Crestwood Place Apartments, R.I.P.

Kevin, you ruined my morning.

Fort Worthology reports that the Crestwood Place Apartments on White Settlement Road will be demolished to make way for single-family homes. That was my first apartment in Fort Worth, to the left of the door on the right in that picture. When I lived there, it was still very much like it was when it was built in the 1940s. Some of my neighbors were original residents. Boy, I loved that place. I hate to see it go. Just another example of a change not-for-the-better in Fort Worth.

UPDATE: I really didn't get in all I wanted to say about my old apartment. My wife and I have talked a lot about the old place. I lived there when we first met. The first time I kissed her was on the lawn in front of that door on the right. For both of us, the Crestwood Place Apartments are special because that's where we were when we fell in love.

We both held the same thought in our minds -- this was the place we would go back to if everything went to hell. This was basecamp. This would be the place where we would go where everything would always be OK. Other things could come and go, but we would always have each other and we would always have that place to go back to. Stupid thought, maybe, but a critical part of the mythology that holds two people together.

The other night, I saw a documentary about Tony Bennett and someone asked him about the success of his song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." He explained that the reason that song is so beloved is that it really isn't about San Francisco, it's about wherever your heart is. San Francisco can be anywhere. Paris, Manhattan or an old apartment on White Settlement Road in Fort Worth, Texas.

I guess the Crestwood Place Apartments is San Francisco to us. A little bit of our hearts will always be there, and a little bit of that place will always be in our hearts. They can build million-dollar homes on that land, but they will be unable to build a more beautiful building to me.

Architecture: A Dissent

I like architecture. I write about architecture sometimes. It interests me.

Annie Choi doesn't like architecture. In fact, she wrote an entire article about it. Not that I agree with all of it, but it's funny. My favorite part:

"Architects love to discuss how much sleep they have gotten. One will say how he was at the studio until five in the morning, only to return again two hours later. Then another will say, oh that is nothing. I haven’t slept in a week. And then another will say, guess what, I have never slept ever. My dear architects, the measure of how hard you’ve worked and how much you’ve accomplished is not related to the number of hours you have not slept. Have you heard of Rem Koolhaas? [Yes, I have, Annie. He's designing the new Opera House in Dallas. - Steve] He is a famous architect. I know this because you tell me he is a famous architect. I hear that Rem Koolhaas is always sleeping. He is, I presume, sleeping right now. And I hear he gets shit done. And I also hear that in a stunning move, he is making a building that looks not like a glass cock, but like a concrete vagina [Wow, it does. It'll be GREAT in Dallas]. When you sleep more, you get vagina. You can all take a lesson from Rem Koolhaas."

Or maybe not.

A Few of My Favorites

I've already offered my views on the AIA Fort Worth list of favorite local buildings, and, as I mentioned, Anthony Mariani of the FWWeekly is putting together an Unsung List of Architecturally Significant Things to serve as a companion piece of sorts. I would like to submit the following buildings for consideration. I'm a modernist at heart, so that's pretty much the direction we're headed.

The Young Residence, Burleson: OK, it's not Fort Worth. Shoot me. This 950 square foot residence designed by Aledo architect Richard Wintersole is located on a half acre lot in an established 1970s suburban neighborhood in Burleson. According to the Fort Worth AIA site: "The design consists of three parts: a stucco clad double volume living room, a wood deck and galvalume clad support spaces. For budget and aesthetic reasons the material palette is simple: wood floors, drywall, plastic laminate counters, sandblasted steel and sealed plywood subflooring." I like this building because it shows what affordable residential architecture could be. I'm aware that most people want to live in those mass-produced David Weekley monstrosities. And, hey, that OK. BUT I wish there was more room in the panoply of home choices for something like this.


