Saturday, just before I got so excited about some new technology that was posted earlier, the temperature was the warmest day of the new year. It was 84 F. degrees. That also means a lot of humidity in the air and distance is not as clear even if you do have a 600MM lens.
Almost two years ago, along Harry Hines Boulevard in the Medical District, there was a fair amount of excitement up and down a two mile stretch of Harry Hines. The buzz? It was the announcement that one, Parkland Hospital would build across the street from its historic location a new hospital of some 800 beds. Two, that had hardly had time to sink in when UT Southwestern Medical Center announced that they would be building a new University Hospital at Harry Hines and Mockingbird Lane in the South and West quadrant of the UT Medical School's campus, Medical Center and related care facilities. The hospital would be 400 beds approximately.
In the mean while, construction jobs have hammered out two impressive buildings for Dallas' Medical District . When new buildings go up, there is a faction of people who get excited because they realize sooner than others what a visual impression makes on the success of a new facility.
As was discovered with the building of the Maggie One (Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge) generally, the public doesn't get excited until they can see something coming out of the ground. When the form of the bridge took shape with the lifting of the final curved fabricated piece completed the arch, people could visualize. The cable stays had not been attached, but that was alright. It was the shape from that people couldn't visualize until it was done. They could then visualize the cable stays in place. With that, they could pass judgment. Now, people use the bridge every day and complain when they can't use it for some reason, like Saturday when the north side lanes were closed for the Trinity Event going on under the bridge as well as up top.
The amazing thing to me was that people were spotting a mystery building seen for the first time from afar. "What is that?", they ask. People were heard saying, "I've never seen that before." or" we need to go check that out". When the event visitors were told that it was the new Parkland Hospital, they were blown away. Some had seen it from the near-by Green Line Dart Station, " but it doesn't look that big from there." one guy said.
Just as the TxDot worker had said to me some four months ago," the people of Dallas are asleep at the wheel". There is a building sitting out in a field like a white elephant, unmarked and with a very big high rise garage. There probably is not one out of five hundred people who could correctly identify the building's use let alone find the way in--if you could get that far. Since it's a government facility here in Dallas, I'm not going to be the one to disclose anything else, but the point is.....architecture is important. It establishes landmarks (good or bad) and people should be excited about the city in which they live.
Another example was a city park officials response on Saturday. When ask: "what's all that new concrete about. Is it new trails?" The man said it's part of the bridge. His rider, came around from in front of the truck with her clipboard and said," No, it's new trails. It's the 4.5 mile Skyline Trail." I then said to her: "so the city really is doing more than what the published reports on the news are saying, then?" She said, "we let people say what they want to say and in the meanwhile, we just keep moving ahead."
There is no doubt that while Dallas did get caught off-guard with infrastructures after the massive growth following DFW's opening (now some 40 years ago), this is one of the most progressive cities anywhere in the US. It's our city. Be proud of it. Take an interest in what's going on beyond what I call the little distractions of 5K or10K runs. Did you know that at one time, before the demolition of Texas Stadium, from I-30 and Cockrell Hill from afar, you could see both the old Texas Stadium and the new Cowboy Stadium (now, AT & T Stadium)?
Almost two years ago, along Harry Hines Boulevard in the Medical District, there was a fair amount of excitement up and down a two mile stretch of Harry Hines. The buzz? It was the announcement that one, Parkland Hospital would build across the street from its historic location a new hospital of some 800 beds. Two, that had hardly had time to sink in when UT Southwestern Medical Center announced that they would be building a new University Hospital at Harry Hines and Mockingbird Lane in the South and West quadrant of the UT Medical School's campus, Medical Center and related care facilities. The hospital would be 400 beds approximately.
In the mean while, construction jobs have hammered out two impressive buildings for Dallas' Medical District . When new buildings go up, there is a faction of people who get excited because they realize sooner than others what a visual impression makes on the success of a new facility.
As was discovered with the building of the Maggie One (Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge) generally, the public doesn't get excited until they can see something coming out of the ground. When the form of the bridge took shape with the lifting of the final curved fabricated piece completed the arch, people could visualize. The cable stays had not been attached, but that was alright. It was the shape from that people couldn't visualize until it was done. They could then visualize the cable stays in place. With that, they could pass judgment. Now, people use the bridge every day and complain when they can't use it for some reason, like Saturday when the north side lanes were closed for the Trinity Event going on under the bridge as well as up top.
The amazing thing to me was that people were spotting a mystery building seen for the first time from afar. "What is that?", they ask. People were heard saying, "I've never seen that before." or" we need to go check that out". When the event visitors were told that it was the new Parkland Hospital, they were blown away. Some had seen it from the near-by Green Line Dart Station, " but it doesn't look that big from there." one guy said.
Just as the TxDot worker had said to me some four months ago," the people of Dallas are asleep at the wheel". There is a building sitting out in a field like a white elephant, unmarked and with a very big high rise garage. There probably is not one out of five hundred people who could correctly identify the building's use let alone find the way in--if you could get that far. Since it's a government facility here in Dallas, I'm not going to be the one to disclose anything else, but the point is.....architecture is important. It establishes landmarks (good or bad) and people should be excited about the city in which they live.
Another example was a city park officials response on Saturday. When ask: "what's all that new concrete about. Is it new trails?" The man said it's part of the bridge. His rider, came around from in front of the truck with her clipboard and said," No, it's new trails. It's the 4.5 mile Skyline Trail." I then said to her: "so the city really is doing more than what the published reports on the news are saying, then?" She said, "we let people say what they want to say and in the meanwhile, we just keep moving ahead."
There is no doubt that while Dallas did get caught off-guard with infrastructures after the massive growth following DFW's opening (now some 40 years ago), this is one of the most progressive cities anywhere in the US. It's our city. Be proud of it. Take an interest in what's going on beyond what I call the little distractions of 5K or10K runs. Did you know that at one time, before the demolition of Texas Stadium, from I-30 and Cockrell Hill from afar, you could see both the old Texas Stadium and the new Cowboy Stadium (now, AT & T Stadium)?
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| The Massive New Parkland Hospital |
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| The new 4.5 Mile SKYLINE Trail |
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| Didn't know the city had a full size 18 wheeler for "EVENTS" but on the other hand: How do those stages and risers get out side City Hall or in front of Neiman-Marcus for Christmas Parades etc.,etc? |
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