Oak Lawn history

[itsjrd1964]

This evening a state Historical Marker will be placed at Cedar Springs/Throckmorton in front of JR's bar remembering the background of the Oak Lawn neighborhood as it relates to being the center of gay and lesbian history and culture in Dallas. It is the first such marker ever placed in Texas.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm ... cal-marker
https://www.dallasvoice.com/lgbt-histor ... rossroads/

(A check of the state Historical Marker site shows no posting yet for this marker.)

[lakewoodhobo]

Great news, and really proud of having the first LGBT marker in Texas.

Interesting timing though, because this week I started hearing rumors that a group wants to move the Pride celebration next year to June in Fair Park. The reasons and motivation are all over the place, but from what I'm understanding:

1. Cedar Springs and Throckmorton will be under construction throughout the summer and early fall next year, making the parade impossible.
2. Attendance is capped at around 50,000 attendees along Cedar Springs (Houston apparently draws hundreds of thousands more) and parking is a "nightmare".
3. Reverchon Park will no longer be available for pride festival due to SWL baseball

I have a feeling this will be in the news soon. There are two dueling petitions:

https://www.change.org/p/leave-dallas-p ... -way-it-is?
https://www.change.org/p/dallas-tavern- ... ride-month?

[Matt777]

Great news, and really proud of having the first LGBT marker in Texas.

Interesting timing though, because this week I started hearing rumors that a group wants to move the Pride celebration next year to June in Fair Park. The reasons and motivation are all over the place, but from what I'm understanding:

1. Cedar Springs and Throckmorton will be under construction throughout the summer and early fall next year, making the parade impossible.
2. Attendance is capped at around 50,000 attendees along Cedar Springs (Houston apparently draws hundreds of thousands more) and parking is a "nightmare".
3. Reverchon Park will no longer be available for pride festival due to SWL baseball

I have a feeling this will be in the news soon. There are two dueling petitions:

https://www.change.org/p/leave-dallas-p ... -way-it-is?
https://www.change.org/p/dallas-tavern- ... ride-month?

My opinion is that it should stay in Oak Lawn, but move to a month with cooler weather! Or make it a night parade/festival with lights! It's way too hot to be enjoyable.

Also, this is more a problem that there are no good public transportation links to Oak Lawn rather than a problem with "parking." My Love Field-Oak Lawn-Uptown-Downtown modern streetcar line idea is looking better every day....

Is all of Reverchon Park being taken for the stadium? Why not put this event in Oak Lawn Park and Turtle Creek, running along the creek?

[tamtagon]

I've always wanted Gay Pride Celebration at Fair Park.

[Tnexster]

First I have heard of this, IMO the current date is miserable because it's always so hot. I tend to agree with something cooler and something with more space. Fair Park seems like a great place for that and would help utilize an existing asset.

[lakewoodhobo]

I've always wanted Gay Pride Celebration at Fair Park.

Me too, but I have some mixed feelings about it:

You could technically have a parade inside Fair Park, but it would be awkward and forced. Parades are meant to take place on streets, so this would take more of a festival format.

I can imagine a "color run" 5k in the morning with the Band Shell in constant use throughout the day and most vendors staged around the Cotton Bowl plaza. Ticketed events could take place inside several buildings. No more port-a-potties! Several places to shelter indoors in case of heat wave or rain.

People are, naturally, emotionally attached to Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs as the setting for pride, but a) the first gay rights march took place downtown, and b) Fair Park has hosted LGBT events before like Razzle Dazzle / June Pride

If construction will force the Tavern Guild to cancel Pride on Cedar Springs next year, this is a no-brainer (moving to Fair Park). At least for one year only.

[lakewoodhobo]

This evening a state Historical Marker will be placed at Cedar Springs/Throckmorton in front of JR's bar remembering the background of the Oak Lawn neighborhood as it relates to being the center of gay and lesbian history and culture in Dallas. It is the first such marker ever placed in Texas.

[itsjrd1964]

Just checked the state Historical Marker site again--the page is up, but the text of the marker isn't yet there.

https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507018770

[itsjrd1964]

How did Dallas' Oak Lawn community get its start?

https://www.dallasnews.com/life/curious ... vestigates

[lakewoodhobo]

How did Dallas' Oak Lawn community get its start?

https://www.dallasnews.com/life/curious ... vestigates

I think it's interesting how the accepted story seems to be that the gay bars moved from downtown to Oak Lawn. That may be true overall, but it ignores how at one point Live Oak and Skiles (what is Bryan Place now) had more gay establishments than Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs.

You could say that this area had as much of a chance to become the heart of LGBT Dallas as Oak Lawn, and for some reason it didn't happen.

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