The Works of C.M. and Zoe Davis, Fort Worth: Charles M. Davis (1884-1974) was a civil engineer who helped develop slip-form concrete construction for use in large concrete structures, such as the Ralston Purina and Universal grain elevators built around Fort Worth in the 1920s and 1930s. Davis and his daughter Zoe became fascinated with the streamlined modernist works of designer Norman Bel Geddes and architects Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler. They also were interested in the potential of concrete as low-cost building material.

Of course, during the Depression, there wasn't much going on, so Charles and his daughter began to experiment with concrete construction by building several small, apartment-sized single home projects dubbed "Aparthomes" in the TCU area. They were able to purchase a few lots for $250 to $350 and persuaded the Portland Cement Association to sponsor the construction. Even still, the Davises had to cut as many corners as possible to make these houses affordable. One interesting feature of these houses was a ventilation system designed to remove hot air through the roof.

Four of the Davis Homes are extant. The one that has fared best is 2945 Lubbock pictured above as it exists today and as it did in years past. This home was purchased a few years ago by a couple of TCU professors who -- though they have significantly expanded and changed the structure -- have maintained the original integrity of the building. They've really done a marvelous job with the place.

Another Davis Aparthome that has fared well is 3241 Waits, which looks remarkably similar to the photo from the 1930s. The other Davis home directly across the street at 3240 Waits has not fared quite as well.

The only other Davis house is at 1010 Devitt, the lower photo of the house with the two windows with awnings. This house appeared to be in the worst condition of the four. However, even this house appeared -- at least from the outside -- to be restorable. Obviously, concrete structures have a durability of their own. Here's hoping that all of the remaining Davis structures get the chance for a rehab. Charles and Zoe Davis were homegrown modernists. I hope that their remaining work can be saved so future Fort Worth residents can see how modernism was interpreted in Fort Worth back in the 1930s. (Source: Cowtown Modern by Judith Singer Cohen, pages 99-101, 1988, Texas A&M University Press. The black and white photos are also from the book. The color photos are mine.)

Martin E. Robin Residence, 3817 White Settlement Rd., Fort Worth: This house, designed by Fred W. Murphree in 1941 is across the street from my first apartment in Fort Worth. As Singer described the house in Cowtown Moderne, the house is "an amalgam of the curves of the Streamline Moderne, the angles of the International Style and the decorative features of the Mediterranean Style." Built by contractor Martin E. Robin as his residence, he included a lot of unique features into the home, including a rooftop deck reached by an outside flight of concrete steps and -- my personal favorite -- a matching doghouse with its own rooftop patio for a little canine sunbathing. Awesome. (Source: Cohen, pages 105-106)

Fort Worth Public Health Building, 1800 University Drive, Fort Worth: I know it may not be sexy, but I have a soft spot for Mid-Century Modern municipal architecture, the sort of postwar government modernism that you are familiar with whether you grew up in the US or Europe. I don't know who designed it, and I guess it really doesn't matter. I love the glass, the brick, the angles and -- what is that? -- green marble? I don't know. There just something kind of optimistic about it. And I believe (but I'm not certain) that it has a date with the wrecking ball. (If someone out there knows for sure, please comment.)

However, I couldn't imagine this building holding off demolition for long. As Fred Bernstein wrote in an article for The New York Times in 2004, this style of architecture may be loved by some, but not by most: "In a society otherwise enamored of the styles of the 1960s, the architecture of that decade is rarely loved and frequently reviled. All over the country, '60s buildings are being torn down while much older buildings survive. Functional problems, like leaky roofs and inadequate heating systems, are often to blame."

Yes, it's mostly a matter of dollars and cents, but taste also has something to do with it. Bernstein continues: "But just as often, the buildings are simply disliked by institutions that have enough money to replace them."

This building and others like it may yet have their day, but I'm not expecting them to endure like the Courthouse and Post Office. This style is just not as easy for most people to love. And like many, many examples of Mid-Century Modern Architecture around the Fort Worth and Dallas area, I expect most of them to be gone before most people think preservation is important.

