rising and some of the businesses not backed by wealthier clientel or national branding simply can't afford to be there anymore.

I'd like to see some of that preserved. Perhaps the mill district can fill some of that void.

I disagree that anything "hippie" is cool. Blech.

[DickSonstreetDFW]

I disagree that anything "hippie" is cool. Blech.

Well, like it or not, that was what made Dickson Street a "cool" place to hang out in the first place.

There were a lot of "back to the earth" type of stores, tie-dye, quirky record stores, etc.

Ozark Natural Foods, Sound Warehouse, Layla's, et al were all quirky cool little places on Dickson. And they were run and patronized by "hippies".

Sound Warehouse and ONF have moved on to other locations, and now things are more "upscale" and becoming more homogenized.

I don't find the immitation big-city wannabe places that took their places very interesting at all.

Bordino's, in all its posturing, is very second rate in my opinion. Ate there a couple of weeks ago. Not impressed.

Thank god for good ole Roger's Rec and their jar of pickled hard-boiled eggs.

[Mith242]

Does anyone remember where Sound Warehouse started off at? I supposed it could have moved around before I moved up here. I believe they had locations at the current Legacy Building and Evelyn Hills before they moved where Qdoba is now.

[masons_dad1]

I disagree that anything "hippie" is cool. Blech.

Some of those "hippie" shops are still there today. Sidney's Tie Dye Emporium and Dark Star Visuals are very "hippie". And they're two of my favorite Dickson Street shops... even if Dark Star is off Dickson.

[CentralArkansas]

Dickson is cool due to the fact that there is an abundance of alcohol and college-aged kids to make it a "happening" place. Not to mention one of the largest fraternities on campus has their house right smack in the middle of it. I have never thought the hippie feel added much to the area, or was really pervasive in any way.

To each his own, though. The world world would be a boring place if everyone was the same....

[OnDickson]

Does anyone remember where Sound Warehouse started off at? I supposed it could have moved around before I moved up here. I believe they had locations at the current Legacy Building and Evelyn Hills before they moved where Qdoba is now.

They spent many years located in Evelyn Hills Shopping Center (kind of back in the corner on the East side) before moving to the Dickson Street area. That is the earliest location that I can remember (I know that was mid 80's on, maybe earlier). Then you are correct, I believe it was the Shulertown Building, Qdoba and eventually Block Street.

[DickSonstreetDFW]

Dickson is cool due to the fact that there is an abundance of alcohol and college-aged kids to make it a "happening" place. Not to mention one of the largest fraternities on campus has their house right smack in the middle of it. I have never thought the hippie feel added much to the area, or was really pervasive in any way.

To each his own, though. The world world would be a boring place if everyone was the same....

I couldn't disagree more.

Dickson didn't only survive on the draw of the college crowd, even as recently as the early 90s. There has been an explosion in the number of younger, trendier bars in the past five years or so.

Escalating rents have weeded out a lot of the homespun, unique places in favor of big city knock-offs. Its a necessity to pack as many people in for generic, homogenous "trendy" bars just in order for the businesses to meet the rent these days.

I'll give you an example:

JR's Ballroom, which morphed into Dave's on Dickson as a direct result of increasing rents, used to have some incredible local as well as even national musical acts. They probably operated on very tight margins to get some of the better shows there. Dave's took over and opted for low rent, generic "party cover bands". Can anyone say "17th Floor"? It became a place for the masses, and a "Wal-Marted" version of its former self.

Dickson coming full circle and become THE place for college kids again is a fairly recent phenomenon. A few larger places out on College Ave (River City, Docs) as well as transient night clubs and bars all over town used to spread the college crowd out a lot more than today. As the Dickson Street college crowd has increased over the past 7-8 years, those places have all but disappeared.

When I started school at UA in 95, Dickson was still kind of run down. George's and Roger's Rec are just about the only two existing places that have truly been there longterm.

And in my blanket description of "hippies", I included the most of the local live music scene, which seems to have seriously declined on Dickson as the rents have increased.

I don't necessarily like the idea of chains on Dickson St, but its better than empty storefronts. I like Dickson and think whats happening there, for the most part, is great.

Austin, TX has a slogan seen on t-shirts all over town: "Keep Austin Weird". It means pay attention to the local culture and what makes the city a unique, creative, fun place to live and work rather than replace it with upscale everything. The idealist in me hopes the same for Fayetteville.

[Aporkalypse]

I couldn't disagree more.

