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Witness to the Execution (Which Is A Bit Dramatic, Sure, But Still)

Scott Dorn At the crime scene: a photo of the Hard Rock, by the time it was nothing but rubble We are fortunate to have among us two photographers for whom Dallas provides endless opportunities: Justin Terveen, who captures, among other things, our few landmark buildings that still stand; and...
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Scott Dorn

At the crime scene: a photo of the Hard Rock, by the time it was nothing but rubble

We are fortunate to have among us two photographers for whom Dallas provides endless opportunities: Justin Terveen, who captures, among other things, our few landmark buildings that still stand; and Scott Dorn, who's become something of a crime-scene photographer, snapping photos of historic structures as they're reduced to rubble. Dorn was on the scene over the weekend as the bulldozers attacked the former McKinney Avenue Baptist Church, razing the structure in order to replace it with Brett Landes' proposed 15-story luxury apartment building. Dorn's Flickr page is full of photos of the building's farewell.

Late last night, Dorn sent us a few photos to run on Unfair Park; below you'll find a portrait of Rose, former owner of the Wrecking Bar and a vision in fur standing in front of debris and chain link. But first, Dorn explained in the comments section yesterday what drew him to the site this weekend.

Wrote Dorn, who works during the day at Wolf Camera & Video on Forest Lane in northwest Dallas, "I photographed this demo as reminder of what we lost. It is shame how people care little of our past, but the photo also show how it was built. I also wanted a brick. Most importantly [I wanted] to show how we let another [one] slip away."

For non-believers, here you will find a lengthy argument about whether or not the 100-year-old building was "significant" enough to preserve. --Robert Wilonsky

Scott Dorn

Rose, who says she ran the Wrecking Bar, the antique store located in the former McKinney Avenue Baptist Church before the Hard Rock took the building