Conclusion
Please don't get me wrong. I like the buildings on the Fort Worth AIA list as much as anyone. And we're lucky to have as many fantastic modern structures here in the Fort -- from the ziggurats of the Art Deco skyscrapers downtown to the sublime minimalism of the Modern Art Museum. Fort Worth architecture has covered a lot of modern ground over the past 80 years. But there are some unsung beauties out there, too. They may not have been designed by the biggest names or had the biggest budgets. Let's recognize their beauty before they're gone.

BTW, I'd like to tag my other Fort Worth blog buds -- Ken and Kevin and Pete and Bernie and whoever else wants to play to name their favorites. I can't wait to read 'em.

UPDATE 7.17.07: Kevin at Fort Worthology brings it strong with his list!

Thoughts on the Fort Worth AIA List

Well, I am sort of overdue in commenting on the Fort Worth AIA list of their "25 favorite buildings." I guess I wasn't in too much of a hurry because I didn't have many disagreements with the list and I felt that Kevin pretty well covered everything at Fort Worthology (as he always does).

That being said, I feel more or less compelled to tackle the issue since Anthony Mariani at the FWWeekly tagged me with his kind words. So here goes.

Favorite 25 buildings ... where? Fort Worth? I assume so. But what are the parameters? Is Granbury eligible? Weatherford? Lipan? The rules don't seem to be defined. If the greater Fort Worth area is eligible, I'd like to say I really like that cool little house in Burleson that was in Dwell a few years back. Richard Wintersole’s Young Residence in Burleson (pictured above) deserves mention far more than the Anne Bass residence designed by the great modernist architect Paul Rudolph for the simple reason that it is far more relevant to most people than Anne Bass’ great white whale. Sure, it may be a great building, but if architecture is an artform that you don't just see, you experience it.

Where is the Bass residence located? I couldn’t tell you. I’ve never even seen anything other than a fuzzy, Zapruder-esque picture of it. Neither have many of the architecture geeks around the Fort. What’s more, neither I nor most people in Fort Worth will ever see it, much less experience it. It is about as architecturally significant as NORAD headquarters because it can be neither seen nor experienced by the unwashed masses.

The Young Residence on the other hand, can be seen, experienced and probably built if you have $150k-$200k. I could probably go knock on their door, introduce myself and get a tour. And Wintersole is actually a local architect of ability and renown. So what’s the problem? Too modern maybe?

Another sort-of local architect who got a big “fuck you” on the list was David Schwartz, who designed Bass Performance Hall, the Ballpark in Arlington, Southlake Town Center and a good chunk of the Sundance Square. Funny that his name doesn’t end up on the list because he’s actually designed some of the highest-profile projects in Fort Worth in years.

However, there’s a word that often comes up with Schwartz: Disney. His projects borrow so heavily from historical antecedents that they are not perceived as having any character of their own. I think that this is selling the man a little short. If you visit Bass Hall, American Airlines Center, the Ballpark, Schwartz’s projects make sense in their architectural context. Yeah, the Bass Hall angels are over-the-top and cheesy, but the building as an architectural experience works.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d personally prefer a Wintersole building over a Schwartz building 10 times out of 10. Of course, since his American Airlines Center was the only local building to make the National AIA 150, I think we can see why the man doesn’t get his props. A little sour grapes.

But that’s enough time spent defending Schwartz. He can console himself by rolling around on his pile of money. Me, on the other hand, I’m more interested in Anthony Mariani’s Unsung List of Architecturally Significant Buildings in Fort Worth that he’s working on for future FWWeekly issue. I’ll have my thoughts and nominations on that soon.

A Reprieve for the Knights of Pythias?

Kevin at Fort Worthology reports that the Knights of Pythias Hall, which appeared to be headed for a date with the wrecking ball, may in fact be saved. Good job, Kevin, for being all over this story!

