The Ritz - Dealey Plaza - Old Red Courthouse - City Center - Fair Park
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| Living it up at the Ritz, Dallas! |
It was around 1976 when I first heard the meandering story telling of Garrison Keillor; in one of the new paint smelling classrooms of The Holy Family School in Tralee, our English teacher pulled out an old Sony tape recorder and, for a change of normal pace, played a segment from A Prairie Home Companion and the storied town of Wobegon, a virtual depository of hilarious observations on rural life in Minnesota. In hindsight, it was quite progressive of our teacher to take time out of the normal routine to explore a newly emerging live radio program which was based on the old time live radio of the first half of the twentieth century. Having listened to him weekly for over twenty years since moving to the US the opportunity to see him live close to home arose and we arranged tickets for the Dallas show, November 16th 2013. We had seen him in Kansas City and in Houston where we met him in person, although he seemed quite frail at that time, he seems to keep powering along at a grueling pace.
Corsicana - Palestine exit just an hour outside Dallas was our home Friday night in a motel among the oil and gas workers of the Barnett Shale who had made home there, their work boots neatly left out on the balcony and a sea of enormous white pickup trucks in the parking lot. Saturday morning we pulled off the highway and parked at the art museum from where we took a walking tour of the city waiting for our hotel room to become available. Dallas really has two art districts, the wealthy one with fine museums sponsored by the cities most prominent families, and a low cost one recovered from the warehouse district of Deep Ellum at the end of Elm Street. Wandering around Kyle Warren Park, neatly developed over a sunken downtown highway, and observing the large Yoga class underway in open air under the city skyscrapers I marvelled at how the city had developed a downtown spirit which was largely absent when I had first visited two decades before. It still doesn't have the heartbeat of Chicago, but more people now live downtown and they even have a metro rail system. Food trucks are now the trend for casual dining at the center, the being neatly licensed and parked along Woodall Rogers Freeway. The Perot Museum of Nature & Science was clearly visible across the highway, it's angular glass box feature giving it a distinctive look. Along the way into city center we stumbled across the impressive fountains of the First Baptist Church of Dallas which differentiates itself clearly from the Second, Third and Fourth Baptists Churches. The eclectic mix of century old high rises, shiny new sky scrapers and thriving or derelict businesses along the streets make a walk a fascinating walking tour. A giant red winged horse sign over the Magnolia Hotel drew our attention; originally installed as the motif of the Magnolia Oil Company in 1934 and now as sign synonymous with the city as the Citgo sign of Boston. A glass wall held back the blue waters of the skypool ten floors up on the Joule Hotel and I shuddered to think of the possibility of the glass breaking and the waters and people being whooshed our over Elm Street. The Joule Hotel, known for it's art, had also installed a giant Eye across the street. In contrast and as interesting was the derelict Fino store front of "A Gentleman's Clothier", marking the end of an era of retail, but by contrast the flagship Nieman Markus store a few blocks away was thriving. Christmas was already on sale being promoted by a distinct display at Pegasus Plaza and the streets were being prepared for an outdoor event.
The dense buildings of Elm and Commerce Street opened up enough for view of the grand modern glass Fountain Place building which spring from the ground like a massive angular blue-green quartz crystal powered by the flush of oil money in the heady 1980's when the city was redeeming itself with the doings of J.R.Ewing and family. Ironically, by the time the building was completed in 1984 the oil business in in a bust, however the television series powered on regardless. From the 1860s through early 1900's booms and development swept through the states from Pennsylvania through Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and finally to Texas setting Dallas up as a powerhouse and funding the upward rise of the banks and buildings. In 1880 the extension of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad was a coup for the city and anchored it's position in north Texas.
Dallas 1963
Far from Deep Ellum and in the thick of the wealthy city business towers we had continued west on Elm Street which then took us through the decidedly poorer west side until the distinctive redbrick box of a building came into view; The Texas School Book Depository. The nightmare on Elm Street, the event that shocked the nation and the world, doesn't need any further telling. Each November the grainy scenes of video repeat the only live recording shot by amateur videographer, Abraham Zapruder on the day. Books galore have covered the subject, a sea of mediocrity, each trying to out conspire the other. Killing Lincoln is a historic subject work exploring, Killing Jesus allows for godly imagination, but Killing Kennedy, the third in Bill O"Reilly's killing series, however well written, could never compete with the images and scenes burned into that generation. The 50th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy was just a week away and it is still too close for a historic writing of the events which was mark in time for those alive then; most recall what they were doing when they heard of the death. It was six years before I was born, but from an early age the importance of the event was clear to me. All four of his grandparents immigrated from Ireland, Kennedy and Fitzgerald both being old Irish names, the latter likely an import of the Normal invasions. An Irish Catholic, he was the first to break the Anglo Saxon Protestant glass ceiling which drew much hatred. His legacy also draws mixed views.
