Subject: Justin Cozart

• A Grandfather's Stash Reveals the Dallas That Was and Might Have Been

  Courtesy Justin Cozart Yesterday, I came across a Flickr page maintained by Justin Cozart, who's been uploading in recent days photos of a Dallas that no longer exists -- as you can tell by the photo of the Baker Hotel above, taken as it was being imploded in June 1980. But not all of Cozart's photos are of long-gone structures: Among his treasures are conceptual renderings for downtown skyscrapers planned but never built, including fascinating what-ifs sketched out by the likes of I.M. Pei a

  November 21, 2008

• We Know Where Those Downtown Streetcars Might Go. But How Will We Pay For 'Em?

  Courtesy Justin CozartIn 1945, Dallas city and transit officials, among them Mayor J. Woodall Rodgers, introduced "the first of twenty-five new, silent, streamlined street cars."It's been a year since the word "streetcar" started circulating through the halls of City Hall; as Jim noted upon his return from a so-called "streetcar workshop" in May '08, "It looks like the best idea since Mad Max Goldblatt's scheme for a downtown monorail." In January of this year, the Dallas City Council's Transpor

  June 5, 2009

• High Atop the Republic National Bank Building, the Best View of Dallas Circa 1953

  Friend of the show Justin Cozart's been digging through his grandfather's boxes of photos again and come across this mighty gem taken during the Republic Bank tower's construction in '53. And if it looks familiar, maybe it's because you're thinking of this iconic photo taken high above the Manhattan skyline. As always, I recommend the poster-sized version. Oh, how I wish I still had my grandfather's Republic National Bank Zippo.

  April 15, 2009

• The DFW's Still All Smogged Up

  Justin CozartThe view from Las Colinas toward downtown Dallas last DecemberThe American Lung Association released its annual State of the Air report this morning -- and, sorry, Dallas, Collin, Tarrant and Denton counties, but when it comes to smog, the report card still reads "F." Indeed, notes the report, while many cities around the country have seen their ozone levels recede in recent years -- say, still-No. 1 Los Angeles, where the smog lessens just a teensy bit every year -- "some cities ha

  April 29, 2009

• Sooner Than Later, Those Round, Green Tollroad Signs Will Be Tossed Forever

  Justin CozartAbout a year ago, the North Texas Tollway Authority announced that it had chosen a new "trailblazer" design for its signs -- that's one of them at right, matter of fact, in a photo taken over the weekend by friend of the show Justin Cozart. But till Justin mentioned it in an e-mail to Unfair Park earlier this week, guess I'd somehow missed the mention that the NTTA would be ditching the familiar green Dallas North Tollway signs that have been in use for at least the last 30 years. W

  May 13, 2009

• In Dallas, Everything Old Is New Again

  What a happy coincidence: Today over on Renegade Bus, Joan Arbery and New York-based architect and planner Hans Roegele had quite the spirited back-and-forth over the Woodall Rodgers Deck Park and whether it will turn the Arts District into a neighborhood, as Arbery insists, or whether it's just "an urban gesture [that] amounts to a band-aid, restoring past mistakes," as Roegele calls it.So happens that just yesterday, friend of the show Justin Cozart posted to Flickr the image you see above: a

  May 26, 2009

• From 1900, a Pawn Shop on Main Street

  Courtesy Justin CozartFriend of the show Justin Cozart likes to show off his estimable collection of faded photos of late, great Dallas landmarks, always a welcome respite from the day's breaking news. But over the weekend he posted pictures of a particularly personal nature: exteriors and interiors from his family's businesses, among them this ye olde cigar shoppe and soda fountain on Grand Ave.But pictured here you'll find his ... lemme make sure I get this right ... his great grandmother's gr

  June 30, 2009

• Going Green While Making Green? WSJ Ponders Bush Turnpike's Toll Collection.

  One day after the President George Bush Turnpike went to all-electronic toll collection, The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog takes note of one of the North Texas Tollway Authority's reasons for ditching the quarter-catchers: "Air Quality and Fuel Efficiency." As in: "Transitioning to all-ETC will eliminate the stopping, starting and idling associated with cash toll lanes. By promoting a continuous flow of traffic at consistent speeds, the NTTA promotes air quality in the region.

  July 2, 2009

• "Very Exciting Stuff" as Dallas and Fort Worth Apply for Federal Money for Streetcars

  Courtesy Justin CozartIn 1945, Dallas city and transit officials, among them Mayor J. Woodall Rodgers, introduced "the first of twenty-five new, silent, streamlined street cars."Almost two months ago, the Dallas City Council's Transportation and Environmental Committee got a peek at the proposed alignments for the downtown streetcars; but, again, the question of who'll pay for 'em went unanswered. Then came Friday's Star-Telegram story in which it was revealed that Dallas and Fort Worth, under t

  July 20, 2009

• Friday Flashback: High Above Dallas, 1958

  Courtesy Justin Cozart​We end the work week with this awfully golden oldie. Seems our photo-loving, history-having pal Justin Cozart's been digging in his grandpa's box of photos again, and this time 'round he's come up with something particularly fascinating: slides from the 1950s-era study "documenting the advent of sprawl in Dallas." Visit his Flickr page for several amazing photos -- say, this one of a Love Field-bound plane flying over a barren Bachman Lake in 1956; or this one of long-go

  July 31, 2009

• John Carona, a TxDOT Director and DART Spar Over Size and Safety of DFW's HOV Lanes

  Justin Cozart​Late yesterday, the Texas Senate issued a summary of sorts of the Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security's public hearing in Arlington on Thursday, during which everything from drought to driving was on the agenda. Of course, Rosemary Miramontes's testimony, concerning her son's accident in an HOV lane on I-35E in '07 that left him paralyzed, garnered the most coverage; some officials, concerned about the dramatic rise in crash rates since the opening of HOV lanes on

  August 21, 2009

• Off Track, or: Some Notes from the City Council's Downtown Streetcar Briefing

  Courtesy Justin CozartThis piece from 1945 must be what DowntownDallas's Kourtny Garrett means when she writes, "I'd say we're coming full circle."​Grudgingly, I have to say that the two Dallas City Council members who asked the best questions at today's council briefing on downtown trolleys were Ron Natinsky and Dave Neumann. Both of them wanted to know why the proposed governing body for a downtown trolley system would put the City of Dallas in a minority role, since the system will be in do

  October 12, 2009