Mockingbird Station, Dallas, Texas
According to the DART web site, these bike lids were all bought with a federal grant and meet all homeland security requirements. I had to think about that for a while – I guess it’s harder to hide a bomb in these, compared to the old bike lockers. There are 142 of these all over the system.
Commuting Works For Me, but I have a DART issue
Bike Friendly Dallas – DART Bike Lids and Katy Trail Phase III progress
Southwest Airlines jet on descent into Love Field, Dallas. Reflected in a mirrored skyscraper. Photograph taken at Main Street Park, Dallas.
The day was here, Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Dallashenge. I had done the calculations via suncalc.net. I had done the test shots. And now, today, according to my best ciphering, the sun would set exactly in alignment with the canyons of highrise buildings in Downtown Dallas.
It would not be as spectacular as the very well-known Manhattanhenge, of course. As far as I know, I am the only person that recognizes this phenomenon in Dallas.
The forecast threatened thunderstorms. All day the sky was cloudy; fog wrapped the city. I had set 3PM as my decision time (I was thinking that maybe Friday would be a better day anyway for photographs) and as if by magic, the Texas sun burned the fog away, leaving the sky blue with only a few wisps of long rope-like clouds. The best I could hope for.
So I left work a little early and lugged my tripod and camera downtown on the train. It was very awkward – I need to find a way to carry/strap my tripod in/on a pack with my camera. After my test shots, I had decided to set up on a little spot of sidewalk at the intersection of Pacific, Live Oak, and St. Paul. It wasn’t the most “canyon-like” intersection, but it was impressive looking, gave me a spot to stand without dashing back and forth across the street, and Pacific Avenue isn’t blocked at the end by the Lew Sterrett Jail like the other downtown streets.
I set up the camera and tripod right at six and waited for the sun to set. Suncalc.net gave the sunset time as 6:13, which turned out to be the time the last bit of sun dropped below the horizon. Even on Pacific, the horizon isn’t unblocked, so the apparent sunset time was earlier; I took my last picture at about 6:10. It happened quickly – I was snapping, changing the camera position, adjusting the exposure, zooming in and out, and checking my photographs on the screen on the back of the Nikon.
I saw nobody else that was aware of the ‘henge. Only one person paid any attention to me. A man out walking his dogs stopped and I told him what I was doing. He said, “I walk my dogs every day at this time, and I noticed the sunsets were looking nice recently – but I didn’t realize it was because it was setting along the streets.”
Dallashenge (click to enlarge)
(Click to Enlarge) This is my new desktop wallpaper
Dallashenge (click to enlarge)
The Henge through a bus window.
I think I was there a day or two early. Even if this is the “official” henge date, the sun will be a little higher and a little more to the right in a couple days and that might make for better pictures. Next evening henge date I’ll go a little later. Also, I want to try some other intersections, especially the Elm and Harwood intersection by the Majestic Theater. I want to try and get into that pedestrian overpass – that should give a good shot.
This summer, on August 23 (6:57 AM) is a morning Dallashenge. Looking at the city maps, there is a parking garage at Lew Sterrett that might give a great view straight down Elm and Main. Sometime over the summer I need to check it out – see if the garage is public, how high its guard wall is, and if it is open at that hour of the morning.
Taking pictures of something this fleeting is sort of an all-encompassing activity. One henge day I want to go without a camera and just look at the thing.
Working Model for Three Piece No. 3: Vertebrae, by Henry Moore
My Curves Are Not Mad, by Richard Serra
Eve, by Auguste Rodin
There’s a nice stone bench behind the Henry Moore sculpture in the Nasher Sculpture Garden, where you can take a load off of your feet and look out at all the folks wandering around. It’s one of my favorite spots.
(click to enlarge)
“My Curves Are Not Mad” by Richard Serra
“Squares with Two Circles (Monolith)” by Barbara Hepworth
“Eve” by Auguste Rodin
“Little Johnny the Troublemaker” by Mrs. Smith
Night (La Nuit)by Aristide Maillol
On the free family days at the Nasher, it’s tough to get people not to touch the sculptures. Also, a lot of folk like to pose by the statues in mocking or strange positions. It’s a little aggravating, though I have to admit, I’m guilty of that myself.
From Heidi’s Do-All Blog – Strange Day at the Nasher
“There is also the story about Tyrone Slothrop, who was sent into the Zone to be present as his own assembly–perhaps heavily paranoid voices whisper, ‘his time’s assembly’–and there ought to be a punchline to it, but there isn’t. The plan went wrong. He is being broken down instead and being scattered. His cards have been laid down, Celtic style, in the order suggested by Mr. A.E. Waite, laid out and read, but they are the cards of a tanker and feeb: they point only to a long and scuffling future, to mediocrity…-to no clear happiness or redeeming cataclysm.”
― Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
I just finished typing up a new short story and am about written out – so I’ll throw up three old photographs instead. I’ve been digging around in my archives and came across these – I’ve put them up before on my old journal and they are floating around the ‘net, but wanted copies here.
These were taken sometime in the mid-eighties at a parade in support of KNON radio. The Criswell Bible Institute was trying to take over their radio license (they eventually settled the matter amicably) and a parade was held to keep the Baptists at bay. The pictures were taken with a 35mm film camera (I used Tri-X Pan exclusively then) – I printed them at the time in my bathroom and scanned them about ten years later (I’ve since lost the original prints and negs).
Loco Gringos
This is a notorious local band, The Loco Gringos. They played on a stage mounted to the roof of an old hearse. Notice the driver chugging Tequilla.
Joe Christ
The guy in the sunglasses standing next to the car is Joe Christ. He performed with his band, The Healing Faith at the afterparade party in Deep Ellum. I would always run into him at all sorts of disreputable places back in the day. I’m afraid that Joe passed away a couple years ago.
La Reina de Hi-Ho Ballroom
I have always liked this picture. The girl was La Reina de Hi-Ho Ballroom, a latin dance hall in Grand Prairie. It was taken outside Dallas City Hall at the end of the parade.
A few days ago I read about the phenomenon of Manhattanhenge – the phenomenon that occurs several times a year when the rising or setting sun happens to align perfectly with the canyons of New York City. It is called Manhattanhenge in honor of Stonhenge… which is in putative alignment with its own set of heavenly circuits.
Image from New York Bridge and Tunnel Club
I really never thought about the fact that the streets of Manhattan don’t run perfectly East-West. They are aligned with the long axis of the island itself, about thirty degrees off of the meridian.
I began to think about Dallas, so I pulled up a map. The streets in downtown, the ones that run between the skyscrapers – Commerce, Main, Elm – don’t run perfectly East-West either. I don’t know what the layout is based on… probably where the deer and the antelope used to roam. Looking around the internet, I found suncalc.net, which made it easy to find the directions of sunrise and sunset at different times of the year.
According to suncalc.net in 2012 Downtown Dallas, the Sunset Stonehenge moment will be at 6:13 PM on February 15, and the Sunrise Stonehenge will be 6:53 AM on April 19th. That’s when the sun will rise/set right along the canyons of buildings along the streets downtown. I’m going to try to remember and be there to take some pictures.
One big question is where. I’m going to have to go downtown and walk around and look for good places. Commerce, Main, and Elm all have a lot of tall buildings lining the sidewalks, but it’s hard to tell where the best spot is. One problem is the Lew Sterrett Center sticks up at the west end of Downtown; the jail will block the sun.
Another problem is how to get the picture without getting run over. The streets of downtown are busy at the evening hour and I’ll have to wait for a walk signal, run out into the street, take a snap, and then get the hell out of Dodge. Looking through Google Maps I found this:
Maybe that pedestrian overpass would be a good spot. I’ll have to check it out and make sure it’s open to the public and that the glass is clean.
It would be cool to have a group down there taking photographs. If any of y’all are interested, get with me, and we can talk.
If the weather is bad, another Stonehenge Sunrise will come on August 23rd (6:57) and another Stonehenge Sunset will occur on October 25 (6:43).
WordPress Blogs:
Chicagohenge:
Chicago is interesting because its streets do run straight East-West. Therefore, their “henge” is on the equinox.
The Museum Tower Condominiums tower over Tony Cragg's "Lost in Thought"
The Tony Cragg exhibit is about to end down at the Nasher. The Museum Tower outside continues to stretch its mirrored mass skyward, now plainly visible through Renzo Piano’s semitransparent roof. I still haven’t heard what they are going to do about the fact that the tower is intruding on the skyspace of Tending(Blue)… if anything.
The tower will have 122 condominiums priced from 1.2 to 4.1 million dollars a pop – plus a custom priced full floor residence. I’ll never set foot in the place, that’s for sure.
Take a look at their advertising. The Nasher Sculpture Center features in every scene of fine bred humans smiling their way through their artistic day. They are using the Sculpture Center to hawk their condominiums. At the same time their tower has already destroyed what was, to many, the crown jewel of the museum experience.
I have nothing against rich people, and I applaud their luxury. But if you are going to spend that much for an apartment… can’t you throw out a dime or so and figure something out… give us back our art installation? Why did they not think of this beforehand? Tending(Blue) was the coolest place in the city. It was the best place for the ordinary citizen to watch a sunset. You can have your multi-million dollar views, but let us have our own little piece of the sky.
Please?
Bill Chance 