Bye-Bye 2505

Before....
After....
At 8am sharp on a Sunday, specifically on the same day that the Dallas News featured the preservation of MCM architecture in Dallas (see prior post), the Harwood Smith-designed office building at 2505 Turtle Creek Blvd. was razed by the developers. The full story is on Unfair Park. Apparently the permit for demolition was issued in the first week of April -- the day after the CPC denied the rezoning application, citing, among its reasons, the Smith connection. Sneaky way to start of a luxury hotel project, isn't it. Progress it is! So much for preservation, I guess.

MCM Preservation

Dallas's finest daily paper features the increased attention being paid to preserving mid-century modern homes in the area. The focus on architecture of this era has become more important as tear-downs of noted properties like the Horace Meyer-designed Morris Zale home (1949) have become more prevalent. Recently Preservation Dallas led efforts to add MCM office building to the National Register of Historic Places, and has listed other buildings as "endangered".

Full article here.

Sweet Modern Clock

Young German designer Daniel Jarr's alarm clock takes design to a sleek new level. This prototype is designed to set the alarm by pressing down on the right hand side of the clock (the main body of the clock pivots slightly on its base). Pressing down on the left side of the clock tips the clock in order to get a 10 minute snooze. Pressing down on the analogue clock’s frame illuminates the clock's dial in low light situations.

Natural Easter

Craftastica had a great description of using natural materials (cabbage, onion peels, and flowers) to dye eggs. This is similar to what I did with my grandmother as a child, although I like the idea of using the flowers and clover as resist.

Almond Corner uses brown eggs to get a tone-on-tone look, but using white eggs and a variety of onion peels can get some very interesting marbled designs.

Happy Easter!

Architectural Skylights

While it's not a new idea (see this Islamic architectural example from a bath), these examples of ceiling panels are much more stunning than plain-'ol clear skylights...giving you and your visitors an unexpected artistic "pop". More info here and more examples here and here.

Calatrava Progress

The webcam cannot hide how the construction of the first of the three (or is it two? Depends on funding calculations) signature Calatrava bridges over the Trinity River greenway to the west of Downtown. The Margaret Hunt Hill bridge that extends Woodall Rogers west into Singleton Boulevard is in the footings stage. Additional construction on segments is going on at a fabricator's in Italy.

Dallas in Postcards

With an eye to the future and one foot in the past...it's amazing to appreciate how our city's landscape is changing. The above images of Elm Street and the Houston Street viaduct are courtesy of Dallas Sights, which has numerous views preserved online. Thanks to Unfair Park for mentioning a new book, Greetings from Dallas ($13.57 at Amazon), which includes over 140 vintage cards featuring the Dallas of years past. They've also pointed us to eBay, where you can begin to amass your own vintage collection. Or start saving today's cards, and your grandkids won't believe the pre-LEED, gas-dependent downtown that we used to traverse.

Sale Time at Scott + Cooner (again)

That's one of my favorite headlines to type in (here and here before)! Scott + Cooner and McGannon Showrooms are having a “cleaning out of the warehouses” sale this weekend. Pieces from Cassina, Moroso, Poltrona Frau, etc will be marked down drastically. At the Decorative Center showrooms, open to the trade this Thursday and Friday (9am-5pm) and the public Friday (9am-5pm) and Saturday (10am-4pm).