Um ... Wow

If you've been wondering what's going to happen to the area east of the Modern Art Museum, get a load of this. For the skinny on this, check out Kevin's report at Fort Worthology. Doesn't look so good for Fred's, does it?

That being said, there are a couple of other posts over Kevin's way that are worth your attention: his firm support of the TCC Campus downtown (which I would like to throw in a hearty "me too!") and his look at the proposed Trinity Uptown project and throwing around possible names for the development. Name two-cents -- Isla Los Panteras.

Turn Out The Lights

So much for the tower of light. Kevin at Fort Worthology points out that the lights have been out at the Pier One Building. "No more giant lit up crown or shaft of light shooting deep into the night sky above Panther City - in fact, without the night lighting the building looks rather dead at night now." Yes, it does look dead. Are they really just trying to save money on the electric bill?

Wrecking More of Our Heritage

Kevin at Fort Worthology reports that the historic Knights of Pythias building from 1925 in the Hillside neighborhood faces demolition. Can anything be done to save it? Not unless you happen to have $300k laying around.

enDangered with a Capital D

Hot on the heels of Historic Fort Worth's list of most endangered places, Preservation Dallas has released its list of Big D's most endangered places. How does Dallas do with its architectural heritage? Does the picture above give you a clue?

Please take a look at my other blog, DFW Mid-Century Modern for a look at some of the local Mid-Century gems that are at risk.

Historic Fort Worth Adds To The List

Yesterday, we took our shots at the Startlegram for its lame election coverage and it had me thinking about Cowtown’s only daily. Most people have a love / hate relationship with their local paper: they love it when it coves something important to them and they hate it when it ignore something important to them or covers it badly. Today, it made amends (sort of) by highlighting on the business cover Historic Fort Worth adding a dozen properties to its list of Fort Worth’s Most Endangered Places.

It has been two years since the organization last released the list. The group is announcing its new list today in the hopes that steps can be taken to preserve the properties. The properties were nominated by the public and chosen by a committee at Historic Fort Worth, said Jerre Tracy, the group’s executive director. “You can never re-create them,” Tracy said. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone. It affects all of us.”

A couple of the places closest to my heart:

3000 University Drive (pictured above), better known as the drag by TCU.

The TXU power plant on North Main Street.

Cowtown’s remainging single-screen movie theaters: the Ridglea, New Isis, Berry and Azle theaters.

Chase Court, a planned residential subdivision comprising one block bisected from east to west by an esplanade drive with landscaped islands. It was laid out in 1906 and remains the earliest documented planned subdivision in the city. One of my wife’s co-workers lives here, and to say it is cool is an understatement.

Thanks to the S-T for giving serious play to this story. Saving these places makes our city a better place to live.

Modern Architecture in the MetroMess

There's nothing I enjoy more than a good Internet pissing match. Well, actually, there's A LOT of things I enjoy more, but an Internet pissing match will do to pass the time.

This particular one is between Anthony Mariani at the FWWeekly and the good folks the Fort Worth Architecture online forum, which is -- IMHO -- one of the great online discussions about civic life in the Fort. The people at the Fort Worth Architecture forum are passionate about this city, opinionated, educated and knowledgeable. It's a good read that I highly recommend.

Anyway, this all started with Mariani's piece on modern architecture in Dallas and Fort Worth. The gist of the article was this: although Fort Worth is proud of its examples of Modernist and contemporary public architecture -- the Amon Carter Museum (Philip Johnson), the Kimbell Art Museum (Louis Kahn), and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (Tadao Ando) -- Dallas is poised to jump into the lead with its Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and the Trinity River project. Mariani ended the article by saying "as Dallas boldly looks forward, Fort Worth should think twice about looking back. In other words, fellow Cowtowners, get your digs in at Big D while you can."

