A Rough Day at the Fair Today......and Now This!

We've all seen the midway ride at carnivals and fairs that is a swing and as it spins around, you go higher and swing out at an angle. Now, engineers created the same ride but it takes you up to 200 feet and then swings. Well, at this writing, approximately 2300 hours, there are 24 people stuck at the 200 feet level at the State Fair. Dallas Fire Rescue is still working on a plan to get people down. They have been suspended up there for nearly two hours already. Twelve swings with two people per swing........the last one to be rescued could well be into the wee hours of the morning.

For those of you that are shaking your head and shivering just thinking about hanging 200 feet in the air, here is something that will shake and shiver you to your bones........Six Flags at Arlington just blew up the old ride that was a parachute that dropped you from 200 or 300 feet. The kicker,is that on that very site, they will replace it with one of these swings..........at 400 feet in the air.........I guess bigger,faster,higher is replacing common sense. Yes, I know, the rides are engineered to be totally safe. That helps me understand this bigger,faster,higher thing more than ever.

Now, the Texas State Fair has a great record of safety over the years. Eventually, somethings have to go a bit nuts and/or fail. This 126th running of the Fair ends it near-month- long run this Sunday. Two more days. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that the last two days go without incident.

Big Tex Hits 60!

Big Tex

A 60-year old man in size 72 boots wearing a 75 gallon hat and standing 52 feet tall with a few more wrinkles and slighly more grey hair, took his place at Fair Park today at the annual ceremony at 11 am when on the Monday before the fair opens, he is hoisted into place and immediately proclaims,"Howdy". Friday,at 10am, the 126th Texas State Fair begins its annual run. I had wanted to be there for todays "howdy"  but had a doctor's appointment at 11.It was a little after 12:30 when I got there. For about two hours, I walked around the lagoon looking at the Chinese Lanterns Display. There is a fence around the entire Lagoon area and the guy putting up the last section of the fence said that there was going to be a $10.00 fee to enter, which is above the regular ticket price.
The display is breath-taking and the Dino's on display look so real. It will be a popular exhibit, I'm sure. The workers were building the main stage in between The African-American Museum and the Music Hall complex. I know, I said last weekend that it was my last trip until after the fair and  here I am back at Fair Park again! Well, it's the bee hive of activity, construction, vendors testing equipment,rides being tested. The smell of taffy in the air! People visiting Fair Park's active museums in the complex. It's just the most festive atmosphere. Kind of like a behind the scene type of atmosphere, but also the get-out-of-the-way atmosphere that goes on as workers lay tiles,build sets and stages with just days before completion. I've missed that hustle-bustle atmosphere. My camera just shoots image after image. I'm not shooting my stock images that sell but I'm having tons of fun! The last two days I've shot more fun images from horse-drawn carriages,antique rail cars moving to a museum to Big Tex's head and hands on a skid waiting to be assembled for this years state fair. I've even managed to have a dish of Rocky Road ice cream a couple of times!

Ladies--you think you have beautiful nails. Check out my nails!!

Beautiful Nails

 

Moving on the Rails (1 of 2 post)

The tank cars were used for support in the move and are not part of the museum collection.

The Last Car

Here are a few images of the old rail cars moving to a museum as they passed between the Medical District and the Wye at Irving where they are spending at least one night.

Timing Is Everything and ..........

On Sunday's last trip to Fair Park before the State Fair, the Chinese Lantern Festival had created some very tall Lotus Blooms. The thought did cross my mind as to how they would be used. Today, a sky crane helicopter lifted them from the staging lot near Gate 5 to the Lagoon where they were placed. Now only did I miss the lift, I missed seeing them in the large lagoon where the big swan paddle boats can be rented. It's just one of those things......you cover what you can and sometimes it works out and some times it does not.
The train move has occupied some time. The Chihuly glass exhibit has been at the Arboretum for nearly five months and it leaves the first week of November and the pumpkin display opens this Saturday for it's annual run. On top of that---the Perot Museum of Science and Nature opens in it's new building in downtown much earlier than first announced. The new 5-acre deck park opens too! There is a lot of stuff happening! The old adage that it never rains but what it pours seems to be holding true.

