Southlake Town Square

Southlake Town Square is at the forefront of a new architectural and urban planning movement in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I'm not even entirely certain what to call it, because it's such a new concept in this area. I will simply dub it the Town Square Revival Movement, because to be honest, it's not like this is an entirely new concept to civilization, it just hasn't been used in so long that it's a lot like the Romanesque Revival Movement in the late 19th century. Anyway, in case it hasn't officially been named yet, I call dibs on inventing the term. XD

Southlake is a very upscale community in the Mid-Cities area of the DFW Metroplex. It's the sort of place where the residents drive a Lexus, Infinity, BMW, or comparable luxury brand of car. Seriously. You know who is a resident and who is just passing through by the car they drive, and what condition it is in. The houses typically start at the $1.2 million mark, which for California or New York would be more like $6+ million. So if you're a penthouse pauper, I recommend Southlake to get a comparable style of living for about 20% of the price.


In the spirit of building community and commerce, Southlake has returned to the idea of building a very highly social town square around their new City Hall. It's 130 acres of mixed-use development, consisting of low-density commercial, plazas, parks, and skirted by medium-density residences (like town homes and luxury apartments). With most modern cities, the center of town is the most old, polluted, decrepit part. Southlake's goal is to turn this idea on its head, and make the center of town the most attractive area by sacrificing density for aesthetics. This Town Center effect makes it as much of a place to hang out and socialize with friends as it is to shop.

"What is your bidding, Psycho-Cow?"

Just in case you thought your eyes were playing tricks on you in the previous photograph, yes, that is a psychedelic cow in front of the town hall. These strangely painted cow statues are deposited all throughout Southlake and are known as the Southlake Stampede Longhorns. They add a whimsical touch to one of the most revered symbols of Texas, and are one of Southlake's own unique cultural contributions, similar to the CowParade Cows contest that goes on each year.

"Yipee kai yai yay, Psycho-Cow!"

This particular cow features a rather well-rendered painting of, appropriately enough, Southlake Town Center, with the Town Hall in the background, and the large event gazebo in the foreground.


The event gazebo provides a covered stage for performers on special events, like the Fourth of July. The fountain makes a great center to the area, and becomes prime real-estate for seating when attending crowded events on hot summer days.

The residences that skirt the town center are just a couple of blocks away. The furthest building back that you see in this photo is one of the luxury apartment buildings, with a serene, tree-lined walk right down the hill to one's choice of cafes. Though the area itself is very high-traffic, it is almost unnoticably so. Parking spaces are quite ample along the side of the street, and the only "lots" that exist are in hidden lots bordered by the backs of buildings, hiding the site of them from view. Because the town center is designed to be walked along and explored, one need not park directly in front of or beside their destination. The encouragement is to socialize with others, check out new stores, cafes, and enjoy the atmosphere.


As previously mentioned, it gets HOT outside. Often well in excess of 100F, and temperatures over 110 are not uncommon in our hottest months. Evaporative cooling systems outside some of the stores provide inexpensive and refreshing respite from the heat, as well as moisture for the plant life in the area. Locally they are known as "Swamp Coolers", even though "Desert Coolers" would probably be a lot more apropos. But if you're ever wandering Texas and someone mentions a Swamp Cooler, this is what they're talking about.


For the most part, the buildings try to stay vaguely thematic on each avenue. I say "vaguely," because as you can see there was a bit of disagreement over what type of columns or arches would be used for the colonnades in front of these shops. It is an interesting effect, however. The combination of all these different styles are united exactly by how they differ from one another. There is a feeling of both the modern and old world thrown together in a way that just seems to work. It's like "business casual" for buildings, providing enough of an air of sophistication that a nice date in formal attire could be spent wandering the restaurants and colonnades, but casual and different enough for people in a t-shirt and shorts to be comfortable shopping there as well.

Of course there are a few spaces where this breaks down a bit, but even at it's worst, the gaudy or out of place is often screened by the lush trees, and even when the uglier buildings are directly in front of you, the eye is immediately drawn to the more upscale buildings to the side of it.


One of the more unique features is the design of the street signs. They are clearly posted, clearly visible, with good contrast for reading the lettering at a distance, a lamp directly overhead to illuminate them at night, and a visually appealing aesthetic. They harken back to an age where signs were designed to be seen by people walking by at a slow pace, rather than driving through at high speed. Despite this, they remain clearly visible from inside the car. Poorly designed, maintained, and placed street signs are one of my biggest pet peeves when I encounter them, and it is rare when one actually impresses me as these do.

I feel like I saved the best for last in these photo. This plaza is one of the best-designed that I've seen in the DFW area, hands-down. Four free-standing porticos each use a trellis with lush, fragrant growth for shade. The placement of the columns, benches, the fountains, and the walks bordering it provide an excellent separation of space. Each encourages relaxation and idle conversation. Either end of the plaza is capped by a fine restaurant with patio seating, and the long edges are bordered by a walkway, then parking, the street, and then the stores. In this way, the stores themselves are available, but this plaza provides a refuge against the foot-traffic.

All in all, Southlake Town Center is an very well designed, laid-out, and built community. I sincerely hope this trend continues. Colleyville, another upscale city bordering Southlake, has already followed suit, and is currently in the process of building their own town center. I would love to see this trend continue in the smaller cities, as it is a beautiful, inexpensive treat to simply wander around and see the best of what each city has to offer in a casual outdoor atmosphere.