Dickson didn't only survive on the draw of the college crowd, even as recently as the early 90s. There has been an explosion in the number of younger, trendier bars in the past five years or so.

Escalating rents have weeded out a lot of the homespun, unique places in favor of big city knock-offs. Its a necessity to pack as many people in for generic, homogenous "trendy" bars just in order for the businesses to meet the rent these days.

I'll give you an example:

JR's Ballroom, which morphed into Dave's on Dickson as a direct result of increasing rents, used to have some incredible local as well as even national musical acts. They probably operated on very tight margins to get some of the better shows there. Dave's took over and opted for low rent, generic "party cover bands". Can anyone say "17th Floor"? It became a place for the masses, and a "Wal-Marted" version of its former self.

Dickson coming full circle and become THE place for college kids again is a fairly recent phenomenon. A few larger places out on College Ave (River City, Docs) as well as transient night clubs and bars all over town used to spread the college crowd out a lot more than today. As the Dickson Street college crowd has increased over the past 7-8 years, those places have all but disappeared.

When I started school at UA in 95, Dickson was still kind of run down. George's and Roger's Rec are just about the only two existing places that have truly been there longterm.

And in my blanket description of "hippies", I included the most of the local live music scene, which seems to have seriously declined on Dickson as the rents have increased.

I don't necessarily like the idea of chains on Dickson St, but its better than empty storefronts. I like Dickson and think whats happening there, for the most part, is great.

Austin, TX has a slogan seen on t-shirts all over town: "Keep Austin Weird". It means pay attention to the local culture and what makes the city a unique, creative, fun place to live and work rather than replace it with upscale everything. The idealist in me hopes the same for Fayetteville.

When I started college back in 1993 George's and Jose's were about all there was on Dickson, half of the street was boarded up and there were actually a couple of drive-bys on it. Most of the places we went - the Dome, Doc's, etc were over on College. Those two areas fates have been largely reversed since. A lot of the bar boom on Dickson was blamed on the on-campus alcohol crackdown that began when White became chancellor.

I agree you don't want Dickson "too" upscale. It has to have a character. Everyone wants to be like Austin and as you said, it has character.

[OnDickson]

Dickson is cool due to the fact that there is an abundance of alcohol and college-aged kids to make it a "happening" place. Not to mention one of the largest fraternities on campus has their house right smack in the middle of it. I have never thought the hippie feel added much to the area, or was really pervasive in any way.

To each his own, though. The world world would be a boring place if everyone was the same....

I couldn't disagree with you more about what makes Dickson Street what it is, Central. Certainly there are certain elements that some people find cool or happening, more than others. For some that is college kids and alcohol. But Dickson Street is so much more than just a street and it is so much more than just booze and bars. It is a way of life in Fayetteville. Perhaps 'hippie' isn't the right word to describe it, although that is the word most often used. Perhaps it's funky. Or weird. Or hip. Or cool. Perhaps it's just 'Dickson Street'.

It's an attitude that all are welcome. It's a place where shirts and shoes still aren't required. It's a place where skateboarders weave in and out of traffic along with bicyclists and even our resident unicyclist. It's a place where real live drum circles are still frequent occurences along the steps of the WAC. It's a place that you can still live without a car. It's a place where tie-dyes are still just as common as ties. It's a place where Tysons and Waltons rub elbows with blue collar folks and noone notices. It's a place where you frequently see young folks (perhaps best described as todays hippies) spend time on Dickson Street as they pass through traveling to other similar locations like Austin, Lawrence and Boulder. It's a place that has both fine dining and free meals for the homeless 5 days a week alternating between the Dickson Street churches.

Dickson Street is both a place and it is a way of life. Lots of cities have their entertainment districts, but only a select few, famous districts have their own culture and way of life and that is something that we should never take for granted.

I certainly have nothing against Dickson becoming more modern or urbanized--as long as it doesn't come at the expense of the culture that made Dickson what it is and made Fayetteville so funky in the first place!

[OnDickson]

Austin, TX has a slogan seen on t-shirts all over town: "Keep Austin Weird". It means pay attention to the local culture and what makes the city a unique, creative, fun place to live and work rather than replace it with upscale everything. The idealist in me hopes the same for Fayetteville.

