Revisiting Dallas History: Deep Ellum Before the Highways

As part of our office’s Second Nature Initiative, we’re refocusing on our neighborhood of Deep Ellum to discover potential future opportunities to preserve the neighborhood’s unique character and provide a toolbox of potential opportunities for future development in the area. As part of that study, I was challenged with investigating the historical context of the area, tasked with responding to questions on the neighborhood’s original street layout, the role that Deep Ellum (or Deep Elm as it was originally called) played in the overall context of the city, and looking at dramatic changes to the built fabric of the place that have occurred throughout its history.

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Studio Outside Brings the Fair to Downtown Dallas for Park(ing) Day

Every year Parking Spaces around the country are transformed for a day into interactive and interruptive parks that challenge the way society uses urban space, in the form of PARK(ing) Day.  In our third year of participation we decided to bring a bit of our borough to downtown Dallas.  Studio Outside resides in Exposition Park, home of the annual Texas State Fair.  Every fall Big Tex rises above the Midway, corndogs are tossed in the deep fryer, and the Ferris Wheel begins to spin.  Inspired by the excitement and festivities of Exposition Park this time of year, we developed Fair PARKlet; a contemporary take on the interactive fair experience fully equipped with carnival games and custom benches to relax on a Friday afternoon on Dallas’ Main St.

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