Tomorrow's post will feature the Southlake Town Hall itself.

Historic Dallas Part 4: Founder's Plaza

In Part 4 of of "Historic Dallas" we visit one of the most controversial sites in Downtown Dallas: Founder's Square. The hotly debated, roaming alleged log cabin of John Neely Bryan, Dallas's founder, rests here now. Founder's Plaza is directly across the street from The Old Red Courthouse and the JFK Memorial Plaza. It is a relatively unassuming place, consisting of a series of fountains in a curvy Y-shape, a lot of pavement, and a cabin that has seen hotter debates than a southern city hall in summertime.


Viewed from the comfortable shade of Big Old Red's arches, Founder's Plaza looks serene, perhaps even scenic, but not terribly interesting. It is almost as if the point was what surrounds Founder's Plaza, not what it contains. In the distance is the top of Fountain Place, known to local residents as "that big blue pointy building," because we've never been that good with names.

By the time we hit Founder's Plaza, we'd already trekked through the JFK Memorial Plaza, the Old Red Courthouse, and Dealey Plaza, where my camera had run out of batteries, all in 107 degree heat. By this point, my wife and I were practically wilting, but as we walked back to our car, I looked to the left and what I'd thought was an empty plaza courtyard was in fact an oasis of fountains and, oddly enough, a log cabin. Having just read the plaque at Dealey Plaza, I couldn't help but wonder if this was indeed the "first house" mentioned in the plaque. If so, I absolutely had to photograph it. Without the aid of my "real" camera, I pulled out my phone and with great dismay, realized it was also almost out of juice. Nonetheless, I managed to pull off a few decent photos, and did the best I could to clean them up in Photoshop.


I really love how this shot turned out. A wedding that had just completed at Big Old Red had let out, and the happy bride and groom were having their photos taken with family in the plaza. The fountains themselves alternate their height as well as whether they are on or off, creating a chasing effect that the kids loved. The plaza itself is huge, hot, and blinding, and more than anything at that moment I wished I'd been a little kid again so I could run through the fountains and not look odd doing so. Instead, I lived vicariously through the phone. The resulting photo seems to perfectly convey the feeling of that moment in time and space, and it's easily my favorite of this session.

Unless you know the story ahead of time, on the opposite side of the fountains from Big Old Red is a very out-of-place log cabin. And unless you know the story ahead of time, what you'll probably do if you see it is think "Huh... a log cabin in the middle of downtown Dallas...that's odd," and move on. One of the biggest complaints of those familiar with Dallas history is that there's no rhyme or reason or explanation for this cabin. You're just supposed to know what it's for, pay your respects, and move on.


In fact, this is probably the most controversial--and mobile--pieces of real estate in Dallas. Allegedly the cabin was the home of none other than Dallas's first resident and founding father, John Neely Bryan. This is "the first home, which also served as the first courthouse and postoffice[sic], the first store and the first fraternal lodge" mentioned on the Dealey Plaza Plaque.

Maybe.

The thing is, a historian by the name of Barrot Sanders published a book about the cabin claiming it was in fact built as a replica of Bryan's cabin, by expert woodcraftsman Gideon Pemberton. Unfortunately, Sanders failed to cite any references or leave behind any evidence of his assertions, and the cabin itself has not been forthcoming. The relatives of Bryan roundly reject this assertion, some claiming that it was Bryan's actual cabin, others claiming that the timbers themselves were used by Bryan and then reused to make the new cabin. The Dallas County and City Council go with the book story.

Now you may ask yourself, "so what? What's the difference if it's real or replica?"

Apparently it makes all the difference in the world. The Bryan was the founder of Dallas is undisputed, but he died in Austin, his grave is lost to time, and he was much more of a Public Relations person than a builder. The land he donated became the site for Dallas's famous West End, Trinity River Parks, the Old Red Courthouse, and 94 other lots, but in vicinity of Dealey Plaza is where it all began. This cabin may very well be the last physical work that ties the city to the life of Mr. Bryan before he was committed to an asylum in Austin, and any hope of getting the truth from him about the cabin was silenced. But if it really was his cabin, it should remain near the original spot it was built upon, both as a tribute to the man, and the first permanent structure in Dallas.

But no one can prove one way or the other that it's really Bryan's cabin. As a result of this controversy, the cabin's relevance and location is under constant dispute. Over the years, the cabin has been moved all around Dallas, from Dealey to East Dallas, to Fair Park, then back downtown, and now rests at Founder's Plaza, and there has been repeated attempts to move it from there to Old City Park, where admission would be required to even view the cabin. Which then begs the question:

If you remove the Founder's Cabin from Founder's Plaza, can you still call it Founder's Plaza?

The debate rages on, and has been for many years, and will continue to do so, as Mr. Bryan had many, many descendants across America who will continue to fight for this vital piece of Dallas history against the county and city who increasingly find every inch of Downtown space becoming more and more valuable and the question of the cabin's authenticity remains forever in question.

Be sure to visit us tomorrow, where we will feature an interview with Nadine and James Bouler, of Bouler Design Group!