Comments on: Adios, Good-Latimer Tunnel

Adios, Good-Latimer Tunnel

Ufez Jones — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:46:33 -0800

Dallas is just a little less funky now. warning: Poorly edited YouTube, but pertinent - bear with me. Not a surprise, but one of Dallas's greatest landmarks is no longer. Fortunately, plenty of people have documented the beautiful art that is no longer.

By: Ufez Jones

Ufez Jones — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:49:00 -0800

Apparently I love linking the phrase "no longer". 'Tis nostalgic of Dickensian or something. Also, yes, this post is the bastard child of insomnia and guilt that I didn't go down and document the tunnel myself.

By: tula

tula — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:56:42 -0800

I didn't know Dallas could get uglier and more soulless.

By: Item

Item — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:07:13 -0800

If any city's capable of it, it's Dallas.

By: freshwater_pr0n

freshwater_pr0n — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:10:15 -0800

Oh, hell. There are still plenty of great things about Dallas. Strip clubs, megachurches and, uh. . . yeah. Did I mention that they have lots of strip clubs?

By: chillmost

chillmost — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:10:35 -0800

When I was a teenager, I used to sneak out of the house at night and hang out down there. Lots of fun and danger. *sigh* And...what tula said.

By: redteam

redteam — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:48:25 -0800

So this tunnel had a bad smell?

By: StrangerInAStrainedLand

StrangerInAStrainedLand — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:48:34 -0800

My opinion of Dallas began to take shape when I noticed a stream of seemingly open sewage running through a park near the ballet, softened somewhat when I bought an amazing belt buckle from a man wearing a shirt cut from an American flag, and steadily declined for the rest of the weekend. The belt buckle wore out after three months.

By: First Post

First Post — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:49:18 -0800

Yep. That was like a gateway to a magical land, once upon a time. A lot of people would honk the horn as they drove thru that tunnel, for whatever reason. I saw where Clearview was closing too. Things tend to come and go and then come back again in that area, however, so who knows.

By: RayOrama

RayOrama — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:12:27 -0800

Dallas is just a little less funky now. When was Dallas ever funky?

By: YoBananaBoy

YoBananaBoy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:27:13 -0800

Yup. In the '20 Deep Ellum was funky. And if you count skin heads it was funky in the 80's, too.

By: RayOrama

RayOrama — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:41:34 -0800

And if you count skin heads it was funky in the 80's, too. There's nothing funky about skinheads. Yo, word to Bootsy Collins! Play that funky music, Dallas white boys!

By: YoBananaBoy

YoBananaBoy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:44:57 -0800

whoops, sorry, must have forgotten the closing sarcasm tag after skinhead. </sarcasm> there, all better?

By: RayOrama

RayOrama — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:54:04 -0800

Yes, it is. Thank you very much. :)

By: furiousthought

furiousthought — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:55:03 -0800

Aw, son of a bitch! On the other hand, the light rail is very very good for the city, in my opinion.

By: First Post

First Post — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:57:21 -0800

It was funky when all the bands had dreadlocked Dallas white boys playing congas, a la the New Bohemians, Ten Hands, Fever in the Funkhouse, etc. That particular era of the New Bo's and ecstasy sold in jars at the front of the clubs and all that...it was quite a remarkable time for original music of whatever genre. All the cover bands down there now wouldn't have gone over well. It seemed to be more about new and different sounds. At any rate, some pretty funky groups walked that earth in those days. I always love to play in Deep Ellum. There's a lot of history in the area. Robert Johnson recorded up the road. Charlie Parker played there, with Jay McShnn's band out of Kansas City. Numerous blues and punk legends have worked their magic in Ellum over the years. Some nights it feels like you can just pull it out of the air. Dallas is what you make of it, though.

By: First Post

First Post — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 02:02:20 -0800

Jay McShann, that is. (Normally I try not to bother with such corrections unless it's something that interferes with the meaning of the post, but my grandfather was in the newspaper business and his main rule was that no matter what else was wrong, you should always make sure to get people's names right. So this one's for you, granddad *points at sky*)

By: romakimmy

romakimmy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 03:26:53 -0800

Booger. .

By: Benny Andajetz

Benny Andajetz — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 07:42:03 -0800

Just remember: If you go down to Deep Ellum, keep your money in your shoes, cause the women in Deep Ellum got them Deep Ellum blues......

By: 2sheets

2sheets — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:00:31 -0800

Sorry, there were a few good pieces in the tunnel, but most of it was crap. I rode a bike through there just about every day for 3 years and I know it well. I'm going to stop short of calling out names here, but if you think art like this is beautiful, you need to get out more. And there's a lot more like that in Deep Ellum, or at least there was when I lived down there.

By: Muffpub

Muffpub — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:09:14 -0800

that's devastating. i had a lot of fun times there.

By: Potsy

Potsy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:17:59 -0800

At least that big painting on the side of a downtown building with the kid pulling the wagon is still there. It's looking a little weathered these days, though.

By: svenvog

svenvog — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:19:06 -0800

I remember that horrible mural that 2sheets linked to and it was hideous. I will admit that the neighborhood was fun in the late 80's early 90's but trailed off when the music became predictable and typical. The spray can artist in the fair park area produced some great pieces but most of them have been over tagged and since replaced with fresh (gray) paint.

By: rosswald

rosswald — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:59:00 -0800

This makes me sad. I always loved that tunnel; it got me pysched for shows on the way in, and soothed my blown ear-drums and tired body on the way back. But at least theres still Addison!

By: Potsy

Potsy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:01:52 -0800

Oh yeah, and there's still this.

By: nola

nola — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:07:12 -0800

Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night? Well Dallas is a jewel, oh yeah, Dallas is a beautiful sight. And Dallas is a jungle but Dallas gives a beautiful light. Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night? Well, Dallas is a woman who will walk on you when you're down. But when you are up, she's the kind you want to take around. But Dallas ain't a woman to help you get your feet on the ground. Yes Dallas is a woman who will walk on you when you're down. -Jimmie Dale Gilmore Well, I came into Dallas with the bright lights on my mind, But I came into Dallas with a Dollar and a dime. Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eye. A steel and concrete soul with a warm hearted love disguise. A rich man who tends to believe in his own lies. Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes.

By: davy

davy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:31:15 -0800

Now if they'd only finish paving Dallas.

By: TreeHugger

TreeHugger — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:33:26 -0800

This is a bit upsetting... I lived a block from there on Good-Latimer for over a year, and the tunnel represented one's transition into what passes for an art & music community in D-town. To me, Deep Ellum was the only interesting area to live in Dallas ... other than Lower Greenville. DE has such a rich history and the old buildings obviously have a lot of stories (no pun intended) to tell. Too bad about the tunnel. I'll shed one small tear and let it go. I live in NYC now, and with the abundance of artist culture here, Dallas no longer holds much fascination.

By: undule

undule — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:03:55 -0800

I'm rather happy they're expanding the commuter rail line -- that's the better story.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 20:56:47 -0800

It's only fitting that the gateway to the "arts district" be paved over. It's the only story Dallas has to tell, really. Dallas has no concept of history. Dallas is as bright and shiny as newly minted money. It's what she does. Like a voracious vampiric harridan, she sucks up what passes for lifeblood, and reincarnates herself to lure the next set of victims into her lair. Bless her heart, she's an evil old whore who has just paved over her heart of gold.

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 07:34:58 -0800

Dallas, TX is so far my least favorite city I have visited in the U.S. I do think the expanded rail line is good news though.