Deep Ellum, Dallas

During this spring's solo roadtrip I had a few hours to kill in Dallas and hunted about for some street art. The force is strong in this Deep Ellum hipsterverse.

Texas roadside relics

Abandoned motel 1 - Alice, TX

Abandoned motel 2 - Alice, TX

On the road to Abilene

Abilene Courts

Abilene Relic

Clyde, TX

Deep Ellum, Dallas

Relic in training

One Sign - Two Times

I'll be sprinkling images and memories from my recent Texas Solo over the next few days. Let's start this week with an animated neon sign that glows in Addison, TX. Syd Nagoshi writes that this google-style beacon for Sigel's Liquor once resided near the Dallas intersection of Lemmon Avenue and Inwood Road. It was moved to this site sometime after 2009.

In fact, here's a surreal time travel experience: As of today, Google Street View shows the sign in its original Dallas location, where it stood for more than five decades. The scene shows construction work underway but the sign still hangs on. Advance the map left or right though, and - poof! - the sign is gone; the place has been replaced by a bank. This effect will surely vanish as Google updates its files, so...

See it now!


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2013 Spring Solo - Jack Starr

During my 2013 Spring Solo I spent a lot of time searching for animated neon signs. I only found a few that spoke to me, but they were worth the wait. This one -- Jack Starr Cut Rate Liquors in Forth Worth, TX -- surprised me. I was cruising the boulevards waiting for dusk, an ideal time to shoot a nearby motel, when I saw this glorious sign. After all my research, I'd never heard of this place. I couldn't wait to set up my tripod. Most folks ignored me; they were intent on grabbing their bottles and scooting out. But a few stopped and stared at the sign, almost as if they'd never quite noticed it before.