This article certainly raised the hackles of the architecture geeks at the FW Architecture forum -- and I mean architecture geek in a positive way. I thought the comments made some interesting points, but devolved into cheap shots and Dallas vs. Fort Worth rhetoric (which is a WHOLE post unto itself). My take on it was the architecture geeks were mostly right, and Mariani was flat-ass wrong, at least in regarding public architecture in the two cities.

While Dallas certainly is taking great strides in its public architecture with what's going on in the arts district, I'm not sure that Rem Koolhaas' design is going to redefine the way anyone in the Metromess looks at public architecture. As a proud member of the Cowtown tribe and self-proclaimed architecture geek, I ain't gonna wet my pants over this one. I'll put our museums up against anything in Big D and feel good about it.

And throwing out the Trinity River Vision as an example? Spend anytime at Unfair Park or Frontburner, and you'll see that people in Dallas have mixed feelings at best about that little boondoggle. Is it a parks project? Is it a highway project? Who knows? And how will all that money that Dallas voters approved be spent? And the Calatrava Bridge? If it is ever built, it will get you to Ray's Sporting Goods faster, but what else?

That being said, if you want to talk about things that Dallas is doing right, how do you not mention the Nasher? It's a sublime architectural experience.

OK, enough of the piling on Anthony Mariani because I thought he did bring up an interesting point: progressive residential construction in Fort Worth is, for all intents and purposes, non-existent. To quote the article:

The third wave is one of the most progressive residential developments in the country. Urban Reserve, located on the east bank of Upper White Rock Creek, introduces Modernist and architected single-family speculative tract housing into North Texas’ hodgepodge of cottages and colonials, Tuscans and Tudors. Think flat roofs and fake façades rather than houses of seven gables and protective (or confining?) white columns.

At the vanguard of a burgeoning nationwide movement, developer Diane Cheatham’s 13-acre project is further evidence that, from the vantage point of today, Modernism isn’t as foreboding as it seemed during the height of its popularity in the early 1970s. Urban Reserve and similar housing developments apply to cul de sacs the philosophy of Target superstores: offer exceptional contemporary design at reasonable prices. Nearly all of the 50 proposed dwellings have already been sold.

Coupled with the performing arts center, Urban Reserve will put Big D on the map, as an international destination and a place for design connoisseurs — rich and not so rich — to call home and be congratulated on their urbanity.

So, Dallas has the Urban Reserve and Kessler Woods Court and many other fine custom-built examples of modernist architecture sprinkled through town. And, Fort Worth has -- what? -- Village Homes? Nothing, really, except that house down in Burleson that was in Dwell Magazine

That's not to say there's anything much to write home about regarding affordable modernist residential architecture in the Metromess. And I know lots of people think that modernist architecture has to be expensive. Not true. KRDB architecture in Austin is doing really nice, yet affordable, modernist architecture in A-town. Austin even has its own modernist subdivision. Why not in Fort Worth? Is there no market for it here? Is it just that people prefer Tuscan fantasy crap? Now that's a story I want to read!

However, Anthony Mariani couldn't leave it alone. Anthony, you should have just walked away. Yeah, you took some cheap shots. But you have to hold your head up and just walk on by. Trading cheap shots may feel gratifying, but it ain't very professional. Just snap your panties back into place and move on.

However, Mariani made a good point:

To many respondents, comparing Fort Worth to Dallas — or one city to another — is a fool’s errand. Suggesting that there’s some sort of rivalry between Cowtown and Big D is an even bigger affront to reason. But twin cities such as Minneapolis-St.Paul, Winston-Salem, and Fort Worth-Dallas aren’t “normal” metropolises. Especially in regard to a potential visitor or resident’s perception of the city, twin cities must be evaluated differently, meaning that one twin cannot be assessed as a place in which to live or sightsee without considering the other. The identity and vitality of each depends on the cross-pollination of ideas and, more significantly, location-specific cultural resources. We have the Cultural District and are either loved or envied by Dallasites for it. Dallas will have an enormous, spellbinding performing arts complex and will be either loved or envied by us for it. (The normal folks, not caring about city limits and hotel-motel tax income, will be glad just to have more cool stuff in the region.) Each twin feeds off the challenge of meeting or surpassing the other’s cultural resources, for the sake of fueling the health of the entire region.

