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I was thinking more on the line of cultural amenties. What's Dallas selling point outside of being a buisness friendly city.. If I didn't know Anything about Dallas what would make me wanna visit? Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think too many people outside TX knows what's going on in Dallas outside of economic stuff.. I think the city needs some type of brand..
Atlanta: civil rights movement. Black Hollywood/media hub. MLK, Coke etc
LA: Hollywood Rodeo dr etc
New Orleans: French quarters, Burbon st. Good Food,
Miami: Latin America, Nightlife,Beaches
These cities are changing In demographics but yet there still able to keep there Brand.. I'm think Dallad never really set a brand as it was developing into a major city.. This is just off observation.. Correct me if I'm wrong..
Its a very interesting scenario. For Dallas and DFW, its hard to come up with a set image. They are "Jack of all trades, king of nothing". That has a very positive effect because the diversity (among nightlife, food scene, economy, gay and lesbian scene, shopping, arts, culture, and ethnicity) is very strong. It makes it so there is something for everybody, no matter who you are.
The downside is that Dallas and DFW dont stand out in any one category. Because of that, its hard for Dallas to really be known for something. You mention excellent examples of places that are known for particular things. The truth of the matter is, even though Dallas is probably the most well known city name in Texas, Dallas does not leap to mind for any one thing. As a result, people resort to the old stereotypes of Dallas (like the Dallas TV show).
But I think Dallas can build itself one if it wants. Dallas needs to find one thing it does really well and roll with it. Look at Atlanta. In the late 70's and into the 80's, Atlanta was known as the murder capital of the US and for its insanely high crime rate. Then, the city discovered that it has a plethera of talented rappers, it hosted the Olympics, gays moved in to parts of the city and made it pretty, and it became a Korean immigrant hotspot. Now, its known as the center of culture, nightlife, and prominence of the black community and a world class place.
The bottom line is what Dallas is. The 4th largest metro area in the US with an exceptionally good and diverse economy, a diverse population, a fairly good gay scene, a great food scene, fast growing, a cheap cost of living, a decent arts scene (along with Fort Worth), a huge international airport, and good shopping. But with the exception of the economy, there are places that do things better in all those categories. Dallas and DFW are places that do everything on a scale of 7, 8, or 9 out of 10, but that does nothing (except the economy and economic diversity) 10 out of 10.
In order to have an image and identity it must find one thing it does 10 out of 10 well. Look at Las Vegas. All it does is party and gamble. But it does it flawlessly. Vegas has virtually nothing else to offer, yet it has an image and an identity that is known world wide for it. Dallas has to find one thing and run with it.
It doesn't really have one. No one ever says they want to move to Dallas because of how awesome the city is culturally.
If you're looking for cultural identity, look elsewhere.
That may be somewhat true for Dallas proper, but Fort Worth's cultural amenities are top notch. There is no denying that. The museum district in Fort Worth is simply amazing.
Funny thing is that Dallas may not have a true identity, but Fort Worth has a very distinct one.
In order to have an image and identity it must find one thing it does 10 out of 10 well. Look at Las Vegas. All it does is party and gamble. But it does it flawlessly. Vegas has virtually nothing else to offer, yet it has an image and an identity that is known world wide for it. Dallas has to find one thing and run with it.
Very good points. But what would that something be? I think we have to play up the Texas image -- with a modern tweak.
In addition to oil, one thing that people associate with Texas is cattle. Perhaps the city should try to sell itself as mecca for great BBQ and invite chefs to open up shop here -- and only here. Personally, I think our Dallas BBQ is severely lacking. Drive 100 miles south, east or west and its a different story. Some sort of Dallas "food culture" would help.
On the arts front, we've got great modern art. I think we play up that image too and acquire famous works of modern art from across the country.
We don't have too much history. Frankly, we're living in ti. But there's got to be something else Dallas can play up -- in addition to being a good place to do business.
Its a very interesting scenario. For Dallas and DFW, its hard to come up with a set image. They are "Jack of all trades, king of nothing". That has a very positive effect because the diversity (among nightlife, food scene, economy, gay and lesbian scene, shopping, arts, culture, and ethnicity) is very strong. It makes it so there is something for everybody, no matter who you are.
The downside is that Dallas and DFW dont stand out in any one category. Because of that, its hard for Dallas to really be known for something. You mention excellent examples of places that are known for particular things. The truth of the matter is, even though Dallas is probably the most well known city name in Texas, Dallas does not leap to mind for any one thing. As a result, people resort to the old stereotypes of Dallas (like the Dallas TV show).
But I think Dallas can build itself one if it wants. Dallas needs to find one thing it does really well and roll with it. Look at Atlanta. In the late 70's and into the 80's, Atlanta was known as the murder capital of the US and for its insanely high crime rate. Then, the city discovered that it has a plethera of talented rappers, it hosted the Olympics, gays moved in to parts of the city and made it pretty, and it became a Korean immigrant hotspot. Now, its known as the center of culture, nightlife, and prominence of the black community and a world class place.