Waiting to move to Frisco

Most likely, the big boy will be the last to leave Fair Park
 

With just the things mentioned here would  add another $100 just for parking and admissions. Gas and food would be extra, of course. The cost of an enjoyable hobby today is an expensive undertaking, though not complaining. So for now, since timing is everything and I came up short today.....here are a couple more shots from this past Sundays shoot.

 

Fair Park in Transformation

This is the second weekend that I have made the trip to Fair Park to check on the trains and to see the transformation that occurs in preparation for the State Fair. I'd like to see Big Tex in place  before the fair starts but not holding my breath.
There was some activity at the train location where the Museum was before the shift to Frisco. There was a  fair amount of people who seem to be doing the same thing. I talked with a lady that was there yesterday and was back today taking pictures. It was pointed out yesterday that the Big Boy will probably not move until after the fair is over in October.That does not surprise me one bit. The logistics of such a move was much more than anticipated. The Santa Fe Engine 48 is being used to move pieces around in the cramped yard so it's going to be at the tail end of the move as well, one would guess.

The prize of the day was finding the Chinese Lantern Festival crew taking up one full section of the parking lot at gate 5 assembling the large displays. Another photographer that I run into now and then and at locations were I shoot as well was there shooting the same lanterns.

From Fair Park it was up Exposition to Main Street and a trip through Deep Ellum before entering downtown. I love the eclectic atmosphere of Deep Ellum. There are really two Deep Ellums. One by day----the other by night. The one by day is my favorite because you  find so many interesting things. One discovery  that I made and been wanting to shoot for a while was the new Las Vegas-style neon sign.  There are several meters but only one parking meter outside  the landmark venue for rock groups to perform. It was open and  I parked, put my two dimes in for 24-minutes, walked down to Good Latimer at Main and got my shot. Then, it was a walk back toward the bar to where  you could see downtown Dallas from that part of Main Street to put it all in perspective.

Traveling down Main thru the heart of downtown to Griffin, it gave me a chance to see the new deck park that covers 5-acres of Woodall Rogers Expressway and is scheduled to open in October. It really is the much needed mental bridge between downtown and Uptown Dallas. There were a lot of people in downtown and mass had just let out at the Cathedral in the Arts District.The sidewalk vendors all had lines of hungry and thirsty church-goers. The City's new performing arts center for smaller groups had a lot of traffic going in and out of the building.  It's just amazing what that stretch of Flora Street houses today. The arts district is truely unsurpassed anywhere! New York Theater Companys are stunned by what they see in the Arts District and rave about the technology and planning.

Here are a few more shots from today.

Neon For Deep Ellum. This is at Good Latimer and Main Street.

Chinese Lantern Festival is being assenbled at Fair Park.

 

Looking Like The State Fair at Fair Park

State Fair Dates: September 28 -  October 21

Work is well underway at Fair Park putting up all those favorite fried food and refreshment stands. The old landmark Midway arches have been repaired from this past Springs expensive hail storm. And there is less rolling stock at the former Railroad Museum.  One of two security guards told me that the rolling stock was going out on the third shift because it wasn't happening on first or second shift, which confirms what one of the employees in Frisco has said to me more than a month ago. She had call me,infact. From that conversation it was easy to see that the exit from Fair Park was going to be a "under cover of darkness" move. It's turned out that way so far as the first cars rolled into the  Frisco's property from off-site storage with limited public information. The tweets,facebook post and website updates seem to be all "after - the- fact" which is not surprising.

This morning, one of the television stations had a sound bite about the move and the newspaper ran a story that basically said nothing. The route map published matched the hand-drawn one  that has been on top of my computer for over a month  Anyone with any train interest as an enthusiast already knows where the line junctions are located or can figure it out like doing math in you head.

 I hate to say it but I can remember when steam engines were running regular passenger service in the town were I grew up. It was second or third grade when I saw the first diesel that appeared on those tracks where the steam engines had been running regular service. Still, trains and planes hold my interest to this day. The physics of both are more interesting now than they were in my 8th grade geometry and 10th grade  physics. It was that knowledge gained, however, that cemented my interest in later life.