Conspiracy theories abound after the event; how many shots were fired, was there a second gunman, the questions were too many and the gaps in information too much to converge on a consensus and still today a majority (60%) still believe in a greater conspiracy than just death by some confused communist alone. The CIA, Soviet Union, Cuba, or any of a long list of enemies including organized crime were on the list of conspiracies. The weight of evidence against Oswald is significant, but there is no telling whether he was used by a conspiring party. Although I have insufficient information to judge, I tent to discount a conspiracy, but find it interesting that conspiracy is still so compelling. The CIA would have been much more likely to use a pawn like Oswald, especially with his communist and Russian sympathies, and they had also proven themselves well capable in assassinations and overthrow of governments overseas; the shoe fit and it is too believable of their behavior to discount in many people's mind. By then the CIA had a decade of destruction under their belt and were reprimanded by Kennedy after their failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961, so had cause. The mob were capable, but they are not stupid; they would hit a judge or prosecutor, not a President, it just wouldn't fit their line of thinking. Russia would have been capable of executing a hit in US, but they thought Oswald was a nutcase and would not have had anything to do with him in such a conspiracy as it would obviate their involvement rather than hide it. Kennedy visited Dallas that year in a swirl of political turmoil with the objective of reconciling his democratic support in the state, but the hatred for his administration oozed out of the city which had a reputation already. Johnson was spat upon on a past visit, Adlai Stevenson was hit with a protest placard, protesters called Kennedy treasonous, the Dallas Morning News was quite critical of Kennedy as they are still. There is no link with the hatred which oozed from the city and the assassination itself; however, the city has lived with the reputation ever since, as if branded in with the assassination with which it was a disinterested party. The Dallas Morning News didn't have much positive to report on Kennedy in the run-up to the quinquennial; an article questioning his legacy, another making the case that it is time to just believe it was only Oswald, which may be true but reads a little defensive, maybe another 50 years will help. People of many nations walked and wandered the grounds and the grassy knoll as w tried to explain to our children what had happened on Dealey Plaza that day. The line for the book museum and 6th floor which I had visited in 1990 was away too long for us to wait, so we wandered across to the Dallas history exhibit at the Old Red Courtyard instead.
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| A is where Oswald set-up for the hit from School Book Depository |
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| Elm Street and the Grassy Knoll |
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| Little man; don't look back - there are things which may distract |
Love Hate
Dallas gained a reputation as the "City of Hate" after Kennedy's assassination. Today as we walked the city streets there were many exhibits addressing hate and proposing love. The assassination could have occurred in any city and other locations of infamous assassinations have not been forced to take ownership over the plot, but in Dallas' case the reputation remained because the residents of what Kennedy called "nut country" seemed to actually will the event. Without the attention of the assassination the city was like many powerful, but parochial southern cities of the time with a history of the Klu Klux Klan revealing the cowardice of an insecure majority; the event revealed an undesirable sentiment prevalent in city leaders of the time from which it has still not fully recovered. The Dallas Cowboys and JR Ewing have done much to progress the image of the city which today is truly opposite to that of the 1960's, but still The Dallas Morning News prefer a defensive approach rather than to confronting the past and celebrating the progress.
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| Free Hugs along the Grassy Knoll |
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| Klu Klux Klan members of Dallas in 1920's |
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| Uniform if ignorance and cowardice |
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| First day of school integration Dallas 1965 |
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| Differentiated by UV sensitivity |
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| First Baptist Church of Dallas |
We visited the Old Red Courthouse along Dealey Plaza which houses a museum on the recent history of Dallas. John Neely Byran came scouting to north Texas in 1939 and saw opportunity there, returning two years later to setup a trading post; however, by then he found the native community much diminished by treaty, so he decided to setup a permanent settlement on the north bank of the Trinity River. Dallas is a Scottish or English name (Dale or valley House) which was assigned to the town by Neely Bryan and retained. A survey was done and town platted out ready for new settlers. Shortly thereafter a new settlement, La Reunion was developed with aims for a Utopian socialist society and settled by idealistic and progressive French, Belgians ans Swiss; however, the ideal was not supported by the ability to produce food and the colony eventually failed, it's residents migrating to Dallas or back to Europe. It is interesting that a century before the cold war the ideals of socialism were being tested throughout the United States, twenty nine colonies under the inspiration of the French philosopher Charles Fourier and many others, but capitalism prevailed at that time and again later. The weather was difficult, too hot in summer and even the winters could be bleak with freezing rain and there were swarms of insects. The Trinity River was not navigable, but a company set about funding a development to make it a transport corridor which eventually failed.
