On Sun, Nov 9, 2008 at 2:07 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:

An ode to the city of my birth.

The cultural uniqueness of Dallas and its institutions are best understood, ironically enough, through the interesting history of a little town that is not technically part of the city itself but which nonetheless embodies its spirit just as it exists smack dab within its territory. The little town in question was founded in part on the idea of convenient, upscale shopping.

Highland Park Village is arguably the world's first shopping center, having been founded in 1931 as a collection of stores operating under common leadership and a singular architectural style which was itself conceived by Dave Cook, the fellow who designed Beverly Hills. The master plan extended beyond the shopping center itself and involved such things as the founding of the nearby Dallas Country Club, which was itself intended to attract wealthy Texans to the area. The gambit worked, and today, the town-within-a-city which has since become Highland Park is widely considered to be one of the world's most beautiful and luxurious communities. It was ambitious plans such as these, conceived and implemented by men bearing that particularly Texan blend of ambition and charisma, that built Dallas, the city of glitter, glass, and steel.

Other neighborhoods within Dallas proper lay claim to similarly interesting origins. Uptown, which has revitalized over recent years by way of an influx of youthful creative class types hailing from across the globe, has long been anchored in part by the Stoneleigh Hotel, which opened in 1923 in a hail of boasts from its founders; it was, they noted, a masterpiece of modernist design, and the tallest building west of the Mississippi. A massive renovation project which saw completion this year has restored the building to its rightful glory, while leaving in place the secret passages that are believed to have been geared towards the city's most prominent criminals and their poker buddies. The basement, it seems, served as the city's most popular speakeasy.

Visitors of a gastronomic bent are advised to prepare for difficult decisions; Dallas has more restaurants per capita than New York City, and several are famous around the world. Old Warsaw, deemed by Zagat to be one of the nation's finest culinary institutions, draws on the elegance of another age and some of the greatest chefs of our own. But the visitor would be amiss in not dining at one of our more more moderately casual steakhouses and one of our somewhat more exceedingly casual Tex-Mex spots as well. It's just common sense.

Dallas is seen as a city of businessmen; it is also a city of recreation. Dance at the century-old Sons of Hermann Hall; take a jog along the unbelievably tranquil Turtle Creek; drink at Knox Henderson's sublimely hip watering holes; catch a unique musical act at Gypsy Tea Room or one of Deep Ellum's other, similarly-storied venues; enjoy shopping of the most unparalleled sort at the ultra-luxurious Galleria. Dallas mixes business with pleasure. So should you.