That's funny, DFW I guess I was typing my reply when you posted this. That's exactly where the 'Keep Fayetteville Funky' slogan came from--a play on 'Keep Austin Weird'. At one time some folks along the street had decided to try and promote the Keep Fayetteville Funky with t-shirts, stickers, etc, although it never really took off. It is still discussed among some of the merchants on occasion. I would sure like to see a revival of this campaign.

[DickSonstreetDFW]

That's funny, DFW I guess I was typing my reply when you posted this. That's exactly where the 'Keep Fayetteville Funky' slogan came from--a play on 'Keep Austin Weird'. At one time some folks along the street had decided to try and promote the Keep Fayetteville Funky with t-shirts, stickers, etc, although it never really took off. It is still discussed among some of the merchants on occasion. I would sure like to see a revival of this campaign.

I've got a way better one, but its probably not postable.

"Fayetteville Fricking Arkansas" is very similar to what I'd like to see on t-shirts.

I'd also like to see the FAA change XNA to FFA to reflect the new marketing campaign.

[CentralArkansas]

Guys, that "weird, funky, everybody welcome, etc," feel Dickson has is called college.

Once again, my opinion.

[Aporkalypse]

Guys, that "weird, funky, everybody welcome, etc," feel Dickson has is called college.

Once again, my opinion.

Change that to "college town".

[DickSonstreetDFW]

Guys, that "weird, funky, everybody welcome, etc," feel Dickson has is called college.

Obviously you've never been to College Station, Texas.

[johnnydr87]

Couldn't agree more with the previous posters. Personality, attitude, and independence are what make Fayetteville unique.

Being a college town helps, but you still don't see the same type of character in Conway (Hendrix, UCA).

That funky feel of Fayetteville is akin to Austin or New Orleans...and "hippy" sort of describes it. Places with sizable indie/alt rock music or arts scenes generally seem to be this way...and that's what makes them "cool." It's nonconformist, independent-minded, unique fun.

[Mith242]

Overall I do think I see everyone's point. I do overall like the direction Dickson St is going but I have to admit it does seem to be losing a little of it's charm. It certainly doesn't seem to support live music as much as it used to. I really would like to see more music around Fayetteville and Dickson is a great location for it. But I still would like to see some changes. But I certainly wouldn't suggest tearing down eall the single story buildings just to build up. But so far I think areas like the Lofts at Underwood Plaza and the possible future Divinity Building are on lots that were very underutilized.

[DickSonstreetDFW]

Overall I do think I see everyone's point. I do overall like the direction Dickson St is going but I have to admit it does seem to be losing a little of it's charm. It certainly doesn't seem to support live music as much as it used to. I really would like to see more music around Fayetteville and Dickson is a great location for it. But I still would like to see some changes. But I certainly wouldn't suggest tearing down eall the single story buildings just to build up. But so far I think areas like the Lofts at Underwood Plaza and the possible future Divinity Building are on lots that were very underutilized.

Does the BOF still do the summer concert series in Gulley Park?

I'd like to see something similar on Dickson during the Springtime and Summer. I think LR does this or did this a few years ago in their downtown.

[masons_dad1]

Does the BOF still do the summer concert series in Gulley Park?

I'd like to see something similar on Dickson during the Springtime and Summer. I think LR does this or did this a few years ago in their downtown.

I got this from AccessFayetteville.com

2006 Gulley Park Summer Concert Series

Bands interested in playing in the 10th Annual Gulley Park Concert Series should send a demo CD and press packet to the following address:

Fayetteville Parks and Recreation

Attn: Gulley Park Summer Concerts

113 West Mountain

Fayetteville, AR 72701

Also check out AMP: Arkansas Music Pavilion

One of the region

[DickSonstreetDFW]

I got this from AccessFayetteville.com

2006 Gulley Park Summer Concert Series

Bands interested in playing in the 10th Annual Gulley Park Concert Series should send a demo CD and press packet to the following address:

Fayetteville Parks and Recreation

Attn: Gulley Park Summer Concerts

113 West Mountain

Fayetteville, AR 72701

Also check out AMP: Arkansas Music Pavilion

One of the region

[masons_dad1]

I've been gone to long to have been to AMP, but I recall the Gulley Park series as great family entertainment, blankets and coolers in the grass on a warm Fayetteville night. Great fun.

They don't have a schedule up yet for the Gulley Park Summer Concert, but it sounds like a place to take my family this summer. I'm not really interested in AMP... maybe if it wasn't in the NWA Mall parking lot! I hate NWA Mall and it would make me sick to sit in their parking lot for however many hours a concert lasts.