the texas theater

Jaime Snell — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 22:07:00 +0000

dealey plaza . the book depository . the grassy knoll . all commonly known locations associated with the assassination of JFK. However, there is one place I never learned about from my American History book, the Texas Theater.

One doesn’t visit the city of Dallas without going to see the site of one of America’s greatest historical events. You go and tour the book depository, take a seat on the grassy knoll, and stand in the middle of the street in the exact spots where JFK was shot, conveniently marked on the asphalt with “x”s (I don’t recommend doing this, as the street is still open to very heavy traffic). But seldom do you venture down the road to the Oak Cliff neighborhood to see the place where alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was actually arrested.

The hubby and I moved to Oak Cliff less than a year ago, and we pass the Texas Theater several times a month. I remember my excitement the first time I saw it, so happy to have an old theater in my neighborhood that was actually still in operation as a movie theater. I knew I wanted to include it in my theater illustration series, the facade is so fun and playful. But, it wasn’t until I began my research that I even knew the story of what lands this place on the National Register of Historic Places.

I do take responsibility in my lack of knowledge, and honestly, I’m pretty embarrassed. While history may have been my favorite subject in high school, I didn’t exactly take the opportunity to expand my learnings when it came to events that, at the time, weren’t anywhere remotely in my region. But now, being a resident of the city of Dallas, I feel it’s almost my duty to know the history of the neighborhood that I reside in. And, let me tell you, the history is rich….

Before we get into the juicy stuff, a little back story to the beginnings of the Texas Theater. It opened on April 21, 1931, and was the first in the region to be built for talking picture shows. It was also the first theater in Dallas to have an air conditioner, a pretty big attraction if you’ve ever experienced the Texas summer heat. Briefly owned by billionaire Howard Hughes, it was developed with state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment, sparing no expense to make the largest suburban movie theater in dallas. The interior of the theater was reminiscent of a Venetian styling, with fountains, painted ceilings, large chandeliers, and opera boxes in the auditorium. All of which would be covered and sealed away after the events of November 22, 1963.

Most of us know the story of the assassination of John F Kennedy, but the events at the Texas Theater happened in the hours after the tragic event. At approximately 1:14 pm, 45 minutes after the shooting of JFK, Officer J.D. Tippit stopped Lee Harvey Oswald, who fit the assassin’s description that was being broadcast on the local radio. Tippit exited his patrol car, and while walking to the front of the vehicle, Oswald shot him three times. After falling to the asphalt, he shot him one last time in the head and fled. A nearby witness, used the police radio in Tippit’s patrol car to call in the shooting and gave a description of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Shortly after, a local Jefferson Blvd store owner, John Brewer, witnessed a suspicious man loitering outside the Texas Theater, before entering without purchasing a ticket. He matched the description of the man the local radio was detailed as having shot Officer Tippit. Brewer walked down to the theater and notified Julia Postal, the box office worker, who immediately phoned the police.

At around 1:45, Dallas officers descended on the Texas Theater and arrested Lee Harvey Oswald.

After the theater’s 15 minutes of fame, most of Dallas wanted the Texas Theater out of the spotlight. In response, all of the beautifully painted ceilings and decorative designs were covered in Spanish style stucco. It was what most preservationist claim as the “most comprehinsive architectural cover-up in the twentieth century”. The screen was replaced, chairs reupholstered, and the box office was brought inside. Finally, in 1965, the iconic “TEXAS” marquee was converted to a new “Six Flags of Texas” styled design that can still be seen today.

Since that notorious day back in 1963, the theater has changed hands multiple times, been vandalized, nearly destroyed by a fire, and has narrowly missed the wrecking ball. In 2001, the Oak Cliff Foundation purchased the building and added it to the National Register of Historic Places. Now it’s in the hands of Aviation Cinemas, and just completed a $2 billion renovation + expansion.

Today, it’s a working theater that shows both indie films and new release blockbusters alike. They have two screening rooms, both with their own bars, where you can grab a cocktail creatively named after the newest movie release. The bar opens 45 minutes before the first show, and they encourage you to bring your own vinyl to play on their record player while you wait.