Colorful Tent Booths Go Up

The West Side of Admiral Nimitz Drive

Here is a little splash of color from Fair Park this afternoon. One thing for sure is that corny dogs and fried foods will be around longer  than some organizations. My dad expressed to me that everyone wants their jewel to be front and center on the crown and some just never ever will understand that it is all the jewels combined that make up the crown, not just a single jewel. Fair Park is a crown and all the little jewels make it what it is and will become. Loosing one or two here and there will be replaced with others that will shine just as bright and not worry about their placement on the crown. Next time you visit Fair Park look up at the two gate markers.The left one in engraved 1836 and the right one bears 1936. The art deco period for Fair Park blossomed in the 1930s.




 

Perot's House of Dreams

Ross Perot donated 50M. That donation was directed toward moving the Museum of Nature and Science from Fair Park into the heart of Downtown and an ever-growing Uptown. The new 174-foot tall building (that's the equivalent of a 15-story building)  which  has an impressive glass box on the outside  houses a 54-foot escalator. The behemoth staircase at Busch Gardens in Florida isn't enclosed in glass. But, where technology and history meet there is sometimes a chain reaction and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science certainly will create that chain reaction. Columbus,Ohio's COSI is an amazing place for science and industry, but the Perot Museum of Nature and Science will surpass COSI in short order.

This image was taken from on board the M Line as it crossed Woodall Rodgers.

Step Testing at Fair Park

 With the vast acreage at Fair Park, it becomes a venue for practice.  As I was walking over to the Cotton Bowl I passed a lady that most likely retired was putting on her roller blades. She said she comes to Fair Park to skate because the traffic is more controlled and between the streets and parking lots, she has miles of hard surface for skating.The young man also has vast areas in which to practice his sport. It occurred to me that the people in Santa Monica have been doing this for years at the pier!
I have often wondered why Dallas doesn't spend the money and focus on Fair Park improvements rather than what is being done. Fair Park would be more for the betterment of the entire city population than a few that benefit from some of the other projects. Besides, Fair Park is a jewel in the city's crown. Dart just finished the South end of the Green Line right at the front door to Fair Park.

 There is a massive Ferris wheel that sits idle after the state fair leaves until the following year. There is a cable car system that is there waiting for the next years fair. With the Texas Discovery Gardens, the African American Museum, the Museum of Antique Cars,the Hall of State, the dancing fountains, and the three or four museums that have not moved into their new own new places, let's not forget Music Hall and summer stock or the Cotton Bowl that is still physically  located at Fair Park but actually played in Arlington in the new Cowboy's Stadium.

It's an art



It's a learned skill
It's a sport.



Fair Park is also one of the largest assembled city of art deco with buildings showing corner stones of 1906,1908,1934 (the art deco era) . The midway portion of Fair Park could  run year long.

Denver's Elitch Gardens about as old as Fair Park, is 70 acres. Fair Park on the other hand has 277 acres. There is a bill board atop the Cotton Bowl's gate K that says that 2012  the tallest ride in Texas is coming to Fair Park. Is it going to be available year round once it's here?

 The marketing departments of the convention center, the convention center hotel,Dealey Plaza,Arts District,Deep Ellum,West End, City of Dallas,Parks and Recreation,private developers, Aquarium, Science and Nature at the Perot should be working hand-in-hand with Friends of Fair Park.

Penn State Arrives at the Cotton Bowl and Fair Park

Today was a perfect "indian summer" day  at Fair Park. There are three museums leaving Fair Park in the coming year, give or take a month or two for the most part. The Women's Museum is closed. The Science and Nature will be moving into their new home at Lamar and Woodall Rodgers in the Ross Peroit Science Center. The added space will be a plus.. And, the fantastic collection of  trains will move to their new home in Frisco,Texas, just up Central Expressway 20 miles or so. Still, there is much at Fair Park to enjoy with Texas Discovery Gardens, Music Hall,the home to Summer Stock; the African-American Museum;Cotton Bowl;Hall of State and a host of other lesser known such as the Antique Automobile Museum. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of stock so when the time comes, there will be stock of what was once there at Fair Park as much as what is there currently
As I rounded the corner in front of the Music Hall, there was the Penn State Football Equipment semi-tractor-trailer being tailed by an envoy of white cars. So, I walked over to the Cotton Bowl. Here's what I found.

Arriving on the grounds of  the Cotton Bowl at  Fair Park

Good ole man power unloads this truck.