McKinney's Growth and Change - Saddens Me a Bit (Dallas: houses, landscaping)

[JoeSiczpak]

1. Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

2. And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there's doctors and there's lawyers
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

3. And they all play on the golf-course,
And drink their Martini dry,
And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school.
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
And they all get put in boxes
And they all come out the same.

4. And the boys go into business,
And marry, and raise a family,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by JoeSiczpak

1. Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.

That's the song that goes through my head whenever I'm in Frisco, Allen, McKinney, etc.

[Souleiado]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

That's the song that goes through my head whenever I'm in Frisco, Allen, McKinney, etc.

And Plano, and Richardson ......because let's be realistic , except if you live in a historical area , the rest all started as cookie cutter houses and boxed neighborhood!

[MobiusStrip]

Originally Posted by Rakin

My family is some of the original settlers of the McKinney, Princeton area. What a change in the last 40 years.

We use to go from Ft Worth on the small 2 lane road that is now Rayburn Tollroad.
That was a good 5-6 hour trip back in the 60's.

Do you know who Collin McKinney is?

Hi Rakin! We must be kin! I am descended from a cousin of Collin McKinney. For some time I actually thought I descended from him directly but it was a cousin from Alabama.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Souleiado

And Plano, and Richardson ......because let's be realistic , except if you live in a historical area , the rest all started as cookie cutter houses and boxed neighborhood!

Eh, I dunno...I see more variety in construction in my area than I do in subdivisions in the exurbs. Even when a floor plan is replicated, the brick is different. Sometimes the roof is different. The accent colors are different. Plus, the trees have had 50+ years to get enormous and in the 50+ years since the neighborhood was built, the houses have undergone modifications that have further differentiated them from each other thanks to the fact that we don't have an HOA with covenants mandating a narrow range of paint colors, window styles, etc. And my area isn't "ghetto."

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Eh, I dunno...I see more variety in construction in my area than I do in subdivisions in the exurbs. Even when a floor plan is replicated, the brick is different. Sometimes the roof is different. The accent colors are different. Plus, the trees have had 50+ years to get enormous and in the 50+ years since the neighborhood was built, the houses have undergone modifications that have further differentiated them from each other thanks to the fact that we don't have an HOA with covenants mandating a narrow range of paint colors, window styles, etc. And my area isn't "ghetto."

Yeah, keep convincing yourself. It is just older. Same suburban layout just closer in and a couple of decades older.

[Aceraceae]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Eh, I dunno...I see more variety in construction in my area than I do in subdivisions in the exurbs. Even when a floor plan is replicated, the brick is different. Sometimes the roof is different. The accent colors are different. Plus, the trees have had 50+ years to get enormous and in the 50+ years since the neighborhood was built, the houses have undergone modifications that have further differentiated them from each other thanks to the fact that we don't have an HOA with covenants mandating a narrow range of paint colors, window styles, etc. And my area isn't "ghetto."

[CMC_TX]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Yeah, keep convincing yourself. It is just older. Same suburban layout just closer in and a couple of decades older.

At one point in time, before Plano & Allen experienced explosive suburban growth, Richardson was the hot new suburb. Developers were building subdivisions in the area and they had model homes just like the subdivisions in Allen & Frisco do today. To that extent, you are absolutely right. Obviously the mature landscape comes with any established area. The one difference I do see is some of the newer subdivisions honestly do look like they only have a few floorplans. Those are the communities I think look the worst - where your neighbor down the street has the exact same house as you, but maybe with a window in a different spot or a different style of door. The older subdivisions do tend to have what appears to be more variation in elevations, masonry etc which gives them less of that modern day cookie cutter feel. I prefer new homes, but I think this is accurate. Unfortunately, the less expensive the subdivision, the more I notice the houses look alike. Although people from Dallas proper might say any subdivision regardless of price all look the same, because that is their mentality living in an older area. I disagree with that...I can definitely tell a difference in a 500k suburban neighborhood and a 250k suburban neighborhood.

[Aceraceae]

Originally Posted by CMC_TX

At one point in time, before Plano & Allen experienced explosive suburban growth, Richardson was the hot new suburb. Developers were building subdivisions in the area and they had model homes just like the subdivisions in Allen & Frisco do today. To that extent, you are absolutely right. Obviously the mature landscape comes with any established area. The one difference I do see is some of the newer subdivisions honestly do look like they only have a few floorplans. Those are the communities I think look the worst - where your neighbor down the street has the exact same house as you, but maybe with a window in a different spot or a different style of door. The older subdivisions do tend to have what appears to be more variation in elevations, masonry etc which gives them less of that modern day cookie cutter feel. I prefer new homes, but I think this is accurate. Unfortunately, the less expensive the subdivision, the more I notice the houses look alike. Although people from Dallas proper might say any subdivision regardless of price all look the same, because that is their mentality living in an older area. I disagree with that...I can definitely tell a difference in a 500k suburban neighborhood and a 250k suburban neighborhood.

A-I love a good random think.

B-Shocking

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by CMC_TX

At one point in time, before Plano & Allen experienced explosive suburban growth, Richardson was the hot new suburb. Developers were building subdivisions in the area and they had model homes just like the subdivisions in Allen & Frisco do today. To that extent, you are absolutely right. Obviously the mature landscape comes with any established area. The one difference I do see is some of the newer subdivisions honestly do look like they only have a few floorplans. Those are the communities I think look the worst - where your neighbor down the street has the exact same house as you, but maybe with a window in a different spot or a different style of door. The older subdivisions do tend to have what appears to be more variation in elevations, masonry etc which gives them less of that modern day cookie cutter feel. I prefer new homes, but I think this is accurate. Unfortunately, the less expensive the subdivision, the more I notice the houses look alike. Although people from Dallas proper might say any subdivision regardless of price all look the same, because that is their mentality living in an older area. I disagree with that...I can definitely tell a difference in a 500k suburban neighborhood and a 250k suburban neighborhood.

Take a drive up Preston from Uptown through the Park cities through North Dallas and continue on until Celina. You will see the same basic developmental plan of single family homes and strip commercial enterprises at major intersections. The only difference is the architectural styles (of both residential and commercial) common to the tastes of the decade, starting with the 40s. A post-war, car-centric, suburban style developmental pattern from close in Dallas all the way to the point where it becomes rural once again... which these days is not total until the north side of Celina.

Yes, older areas have had time to mature and develop a sense of patina that a newer area will not have. Yes, the more affluent an area, the less cookie cutter it is. But let's not sit in our once cookie cutter Richardson one level ranch and think ourselves above the fray.