You make a good point, except for this: "Suggesting that there’s some sort of rivalry between Cowtown and Big D is an even bigger affront to reason." While technically correct, you're point is spiritually flawed. Most old-time Fort Worth residents make a hobby out of hating Dallas while most most people in Dallas regard Fort Worth like they do San Angelo or Abilene -- it's out west somewhere. You need two sides hating each other to make a rivalry. That said, there is a rivalry and the reason it is not an affront to reason is this -- it's fun. Yeah, it's stupid and it may not make sense but it defines the DNA of many here in Fort Worth. We're from Fort Worth, we damn sure ain't Dallas. Cross-pollination be damned!

Now give me an ice-cold Rahr Stormcloud and a chop beef sandwich from Angelo's and I'll be on my way.

Ridglea Theater Dodges a Bullet

The Ridglea Theater narrowly avoids foreclosure, sez the Startlegram. I absolutely love this building -- and although I wish it were still a movie palace -- it's a great place to see live music.

Renzo Piano Chosen for Kimbell Annex

The great Italian architect Renzo Piano will be designing the annex to the Kimbell Art Museum, the museum annouced yesterday.

It's a rough neighborhood for an architect. Sure, he's the 1998 Pritzker Prize winner, but the museum district already has a couple of those with 1979 winner Philip Johnson's Amon Carter Museum across the lawn and 1995 winner Tadao Ando's Modern Art Museum across the street. Not to mention that the annex will need to compliment Louis Kahn's design. Piano worked with Kahn from 1965 to 1970.

Sez the Startlegram:

But Piano will likely be seen as a safe choice for anyone who is worried about the new building detracting from or competing with the late Kahn's design. Piano worked in Kahn's Philadelphia offices in the late 1960s and was as close as anyone to Kahn's thinking and working methods. Since then, he has shown a special affinity for designing museums with great sensitivity to their location and special lighting needs.

"It's an awesome challenge, but an attractive one," Piano said in a prepared statement. "It is all the more satisfying as an undertaking given my association with Lou Kahn and my deep respect for his work."

Piano is well known for his museum designs: the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Menil Collection in Houston, the Beyeler Foundation museum in Basel, Switzerland, a museum dedicated to Swiss painter Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland, as well as Dallas' Nasher Sculpture Center and Atlanta's High Museum of Art.

I'm familiar with Piano's two other Texas works -- the Menil and the Nasher -- from personal experience, so one thing to expect from the Kimbell annex is exquisite quality of light. I'm excited to see the design and proud that Cowtown will bring the work of another world-class architect to the museum district.

Bluebonnet Circle Park To Get A Facelift

I'm trying to be more involved in the community, and I'm failing miserably. For instance, I planned to attend this community meeting on the Bluebonnet Circle Park. And I whiffed it. The city was presenting the proposed designs. Every design presented had the standard needed elements/criteria within (ex: shade, benches, lighting, paths, etc.). The difference between the designs was the overall feel and style portrayed. See what you think.

Concepts 1a and 1b honor the traditional, formal style of the park. It restores and updates the historical nature of the park and pays tribute to the original designers, Hare & Hare.




Concept 2 breaks from the traditional lines of the park and takes on a more free form style. The park flows back and forth with grade changes and open space.


Concept 3 concentrates on massing of vegetative styles; trees, grasses, open lawn. The massings break the parks uniformity slightly for interest.

Which do I prefer? Number 2, I guess. I like the asymetrical aspect to the design. But honestly, I'd probably be OK with any of them.

