Dallas and Houston~ De Ja Vu? (Austin, Taylor: big house, construction, school)

[dallasboi]

This is just for fun...This Thread is for posters topost areas of each city that resembles an area in the other city so much to the point it almost feels like you're IN the other city..... I think that makes sense.

I'll start....Im in Houston right now(edge of Sugar land Hwy6 & Bissonett). I guess this would only be noticable to someone who REALLY knows Dallas and Houston, But as I keep driving up and down Hwy6 I'm noticing how it feels and looks Identical to Buckner Blvd. in Dallas...I feel like Im at home...its crazy!! has anybody else ever noticed this,or have had a similar experience with another area of either city?

In Dallas If you're traveling west on 635(before construction)..exit Preston and stay on the service road going west looking to the right at Valley view always reminded me of the 59 service road on the side of Sharpstown Mall in Houston.

[crbcrbrgv]

Well one thing I learned is the Galleria in Dallas is not at all like the Galleria in Houston.

[R1070]

When I am in LA, Atlanta or Miami-Fort Lauderdale I have a lot more "I feel like I'm in Houston" moments than when I'm in Dallas for some reason. I know the two have their similarities, but I feel like Houston has a lot in common with the other cities I mentioned as well maybe even moreso than Dallas.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by R1070

When I am in LA, Atlanta or Miami-Fort Lauderdale I have a lot more "I feel like I'm in Houston" moments than when I'm in Dallas for some reason. I know the two have their similarities, but I feel like Houston has a lot in common with the other cities I mentioned as well maybe even moreso than Dallas.

Miami, definitely. Atlanta I can see. Los Angeles? No way.

[madrone2k]

It's been a long time since I lived or spent much time in Dallas, but what hasn't changed is the rolling character of the landscape in some parts of town. As a native Houstonian (used to absolute flatness), I can never confuse those places with Houston. OTOH, I feel puzzled when some people proclaim that Dallas (or Austin or wherever else in Texas) is completely different.

Highland Park looks different and has a different feel from River Oaks, I think. They are both nice. But, there are plenty of flat, relatively treeless areas in both cities that don't look or feel too different. Actually, the same could be said for parts of most metro areas in the US that grew up with the automobile.

[dallasboi]

3rd ward around TSU reminds me of South Dallas North of MLK around Park Row,with the old big Houses. And what really weird is that its roughly in the same area of Dallas that 3rd ward is in Houston.So driving north on 45 where you pass MLK with DT Dallas in the foreground kinda resembles driving north on 288 where you pass 3rd ward approching 59 with DT Houston in the foreground. They both have the caged pedestrian bridge thingie crossing the freeway in approximately the same spot.(I just witnessed this).

[madrone2k]

Interesting, i will have to scout that out next time i visit Dallas. I spend a summer in north Dallas in the 70s (which was interesting and fun), but I got the impression that one could live out one's entire life there and not know that Dallas had any other aspects.

I grew up in a "nice" part of Houston that could be described in the same way. But, I still have this notion (formed from spending time there in the 70s) that all the "good" stuff was concentrated in North Dallas, much more so that the "good" stuff in Houston was concentrated in west Houston. By "good" I mean stuff that is new and impressive to visitors, not necessarily all the cool stuff that a city has to offer.

In the 70s, UT-Dallas seemed to be surrounded by corn fields. Now, I read posts comparing it to a slum. That's wierd. My sister's friend had a house in Oak Cliff, which was just getting started in a renaissance, i think, but it was pretty cool.

[dallasboi]

Oh and TSU is really a different school from when I went there. I noticed some really nice changes....I really miss TSU....the good ole days.

[stoneclaw]

I find it kind of hard to relate to comparisons. Clearly Dallas of the 1970s is a completely different city than Dallas of the 2000s/2010s. Although i will contend that the good stuff in Dallas still is in the Northern sector, but now connected to the central and areas slightly west/central now.

[madrone2k]

Absolutely, I was hoping someone would comment on that.

Looking back, one thing in particular that I'm glad about having visited Dallas in the 70s is having been able to witness the residue (so to speak) of the post-war era boom. I don't quite know how to describe it, but I felt I saw evidence of a Texas-flavored exuberance -- almost trying to be over-the-top -- that was evident in Houston, but perhaps on a lesser scale. For example -- in Houston -- the Shamrock Hilton (the opening of which was the seed for Edna Ferber's novel and was relocated to Dallas for the movie starring Rock Hudson and Liz Taylor).

For me, the Dallas of the 70s is populated by memories of the downtown buildings of that era (e.g., the Adolphus and the Statler Hilton) , Strictly Tabu (or was it the Tabu Room?), Campisi's Egyptian Restaurant and the Dr. Pepper plant across the street. Lone Star Donuts nearby with their "moon rocks" (I think the owners were the Ingrams).

Anyway, so much for the memory-lane stuff. Except that those places reminded me of an era in Houston: the Shamrock and Prudential's regional HQ nearby, Valian's Restaurant, the Houston Club downtown. In Houston, all those relics are gone. In Dallas, I think maybe the Statler Hilton has been resurrected as something else?