And yet another picture of Cirque condos, this time at day in B&W. The top of the W hotel is visible beyond and the white building wiht panels in the fore is the parking garage. I think I've finally figured out why I'm so intrigued by these structures as they are being built: when we see an animal's bones, it's after the life of the animal has come and gone, and the bones are what remains. With a building, it's just the opposite: first the skeleton forms and then the life fills in the gaps around it. Interesting.

Menu sign at the drive-thru window of Longhorn Bar-b-que in a Dallas suburb.

Yum. Now I want some ribs!

Rolex Building

For as long as I can remember, there's been a Rolex building in Dallas. I sort of imagine it must be because they sell a lot of product in this town.

This is the under construction Cirque condominium building at Wichita and Field streets by American Airlines Center and catty-corner to the W hotel. This is the building I put here with the welder working up high last month.

Clock tower on a downtown building under forboding skies.

This is the brand new W hotel. The blue light on the top is Ghost Bar. Super cool venue. Elegant, beautiful hotel with superb restaurants.

American Airlines Center grand entry, non-event night. I took this photo with my back to the W Hotel.

http://www.azureliving.com

Yet another image of Azure, one I posted over at Fatale Abstraction. Azure, luxury condos in Dallas. Extra-Fancy. Good news! One of the two rooftop penthouses with over 9000 SF and a swimming pool is still available! Probably under $8 million, I'm guessing.

Here's a photo looking to the South from the hill where the waterfall billboard is. The waterfall is directly behind where I snapped this shot. The ball-on-a-stick is Reunion Tower, part of the Hyatt Regency Reunion Hotel. To the left and out of the frame is downtown. In the lefthand foreground is part of the foundation of the razed Baby Doe's restaurant. The brightly colored sign is for American Airlines Center which is where the Stars and the Mavericks play. On closer inspection, you can see a traffic helicopter and the traffic on Stemmons expressway. The long overpass curving to the right is an exit ramp to the small bit of highway that runs just north of downtown proper, and that strip of roadway is known locally as "the canyon." Also in this photo, the Lew Sterrett courts building and county jail are visible, as is the hotel where the Beatles stayed when they first came to Dallas all those years ago. This is a more interesting photo than I at first realized. Enjoy.

Pigeons on a cold day.

Steinway Hall piano store.

Magnificent mid-20th century signage. In the glassed-in corner of this building is a huge tree that's always been there. This is at the corner of Monticello and Central Expressway.

This is the back of the waterfall billboard. This seemed anti-climactic to me when I drove up the hill to see the back of the waterfall. It's just a facade, and from the back, it looks like any other billboard. Ho hum.

A sweet little pinup for Valentine's Day. OOPS! How about day-after-Valentine's Day? I think February 15 is a day worth celebrating!

This is my sister's new puppy, Daisy. Weenie dogs make incredibly cute puppies.

Under construction.

Here's a high-rise luxury condo building that is nearing completion. There are a large number of these buildings going up in the Uptown and Victory Station area. I can't believe the market will sustain this much luxury living so close to downtown, but perhaps people

are sick of driving from the suburbs.

It may be hard to tell, but this is an old Dallas billboard that is practically a landmark. It's best viewed from the entrance ramp to the tollroad, and it's always had a waterfall. Just behind where I was standing when I took this photo, there used to be a quirky sort of restaurant called "Baby Doe's Matchless Mine," Which had a commanding view of downtown. The restaurant was oddly located and a little difficult to get to, and closed some years ago. Last summer the structure was razed, which was welcome, considering how the graffiti artists were tagging it and the hideous neon made the structure look like a vandalized railcar parked on a hill. Soon I'll post an image of the back of the sign.

Cold Weather System

It's great to see massive clouds when a weather system rolls through the area. Most sever weather comes from the west or northwest, but this came looming up from the south.

Here's a cute Dallas house from the 1920s over in the neighborhood known as the "M Streets." Mockingbird, Monticello, McCommas and several other M streets.

If Dallas had a Flatiron buiilding, this would be the one...

Well, it's shaped like a slice of pie.

About 20 years ago, the Dallas Ballet used this space to rehearse, and it was kind of cool to see them leap and pirouette up in the windows. I suspect someone uses this space now for studio living or work. Cool building- I've always loved it.

...and rinse...

lather. repeat. rinse. lather. repeat.