Clyde Barrow of Bonnie & Clyde infamy came from a poor farming family near Dallas and moved to the poverty district of West Dallas in the 1920's sleeping under their wagon for shelter. After various arrests in the late 1920's for petty crime he was eventually put away in Eastham Prison Farm. After being sexually assaulted, he lashed out and killed his attacker and hardened to a prolific criminal life after release, including the murder of many police officers. He once wrote a letter to Henry Ford complementing him on the power of his 1932 Ford V-8 B-400 convertible getaway car.
The grand halls of the fine old Red Courthouse documented decade after decade of development in the city which was driven by agriculture and oil, but also a plethera of other businesses including Half-Price Books, Frito-Lay, Southwest Airlines and of course Dallas Forth Worth International Airport, a mega-hub of American Airlines. On display was the interesting and curious styles of the robust 1960's all in color and largess, including the vehicles which lined the streets. We finished our walking tour mid afternoon and checked into the Ritz to relax before heading to fairgrounds for the show.
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| Original plat of Dallas City |
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| Book that inspired La Reunion socialist colony 1850's |
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| La Reunion settler family |
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| Julien Reverchon and family of LaReunion |
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| 6% alcohol medicine was a savior for the abstensionists |
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| Elm Street |
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| Share of failed Trinity River navigation project |
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| Southwest Airlines one of many success stories |
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| The coal face of Dallas wealth |
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| A gun of Clyde Barrow, the infamous Dallas criminal |
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| Iconic Pegasus |
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| Republic Center Twin Towers 1960s |
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| Republic Towers today |
We drove to Fair Park and avoided the long line of traffic, parking off site near the highway instead, which allowed us to arrive on time for the full house theater there. He started fifteen minutes early with some talk prior to the live on air start at 5:00PM, covering the story of his early career including the radio show which he broadcast for six month before they realized the transmitter was switched off all along! The stories of Garrison Keillor over the years abound and he still turns out a well thought-out non-scripted monologue on Lake Wobegon each week for 20-30 minutes. The two hour show includes live music and famous character sketches like Dusty & Lefty, Guy Noir and Keillor's mother giving him a guilt trip for not visiting. Characters include people like Senator K Torvoltson, whose mother gave him first name Senator after a politician whom she respected, not acknowledging that Senator was a title. At Dallas Los Texmaniacs played with a wicked accordion. The Carper Family played fiddle, bass and guitar. Aoife O Donovan, a very talented Irish American sang solo. Keillor usually does sketches of fictitious radio advertisements, like Powermilk Biscuits, Rhubarb Pie Filling, Ketchup Advisory Board.
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| Garrison Keillor with red shoes red tie |
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| The Carper Family |
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| Los Texmaniacs with a mean accordion |
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| Fictitious old time advertising; Powdermilk Biscuits |
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| Joy Tipping of Dallas Morning News |
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| Aoife O'Donovan sings with Keillor |
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| Fred Newman, Tim Russel & Sue Scott, the mainstay of the show |
That evening after the performance we walked through the dark, but lively city center where closed off streets allowed safe passage for pedestrians, bands played and people congregated. The atmosphere was very different from that of Midwestern cities of the 1980's or 1990's, but it is still difficult to change the structure of a community developed on segregation and the automobile. White flight from the cities has reversed, but inequity between the bus stations of Dallas and the modern returning residents and tourists is stark. A sign indicated that bicycles can use the "Full Lane", which is an appreciated encouragement to a changing transport system, but does little to really embed the bicycle in the Dallas commute. The Ritz was hopping that Saturday night, but I was glad to go to sleep while Annette read in the resident's section below.
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| Steers of Pioneer Park |
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| Flags of City Hall |
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| Inverse slope of Dallas City Hall |
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| Hotel Newland, old time hotel South Dallas |
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| Roadside paraphernalia |
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| Roadside saving along I-45 |
Copyright Patrick McGillycuddy 2013
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