The bottom line is what Dallas is. The 4th largest metro area in the US with an exceptionally good and diverse economy, a diverse population, a fairly good gay scene, a great food scene, fast growing, a cheap cost of living, a decent arts scene (along with Fort Worth), a huge international airport, and good shopping. But with the exception of the economy, there are places that do things better in all those categories. Dallas and DFW are places that do everything on a scale of 7, 8, or 9 out of 10, but that does nothing (except the economy and economic diversity) 10 out of 10.
In order to have an image and identity it must find one thing it does 10 out of 10 well. Look at Las Vegas. All it does is party and gamble. But it does it flawlessly. Vegas has virtually nothing else to offer, yet it has an image and an identity that is known world wide for it. Dallas has to find one thing and run with it.
OKay that gives me a understanding of the City itself..
A mass of bland, cookie-cutter suburbia posing as a "city" cooking in the open oven of a prairie that is only a few tornadoes away from being wiped away from oblivion. Very little to do besides go to the mall or eat out.
OO is a obviously obtuse. The one and only tornado of any consequence in 165 years hit Dallas 53 years ago.
Austin ought to be extremely jealous of the founder of Dallas, John Neely Bryan, who was let us say 'eccentric'. Sara Cockrell came along and had made a fortune as a business WOMAN by the late 1800s. During that time Dallas was wild west with a red light district (Froggy Bottoms). The Higginbothams and Bailey families made big bucks on horse leather and carriages. The Schoellkopf family also made major waves as merchants. La Reunion Colony was opened by a large group of expatriate French and Europeans.
Then city leaders got together and got the railroads into town with important crossings (one line went right down Pacific downtown). All the cotton came to Dallas from the surrouding areas. CC Slaughter gave money and land for Baylor Hospital and the Catholic Church establised St. Paul Hospital a few blocks away. Parkland was way out on Maple. Adolphus Bush built the lavish Adolphus Hotel. Dallas got a Carnegie Library. Neiman-Marcus soon opened as the premier specialty store of the south and southwest Then their success exploded when H.L. Hunt and other oilmen of East Texas came to town after Magnolia Oil opened the tallest building west of the Mississippi.. A. Harris and Sanger Brothers were large department stores along with Titche Goettinger.
The Collins family established Dallas as an insurance giant (and later William Seay of Southwestern Life). Then R. L. Thornton and Fred Florence made Big D a banking giant. Dallas banks became the first to loan money for oil exploration and on proved reserves. Leaders were also able to beat Houston to get a Federal Reserve Bank. Dallas had an Opera Hall (now Women's Museum in Fair Park - Woodrow Wilson spoke there) but then opened the Music Hall to replace it.
The Cuellar Family started El Chico and the Martinez family started El Fenix. During the Depression Dallas leaders once again moved heaven and earth to get the Centennial Celebration and World's Fair (attended by FDR) by building a massive Art Deco complex at Fair Park. Karl Hoblitzelle established one of the nation's largest cinema presenting organization with Interstate Theaters. The Cotton Bowl and Texas-OU established Dallas as a sports center and early Heisman winners Davey O'Brien and Doak Walker cemented that reputation. SMU football was very famous nationally after WWII. The Cotton Bowl had to be expanded twice to accommodate the crowds.
Many famous Architects began in Dallas as it was a town which appreciated the art - from homes to department stores to commercial and business buildings to art centers. Ford, C.D. Hill, Charles Stevens Dilbeck, Art Swank, Hutsell, Mark Lemmon and George Dahl are some of the names. Stanley Marcus had the nerve to tell Frank Lloyd Wright "NO" for his home - he got Roscoe DeWitt- but then Dallas brought him back in to do Kalita Humprheys Theater.
The Dallas Nine were artists who started a whole movement in the Depression.
Wyatt's Cafeteria opened in Lakewood and soon became a huge chain. Same for grocers Cullums (Tom Thumb) and the Minyard family. Chateaubriand and Old Warsaw opened. The DMA grew quite a bit at Fair Park and Stanley Marcus made Dallas world famous for fashion with his fortnight celebrations at The Store. Trammell Crow later expanded on that with the Market Center and brought in Kim Dawson - Apparell Mart, Men's Mart, World Trade Center and Market Hall. Margo Jones opened an experimental theater (Tennessee Williams in the Bible Belt!) in Fair Park after the Band Shell had produced operettas for many years. Those later became the Dallas Summer Musicals in the Music Hall. Maria Callas came to town and made the Dallas Opera famous.
