Harry James, Beatles, Greatful Dead

A sharpie discarded outside The Door. Signing autographs is common from the rock bands

Deep Ellum on the east end of Elm Street.

"Once I knew a preacher

Preached the Bible through and through,

But he went down in Deep Ellum

Now his preachin days are through.

Oh, Sweet Mama, Daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues."

Recorded in 1935 by the Lone Star Cowboys and featuring Joe and Bob Shelton, the song has been recorded by trumpet player, Harry James, recorded by the Beatles and  recorded by that awesome band, The Grateful Dead.

People tend to forget that Dallas has a Blues culture that equals Memphis or New Orleans. Deep Ellum is the kettle were it still gets stirred, especially at The Door or Trees and others.

Sunday, I revisited Deep Ellum for its fantastic architecture, long history lines that included the days when Bonnie and Clyde hung out in Deep Ellum to the current rock bands that visit The Door and Trees with their tricked out  tour buses and loads of customer ticket purchases just to get inside to see the groups. The atmosphere is eclectic and electric all rolled up in one. It's the culture of Deep Ellum that I enjoy and how it has evolved over the years.

A decade ago I did a marketing survey of Deep Ellum for a Fortune 200. It lead to a grant for the Deep Ellum Association, the funding arm of the Deep Ellum Foundation.  It was a six month task that turned every rock, went down every alley, into every business, and noted trends from  old posters and signs and window displays including broken beer bottles in lots, alleys and streets. Broken glass in the alleys and parking lots on a Monday morning told the story of the past week end. Good or Bad. 

 Deep Ellum has always been like a magnet for me,culturally. I love Blues and Jazz and Heavy Metal. Deep Ellum is the elixir of all that. The tattoo parlors, their indelible inks and art are a current trend, although tattoos are tens of hundreds of years old. I've noticed more bikers than in the past twelve years. To me, the kettle is brewing again. Brewing like it did in the old days. It's not just the kids that want to get wild on a weekend like it was for a while. Older people are coming back to Deep Ellum with their families. The lines for tables on Sunday were out the door and down the block. That is with the heavy street construction going on down the Elm Street section were everything from new storm sewers to new pavement is beginning to look more complete. It is still a mess but Dallas let a few things go way to long.

Cultural districts have a way of working around that. Especially the ones that Main Stream feels is a bit uncouth, when it was the uncouthness that made Main Stream what it became.  You have to learn to mix with it all. Nothing is more fun than seeing an old neighbor in jeans and a tee on a Friday night then at the Meyerson or Wyle all gussied up the next night. It's meant to be that way. Cross overs in culture thrives. Grows. It becomes a great experience. People who can not do that miss out on the experience of life.Mom missed out on more than she should have, but at least, she was aware that the "country club" boy and the "farm boy" could be both, like my old neighbor. Even needed to be both at times. She loved the old song that sang of the soldier," how you gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seen Pariee?"

Historical irony. The box is located across the street from the old Union Bankers Bank. Romantic thought of the 30's, Bonnie and Clyde might have noticed at one time.

Now, DART Rail has two stations in Deep Ellum on the Green Line. Some of the old charm is fading unfortunately. Still, one can find the unusual and see past history just by walking down the streets of Deep Ellum. The old newspapers covered the windows of one business on  Elm Street.

edited to remove Long and add Lone from Long Star to Lone Star 09/09/14

Eerie seeing this 100-year old history on display.