Jump to content

Dallas Photo of the Day

Greens!

By Greens!
in Dallas - Fort Worth

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 39
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

Here are a few of the photos I took this morning and afternoon in downtown Dallas...

174827742.jpg

174827774.jpg

174827746.jpg

174827745.jpg

And I'm disappointed to even be saying this, but the West End was very dead. I asked my waitress at Spaghetti Warehouse how things are down there and she said they really only get packed when there's a convention. The West End Marketplace, a multi-story mall built in an old warehouse building, has closed after 20 years in business. When I asked a street vendor about it, he said "I think they are trying to kill Dallas. This place is dead now." The last time I was in the West End, about this time 2 years ago, it was JUMPING. Today, it actually felt unsafe and dead.

174827784.jpg

174827789.jpg

174827785.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
richyb83 Megalopolis

richyb83

Posted
Posted

Those are some really nice photo's Brian. Thanks for sharing them. That alley shot with the glass tower is cool. :thumbsup:

The Dallas Skyline has to be in the Top 10 in the U.S.

Wow, sorry for the disapointment, I can imagine. Is West End's decline due to new Victory Park ? Or is it many reasons why ? I know the Reunion Tower/Arena area really declined and the American Airlines Arena/Victory Park is being touted as a big-time entertainment district along the lines of Las Vegas and Chicago's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

Those are some really nice photo's Brian. Thanks for sharing them. That alley shot with the glass tower is cool. :thumbsup:

The Dallas Skyline has to be in the Top 10 in the U.S.

Wow, sorry for the disapointment, I can imagine. Is West End's decline due to new Victory Park ? Or is it many reasons why ? I know the Reunion Tower/Arena area really declined and the American Airlines Arena/Victory Park is being touted as a big-time entertainment district along the lines of Las Vegas and Chicago's.

I really don't know. It caught me by surprise and no one I talked to could give me a good answer. Like I said, I was down there 2 years ago and it was absolutely jumping. This time, dead. As the day wore on, more people came down there but it was nowhere near what it used to be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RestedTraveler Metropolis

RestedTraveler

Posted
Posted

Whaddaya trying to deter me from moving over to DFW? :lol: I have no answers to offer for the West End; however, could it possibly be due to the weather/heat? Some greenery and shade trees could go a long way toward providing some relief there. Perhaps people were just inside trying to beat the heat until the evening hours?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

Whaddaya trying to deter me from moving over to DFW? :lol: I have no answers to offer for the West End; however, could it possibly be due to the weather/heat? Some greenery and shade trees could go a long way toward providing some relief there. Perhaps people were just inside trying to beat the heat until the evening hours?

Well, I did take into consideration the heat and the time of day. But when I was down there 2 years ago it was in August and was very hot but the place was jumping. The time of day did factor in when I first went down there, and as the aftenoon dragged on more people did come down there, but it wasn't the same. You could see the disappointment many people had at the loss of the Marketplace. Even part of the deal into talking my wife into a day-trip to Dallas was the Marketplace, so she was crushed to see that it was closed. That mall was a big draw to the West End and I hope they're able to replace it. The street vendor I spoke to was very angry with Dallas city management and believes the suburbs are to blame. While I disagree that the suburbs are to blame in a city as vibrant as Dallas, where many of the city's wealthiest people live in and around the downtown area, I do echo his anger to some extent. I believe the West End is a great attraction and one of the only things to keep people coming to downtown Dallas during the daytime on weekends.

FYI: Dallas and Fort Worth are still two EXCELLENT cities. As time goes on I'll be posting photos I took of the Stockyards and the skylines of both Dallas and Fort Worth from a distance. I still love visiting the suburban shopping malls, like Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, and I love the restaurants in Addison. I love the attractions in Arlington, and the overall cosmopolitan feel that Dallas has and the western feel that Fort Worth has. It's still a great place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

Aporkalypse: I was hoping you'd have some insight into the West End since you list Dallas as your home. Have you noticed the decline I mentioned, and do you have any clue as to why the West End Marketplace closed its doors after 20 years?