For all the history buffs, go check out a movie, and spot the seat(s) currently occupying the spot where Lee Harvey Oswald was sitting when the cops arrested him (the original seat was taken into evidence back in 1963). Or, come watch the movie “War is Hell” on the anniversary of the JFK assassination, just as Lee Harvey Oswald did back in 1963. Just make sure to pay for your ticket…

click below for your own illustration of the texas theater

historic texas theater print<\/p>","hotspot_offset_x":{"unit":"%","size":64,"sizes":[]},"hotspot_vertical":"bottom","hotspot_offset_y":{"unit":"%","size":64,"sizes":[]},"hotspot_tooltip_position":"yes","hotspot_position":"bottom","hotspot_tooltip_width":{"unit":"px","size":0,"sizes":[]},"__dynamic__":{"hotspot_link":"[elementor-tag id=\"b2446f1\" name=\"internal-url\" settings=\"%7B%22type%22%3A%22post%22%2C%22post_id%22%3A%222719%22%7D\"]"},"hotspot_label":"","hotspot_link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.traveldashery.co\/product\/historic-texas-theater-print\/","is_external":"","nofollow":"","custom_attributes":""},"hotspot_custom_size":"no","hotspot_horizontal":"left","hotspot_icon_spacing":null,"hotspot_width":null,"hotspot_height":null,"hotspot_tooltip_text_wrap":""}],"tooltip_position":"bottom","tooltip_trigger":"mouseenter","tooltip_animation":"e-hotspot--fade-in-out"}" data-widget_type="hotspot.default">

sources :

the texas theater ( https://thetexastheatre.com/about/#history )

The post the texas theater first appeared on traveldashery.

you should gogh!

Jaime Snell — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 22:54:00 +0000

I had to, I’m sorry.

As an artist, getting a chance to see the works of one of the greats in a new medium is a no-brainer. I’d been hearing whisperings about the Van Gogh Immersive Experience for a little while. I finally saw a segment about it on the national news, and knew I had to gogh (ah, see I did it again, last time I promise). Turns out, it was coming to Dallas…

After making some slight, nonchalant, mentions of it to my husband, he ended up surprising me with tickets for late September.

The night was perfect, the summer heat was slowly transitioning to a nice, cool breeze in the air, and the stroll through the streets of dallas was surprisingly pleasant.

The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit is housed at the Lighthouse Dallas, this towering art deco building that is truly in the heart of downtown. What used to be a former Masonic Temple, has been permanently transformed into an immersive museum (meaning, the Van Gogh experience won’t be the last of its kind in Dallas).

The exhibit does a wonderful job of getting you excited before even stepping foot inside. Large bouquets of sunflowers, a nod to Van Gogh’s still life series “Sunflowers”, welcome you as you ascend the staircase to the entrance. After a quick scan of your ticket, and an assurance of a face mask, you are ushered inside for your magical night.

After entering, you are instructed to climb a flight of stairs where you are greeted with a bar, if you choose to indulge in an adult beverage (you are asked to keep your face masks on in the exhibit when you are not drinking). On this same landing is a towering portrait of Vincent himself, and the perfect opportunity for a date night selfie.

If you purchase a VIP ticket (more on the differences below), you pick up your floor pillow and are guided inside. One thing I will mention here, there are multiple rooms that you are free to walk through at your leisure. We were a little confused at first, and sat in the first, very overcrowded room, thinking we had to do each room separately for views of different artworks, but we quickly realized that was not the case. Each room just gives you a completely difference experience of the art. The first room is rather small, more intimate if you will, while the second room is very large with a second floor where you can look out over the floor below, getting the best views, in my opinion. The upstairs also gives you the best picture-taking opportunity, as it was rather empty. The third room, also on the small side, includes large vertical mirrors, which gives a completely different view of the works altogether.

The exhibit itself displays more than 500,000 feet of projections that completely envelope you as soon as you enter. After realizing that we could move freely throughout the building, we took moments in each room to just sit and take it all in. Maybe it was the artist in me, or the perfectly orchestrated music that went along with the exhibit, but I definitely found myself completely moved, with eyes full of tears of joy.

Once we had finished taking it all in, and sipped the last drops of our beverages, we exited and made our way back downstairs. Here we traded in our floor pillows and received our free poster, another perk of the VIP ticket. We had our picture taken in front of the namesake “Vincent” sign, and made our way into the gift shop.

To me, the whole experience was magical. I felt like a little kid, and walked away with such a sense of wonder and excitement. I’m sure a lot of that can be credited to the fact that I am an artist, and grew up reading and studying the works of Van Gogh. But for anyone who loves museums and has even an inkling of appreication for art, I highly recommend viewing it in this new immersive way.

The Van Gogh experience has already been extended twice, and is currently planning on staying put until January 3rd, 2022. There are also plans to add a full service bar and cafe to the building, so you can dine and experience future exhibits at the same time. I am so excited to see what new immersive exhibits come, because I.am.here.for.it.

Check out my facts to know, download their app, and take a peek at my video of the Van Gogh Immersive Experience below.

The post you should gogh! first appeared on traveldashery.

dallas texas - traveldashery