Neighborhood of Theaters

There are few buildings that I am as sentimental about as the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater. Listening to the talk by the architects of Diller Scofidio+Renfro and the Dallas Theater Center artistic director Kevin Moriarty, I realized sometimes architects come across as boring and pedantic, but when they are speaking from a Frank Lloyd Wright stage, it comes across as a thrilling performance. As I reflected on the many plays that I have seen in this space, I think I could watch someone read out of a phone book in this Frank Lloyd Wright theater and be mesmerized. The message from the architects was that they want to make this site an urban attraction by renovating the Frank Lloyd Wright theater and adding two new theaters. They also want to respect the natural beauty of the Turtle Creek site. The architects reviewed many of their projects where their designs and programs took clues from the site, whether they were subtle, like grass growing between broken concrete, or obvious, like a large body of water. May I suggest for this project they take their architectural clues from the Turtle Creek Park niche neighborhood right across the street from the theater? Here is a neighborhood of just 39 homes that draws residents from many blocks away that want to walk or jog through the neighborhood to enjoy the delightful forested topography of this hidden neighborhood. Nature is the draw for this neighborhood that is also the closest to the most enticing vibrancy of Dallas. It is backed up to the Katy Trail and just around the corner from many of Dallas’ favorite retail districts. The next niche neighborhood along Turtle Creek is Northern Hills. It also combines nature and vibrancy. Hopefully, this new Turtle Creek theater neighborhood will be as successful combining nature and vibrancy, not disturbing this corridor of Turtle Creek niche neighborhoods but becoming one of them. *Neighborhood of Theaters
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