I really enjoy Dallas, and the way the West End appeared to me on Saturday was the last thing I wanted to see.

Greens: Awesome photo! Ninjatune's stuff is always soo good, and this is the first time I've seen this one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

This is the article about the West End Marketplace closing that was posted in the Downtown Dallas Retail thread.

West End Marketplace closing

When I was in Dallas in May, I went through the West End area around lunchtime on a Friday and it was packed, so I'm pretty suprised to hear how bad it has gotten.

I'm hoping it was just an off day. When we arrived in the morning, there were street people and thugs wandering about. Then we came across some kids having fun on skateboards, which was nice. But as the lunchtime hour came on, that's when the people started coming out. But it never did get packed. The street people had disappeared, though. Anyway, I'm hoping it's just the heat... I love the West End. It's only been 3 months since your visit, and there's no way it could have gone downhill that fast.

Thanks for posting that article! The redevelopment plan they mentioned would be great... anything to make use of that building once again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

Posted
Posted

This is the article about the West End Marketplace closing that was posted in the Downtown Dallas Retail thread.

West End Marketplace closing

When I was in Dallas in May, I went through the West End area around lunchtime on a Friday and it was packed, so I'm pretty suprised to hear how bad it has gotten.

I don't think West End is that bad, it's usually quite busy and the restaurants there are doing well without vacancies. The problem is it is mostly just a "place to eat" with tons of nice family restaurants and the Aquarium. The problem is the lack of viable bars and the "touristy" label it has in DFW that steers the natives away. It seems pretty busy during the daytime and early evening but is usually dead by 10 PM. With the House of Blues moving in and a large Latin club along with the Victory Project and arena nearby it's thought that the area has a chance to morph into more of a true entertainment district in the next few years. There will be a sizable condo residential population just a short walk away once the projects currently being built are finished. I think West End Marketplace itself just was a project that no longer was successful - the fact it was trying to serve as kind of a indoor mall was probably the real reason. I'd love to see it turn residential.

Deep Ellum is struggling as well and that's a much more complicated issue. The DART rail will have a stop on its new line there and it's hoped that will help. Still, some clubs and restaurants have closed and foot traffic is down. There are safety issues down there and though I like it the funky vibe may just be a little TOO funky for the preppy North Dallas/Park Cities crowd and most tourists.

The scattering of bars up in the McKinney/Uptown area seems to be doing well as does Knox-Henderson.

Lower Greenville has become the main bar and entertainment district for Dallas, it seems, but it's almost all locals and it's really hard for non-Dallasites to find as it's not downtown and isn't on the interstate. It's a strange place compared to most other big city entertainment districts because it's in a neighborhood and parking is a nightmare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

^Is that the large condo project being built that consists of multiple buildings? As we were driving past that I was so impressed. It's also good that they're getting a House of Blues down there.

By the way, I hope you don't think I'm intentionally trash-talking the West End. I probably did speak too soon, as it sounds like it may have been a fluke. I iwll definitely be back to see how it is next time I'm over that way, although that likely won't be until sometime in '07.

Lower Greenville sounds interesting. Seeing as how it's mostly locals, is it a fun, hip place or is it rough?

I'm not really familiar with any touristy areas in DFW other than West End, Stockyards, Arlington, Grapevine, and the other suburbs. The inner-city areas of Dallas and Fort Worth are still a mostly foreign to me, as I've had limited experience with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

HDR is cool, but the vehicles on the 2nd one have shadows resulting from the combination of multiple exposures. :lol:

Aww man, they sure do! Leave it to you to catch that!

These HDRs are awesome, especially the first! In that second photo, the building under construction is what I was taking pictures of when I saw the Lamborghing at the stoplight. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 7 months later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.