100 reasons to love Dallas right now: A critic’s list of the places that make the city and its architecture special

Perhaps you’ve forgotten, because you’ve been locked in your own house for weeks on end, what makes Dallas special. Or maybe, after being sequestered for so long, you’ve started to believe the folks who say there is no hope for the city, any city, but Dallas in particular.

Which is to say, we could all use a reminder of the many, many reasons we love this place, of its weird, accidental, brilliant, brash, vulgar, extravagant, subtle, charming, delicate, tough, gritty and downright unique character. With that, here’s a rejoinder to all those who say “Dallas is ugly,” just strip malls and parking lots and McMansions (although, true, we have plenty of all three): 100 reasons to love the architectural glories of this city.

A caveat. These are my reasons, and I could easily come up with 100 more. Maybe — probably — you share some of them, but we all have our own lists, and that’s a good thing. But here’s mine:

1. The sense of drama walking the double-stair at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

2. The fountains of Fountain Place (and the tower, too).

3. The weathered aluminum forms of Atlas Metal Works.

4. The stalwart dignity of the Knights of Pythias Temple.

5. The native animals in mosaic on the floor of the Hall of State.

6. The Kirby Building, the Woolworth-style tower built by a beer magnate.

7. The way the Elbert Williams House in University Park shows its Texas roots.

8. The stately grace of Swiss Avenue.

9. Its less affluent doppelganger, South Boulevard.

10. The whimsical play structures at Pacific Plaza Park.

11. The way the Rolex Service Center building twists as it rises.

12. The delicate arches of the Houston Street Viaduct as seen from between the Trinity levees.

13. The enclave of fairy-tale homes by Charles Dilbeck in Cochran Heights.

14. The boho chic vibe of Bishop Arts.

15. The Kodachrome colors of West Jefferson Boulevard.

16. The cheery yellow neo-brutalism of the Webb Chapel Park Pavilion.

17. The townhouse scale of Travis and Buena Vista streets in Oak Lawn.

18. The dizzying concrete grid of One Main Place.

19. The simple decency of the Cottages at Hickory Crossing.

20. Walking the greenways of Greenway Parks.

21. The Crayola colors and sharp geometries of the Latino Cultural Center.

22. The Milliners Supply Co. Building, still holding out on Elm Street downtown.

23. The exquisite midcentury detailing of the Meadows Building.

24. The mod homes of the Disney Streets.

25. The vernacular pride of Historic Tenth Street.

26. The beaux-arts dignity of Ferris Plaza.

27. The polka dot skylights in the entry pavilion of the Dallas Zoo.

28. Cocktails on the terrace of the Nasher Sculpture Center on an opening night.

29. O’Neil Ford’s Bromberg House.

30. O’Neil Ford’s Haggerty House.

31. Looking up at the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge from the paths in the Trinity levees.

32. The brazen golden ingots of the Campbell Centre.

33. The modern opulence of the Gold Crest.

34. The stately pleasure of Bishop Boulevard at Southern Methodist University.

35. Sitting with a beverage and watching the action in Klyde Warren Park.

36. The mosaic façade of Saint Jude Chapel on Main Street.

37. The unapologetic glam of the Beck House on Strait Lane.

38. The plush comfort of Moody Performance Hall.

39. The Rat Pack swagger of the reborn Statler.

40. The soaring atrium and glass elevators of the Hyatt Regency.

41. The Purist forms of the Frito-Lay silos.

42. The deco style of the Dallas Power & Light Building.

43. The Wilson Building’s continental urbanity.

44. The sweet cloud that is the Interfaith Peace Chapel at the Cathedral of Hope.

45. Jorge Pardo’s colored tiles on the façade of 1217 Main.

46. The chandeliers at the Church of the Incarnation at the University of Dallas.

47. The out-of-nowhere corkscrew chapel of Thanks-Giving Square.

48. The stylized script NM door handles on the Neiman Marcus flagship.

49. The isolated quietude of Joppa.

50. The regal Eagle Apartments building in the Cedars.

51. The architectural petting zoo that is Dallas Heritage Village.

52. The brick tubes of O’Neil Ford’s St. John’s Episcopal.

53. The play of light on the punched metal façades of the Republic Bank Center.

54. The lithic power of Cistercian Abbey church.

55. The vertical force of the piers of the West End’s Kingman Implement building.

56. The view of downtown coming in over the Jefferson Viaduct.

57. The elemental wood-frame bird-blinds at the Trinity Audubon Center.

58. The way Mountain View College embraces the landscape.

59. The spatial experience of traveling up and under the High Five.

60. The marquee of the Majestic Theatre.

61. Deep Ellum’s loft aesthetic.

62. The bonkers roofline of Old Red.

63. The arcades at the Decorative Center in the Design District.

64. The view over White Rock Lake from the Test Pavilion at the Arboretum.

65. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Gillin House: the Usonian goes elite.

66. The giant concrete numbers facing Northwest Highway on Fire Station 27.

67. The wiggy geometry of the College Park Park Pavilion.

68. The meandering stone steps of Reverchon Park.

69. The scale and detailing of Highland Park Village.

70. The International Style purity of the Magnolia Lounge at Fair Park.

71. The chunky red-orange address numerals of 211 Ervay. Also the baby blue panels.

72. The lose-yourself floor plan of the Dallas Museum of Art.

73. The structural system of Richland College.

74. The view of the Kalita Humphreys Theater through the foliage along the banks of Turtle Creek.

75. The ethereal light at NorthPark Center in the afternoon.

76. The theatrical flare of the aluminum tube façades of the Wyly.

77. The charm of porch life in Old East Dallas.

78. The sheer dramatic force of City Hall.

79. The unexpected airy lightness of its interior.

80. The whitewashed deco lines of the former GLOCO station on Lamar in the Cedars.

81. The joyfully florid jumble that is the top of the Adolphus.

82. The Charco Broiler bull.

83. The Forest, Granada, Inwood, Kessler, Lakewood and Texas theaters.

84. The Harry Bertoia screen at the Public Library.

85. The cool gray brick and low lines of the Booker T. expansion.

86. The empty Tollway late at night.

87. The sense of community on the Katy Trail.

88. The gentle touch of Frank Welch at the Lamplighter School.

89. The modest bungalows of the M Streets.

90. The meandering paths along Exall Lake.

91. The architectural goodie bag that is the Greenhill School.

92. The calming luminosity of Lefkowitz Chapel at Temple Emanu-El.

93. The shadow play of the concrete sunscreen of 3525 Turtle Creek.

94. The old-Hollywood style of the Maple Terrace Apartments.

95. The white block of First Unitarian Church on Preston Road.

96. The white block of the Rachofsky House on Preston Road.

97. The exposed concrete structural system of Paul Rudolph’s Brookhollow Plaza.

98. The elemental simplicity of the columbarium at Saint Michael and All Angels.

99. The block of Exposition Avenue leading to Fair Park.

100. The Woofus.

Editor’s note: The interactive Google Map above displays the locations of landmarks on Mark Lamster’s list. Some locations are approximate. The following locations are labeled by their street addresses or a general location:

- The Williams House, 3805 McFarlin Boulevard

- The Milliners Supply Company, 911 Elm Street

- The Disney Streets, Northaven Road

- The Bromberg House, 3201 Wendover Road

- The Haggerty House, 5455 Northbrook Drive

- The Beck House, 10210 Strait Lane

- The Harry Bertoia screen, 1954 Commerce Street (original location)

- The Frito-Lay silos in Deep Ellum and the Eagle Apartments in Cedars are not listed.

Cant see the map? Click here.

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