It Ain't About the West Side

Last call for Cowtown? Not so fast, sez Bud Kennedy in a Thursday column:

In the first place, any city with a daily cattle drive, a hall of fame for cowgirls and a Top 20 college football team named for a lizard is not in imminent danger of falling off the personality meter.

In the second place, the west side has never been what made Fort Worth funky.

If you want personality, go look on the south side. Look on West Magnolia Avenue or Blue Bonnet Circle, or over in Riverside or in one of the great north side restaurants on North Main Street.

Most of Fort Worth still has the same old spirit. Meanwhile, the west side has some very lucrative real estate deals.

More Thoughts on "Last Call"

Will the development along the 7th Street corridor chip away at those things that many of us love about Fort Worth? That's the question the Startlegram asked on Sunday. Some folks seemed to think the article was a little off the mark, a little bit chicken little.

I disagree. I think the article asks an important question.

Fort Worth is a big city that still functions on a human scale. It’s much more egalitarian than Dallas – I go to the grocery store and see Jim Wright, I go to a restaurant and see Ed Bass or Van Cliburn. I spend a lot of time in Dallas, and you just don’t see the movers and the shakers out and about. Why? Because they aren’t going to the same places you are. Everything is much more stratified.

I like going to places like Fred’s where the yuppies and the freaks and the regular people can all get together and have a burger and cold one. That’s what I worry about Fort Worth losing. I’m not one of those people who thinks new equals bad. I think Fort Worth needs this. But I am a little skeptical because I know what happens when good intentions collide with the profit motive.

Look at the development that’s happened in Dallas over the past 20 years: is there any “there” there anymore? There are lots of new, shiny places, but a lot of the development has been at the expense of the buildings and neighborhoods that make Dallas authentic. Is there anything left of State-Thomas in the Uptown neighborhood? Is the new Knox-Henderson an improvement over the old one? Will there be anything left of turn of the (last) century Deep Ellum after the neighborhood gets yet another makeover?

Maybe I’m looking at it the wrong way. I like a little grit. As Tom Waits once said about his beatnik poem “Ninth and Hennepin” about life on the other side of the tracks in America, when you ask someone about Ninth and Hennepin now, they say, “Oh, yeah, my wife bought some sandals there.” Like Tom, I’m not sure this is a good thing.

Does 7th Street need a facelift? Yes. Is it going to happen? Yes. Will it be done thoughtfully and without sacrificing the things that make the city authentic? That remains to be seen. I’m glad people are talking about it. But will it matter?

Photo by Tim Cummins

For another take on this: See Kevin's blog FortWorthology.

S-T Odds and Ends

Catching up on a pretty readable weekend in the Startlegram.

First is an article that’s bound to cause a little hand-wringing on the Dallasization of Fort Worth. Specifically, this refers to the development along the 7th Street corridor west of downtown that some would like to see become Fort Worth’s answer to Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood. The Black Dog is gone and The Wreck Room is not far behind. Whither Fred’s? "Fred's has to change with the demographics," owner Terry Chandler says. "Our rent is more expensive than it used to be ... So I'm stepping it up a little bit -- the same thing but higher quality." Does this worry anyone else? As Brian Forella, owner of the Wreck Room puts it, one thing Fort Worth may lose is the great egalitarian nature of the nightlife where, regardless of social station, people get together to tip a few, see aband and grab a bite. “Lawyers, doctors and guys that work on cars, and they all get along. Kind of like Fred's. That's the weird dynamic of Fort Worth that I think it's going to start to lose -- that melting-pot kind of place where everybody can hang out." I want to write more on this later.

Do you know Geekcore? Nerds rapping about their mad coding skillz? Well, me neither. Cary Darling opened my eyes to Geeksta life with his article on MC Router, T-Byte and others love of high tech and hard beats. Includes a shout out to MC Chris (aka MC Pee Pants from Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Finally, an op-ed piece from oncologist Jerry Barker on the HPV vaccine debate that clouds the issue with facts.