12 replies to this topic

[John T Roberts]

On July 15th, I took a morning tour of downtown Dallas and even though I took a lot of photos, these were the best of the best. Most of the pictures that I took were of the older churches in downtown. I did shoot the W Hotel from the Woodall Rogers Freeway.

Here is the only downtown church that is still in its original location. It's the First Baptist and this shot is looking north on Ervay showing the new Criswell Building, the Santuary of the church constructed in 1890, and the Burt Building with the neon sign.


At the corner of Harwood and Wood is the domed First Presbyterian Church. It opened in 1912.


Detail of the entry portico:


This is the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe on Ross. It was constructed in 1900, without the bell tower. That bell tower was completed recently.


On the east side of downtown is the old gas station that is flatiron shaped and once housed KLIF.




This is the Cumberland Hill School, Dallas' second public school building:


They are tearing down all of the additions to the Mercantile National Bank Building to construct a new apartment building on the block. At the same time, they have uncovered the original base of the Mercantile.


The old Gulf States Building is being restored and converted into apartments. Next door, a new adjoining apartment building is being constructed.


Finally, I grabbed one shot of the W Hotel from downtown on Woodall Rogers Freeway.

[WTx]

John, any historical info on the old Burt Building at FBC? I've been curious about its history but never can find anything on that structure since its part of the First Baptist now. Also, I really like the old Dallas City Hall and especially the Old Fed on the south end of downtown. Great pics!

[John T Roberts]

Thank you for the comments on the photographs.

There isn't much information on the Burt Building. It was constructed in 1927 as an office building. I don't know who was the architect. It was purchased by the church in 1958. It is currently used as classroom space for the First Baptist Academy and is also used as Sunday School classrooms for children. It is 11 stories tall and is about 90,000 square feet.

[John T Roberts]

Thanks, Bruce. It was a perfect morning for photographs, but by noon, I was getting hot.

[John T Roberts]

I would appreciate any additional comments.

[Fort Worthology]

Was in downtown Dallas today, and was the first time I've seen the W in person. Kind of...well, goofy looking, if you ask me. I think it's that sun shade thing (top right in John's photo). Reminds me too much of some punk kid wearing a baseball cap sideways.

Didn't do much for me. The rest of the area (and Uptown) was interesting, though.

[John T Roberts]

This is what is so interesting about architecture. I actually like the W Hotel as a piece of Modern Architecture. The eyebrow is a little goofy, but it does put a top on the building.

On Saturday, I really did focus on downtown. I haven't even started trying to expand my Dallas web site to include Uptown. I'm planning to expand the Dallas site differently than my Fort Worth site. Once I had downtown Fort Worth fairly complete, then I have been randomly adding buildings throughout the city. I have over 100 photos that I haven't written building descriptions on the Fort Worth site. After I get downtown Dallas complete, then I will expand that site one area at a time, and I'm not planning to start another area until the last one is nearing completion. Uptown will be the first area of expansion.

[vjackson]

The W had to grow on me. I really didn't like it at first. I will admit, I like it better at night. Cool lighting scheme.

John, thanks for the photo of the old gas station. I've always found that building beautiful. It's one of DTD gems that is so overlooked. I've always thought with a rooftop patio it would make an awesome restuarant/lounge.

Adding Uptown to the Dallas site would be cool, as it has become a small city itself.

[Now in Denton]

Was in downtown Dallas today, and was the first time I've seen the W in person. Kind of...well, goofy looking, if you ask me. I think it's that sun shade thing (top right in John's photo). Reminds me too much of some punk kid wearing a baseball cap sideways.

Didn't do much for me. The rest of the area (and Uptown) was interesting, though.

Maybe they will add a Bling chain too it Atomic

I have not seen it in person. But from the all the pics I looked at it looks very dull. There is another taller tower going next door to the W is that right? If so maybe that will bring some shine to the area.

[JBB]

The W had to grow on me. I really didn't like it at first. I will admit, I like it better at night. Cool lighting scheme.

I couldn't agree more about how it looks at night. I saw it during the day several times and couldn't quite get my arms around liking it until I saw it at night.

[John T Roberts]

It does have cool lighting scheme. Hopefully soon, I will have some night shots of it.

[TexasStar]

Great pictures, John. I aways wondered about the Cumberland School and wasn't aware of it's historical significance.

I believe The W's wing is a functional helicopter pad and not just an architectural ornament.