John Stemmons and Trammell Crow made Dallas one of the nation's commerical real estate headquarters (Crow was called 'the world's largest landlord') and Ebby Halliday soon followed in the residential realm. The high-style Mercantile Bank, Republic Bank (with rooftop rocket) and Southland Life skyscrapers opened. The Dallas Texans and Cowboys came to town circa 1960. Then there was 1963. Dallas leaders put in new efforts and built the IM Pei City Hall as skyscrapers started to pop up everywhere until the late 1980s. Mariano Martinez invented the frozen margarita about the time the Village Apartment complex was finished. In the late 70s Crow opened the Anatole Hotel complex, where President Reagan stayed at the 1984 Republican Convention. Thirty years ago Caroline Hunt Schoellkopf opened the Mansion Hotel and Restaurant - vote number one in the world many times.
In 1965 Ray Nasher opened the art-filled North Park Center.
Liquor by the drink turned Dallas into a major party and culinary town. DFW Airport, larger than Manhattan Island opened in 1974. Then there was "Dallas" on TV and the start of the Arts District downtown. Cedar Springs went from the redneck home of Adair's Bar with female street walkers to a major gay mecca. The Starck Club put Dallas on the international party map in 1984. Older neighborhoods, especially in the original 'streetcar suburbs', became bohmemian and gentrified.
The Greenville Avenue St. Patrick's Parade became a huge event and draws fans from all over the nation. The preceding Irish festival draws huge crowds and Cinco De Mayo is really even larger on a city-wide basis.
Dallas has the dichotomy of the world's largest state fair, complete with farm animals, carnies, corn dogs, fried butter and Big Tex while also being a fashion, arts, journalism, big business and food center of the world - number 8 in billionaires in the world -- so go figure...
So Dallas was and is an eccentric business town which started with livery, railroads, cotton, merchandising and evolved into a banking, insurance, oil, fashion, real estate, hotel and culinary capital with a huge arts and sports scene.
Last edited by Lakewooder; 08-12-2010 at 11:02 AM..
^ very informative. Toward the end, it gives the impression that Dallas is a rather dynamic place.
I also get the impression that Dallas is culturally diverse enough and has enough transplants that what I would perceive as rural Texan or Southern bigotry would be minimized.
But.. what I wanted to ask is, with all this talk about Dallas' cultural identity, I'm wondering: Does "Dallas" want a cultural identity? I put 'Dallas' in quotation marks to highlight that it, like any city, can be attributed a will only in an figurative sense. After all, any city is a group of people who may or not have any common interests or see themselves as a community. I feel this is the case with much of San Jose, where I live; many of the people here are transplants, identify with where they're from, and are probably here only for the economic opportunities, after the exploitation of which, they will probably leave. That's what happened when the dot.com bubble burst and now in this economy, many are leaving again.
The SJ example having been discussed, is there is a group of current Dallas residents, native or transplanted, who actually want their city to have a "brand" or cultural identity as is discussed in post #41? (see top of page).
I wrote all of that stuff from memory as I am a native and I am very proud of my city. I probably should have included Everette Lee DeGolyer, famed geologist and world-class thinker who made Dallas famous around the world with his oil and gas consulting firm and forward international thinking. His White Rock Lake estate was left to SMU which sold it to the city for the arboretum (the Camp estate next door was added as well).
And I left out the impressive founders of Texas Instruments (DeGolyer was originally involved with GSI a precursor) who all were drawn to Dallas four generations ago: Texas Instruments - Founders' Biographies
They really changed the world.
Erik Jonsson became mayor and spearheaded the new city hall and Goals for Dallas.
I would say Dallas is deeply rooted in the 'get it done and do it big' way of thinking. Mayor R.L. Thornton's battle cry was, "keep the dirt flying".
This is a very dangerous question liable to cause a lot of overheated discussions. Therefore, I am unable to offer an opinion. See, I've always been somewhat socially challenged (retarded) when trying to behave myself in any public forum. However, I recently learned to control myself by learning not to wet myself in public.
If you want to really know the truth about Dallas, just ask a lot of people from Houston. When they start getting angry, then you will be getting close to the truth.
Dallas is what it is! Houston hates it! Austin tries to claim that it is just the opposite of it! San Antonio is really in Mexico, so it doesn't count! Meanwhile, as Midland and Tyler are little Dallases, the closeby Odessa and Longview to them are little envious Houstons. Are Midland and Tyler a step down from Dallas? Why, of course they are! Is Beaumont a step down from Houston? Absolutely!
Of course, all this isn't really true, but is only perception. Unfortunately for Houston, perception is all we have.
For those not from here originally the old saying goes: "I may not be from Texas, but I got here as quick as I could".
I lived in Texas for a long time, and I wasn't from there. But I guess it never grew on me, so now I'm an ex-Texan. I wouldn't get too negative and make a snide comment about that old saying you quote, but just know that not everyone is going to like Texas...some people come, see, don't like it, and move on to other places. And that quote could equally ring true for people from other parts of the world who like where they are...nothing special about it and Texas, in that sense. Hope you don't take this negatively though.
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Therefore, I am unable to offer an opinion. 
See, I've always been somewhat socially challenged (retarded) when trying to behave myself in any public forum. 
However, I recently learned to control myself 
by learning not to wet myself in public. 
