Downtown Revival

Art deco building in downtown Dallas gets encore with newly planned art complex

While other buildings in downtown Dallas have been razed, prospects are bright for a historic building a little farther east. A three-story art deco structure at 508 Park that sat vacant and dilapidated for 20 years will be transformed into the hub of an event and gathering space called Encore Park.

Built in 1929, 508 Park was once occupied by Warner Bros., as a film exchange and studio where famous blues artists such as Robert Johnson recorded. It was previously considered unmarketable, partly because it's next door to the Stewpot, a community center run by First Presbyterian Church that provides medical services and counseling to Dallas' homeless population.

But the Stewpot bought the property in 2011, and it has been raising funds to create a multi-use social "campus" with a community garden, amphitheater and art space.

Encore Park researchers Alan Govenar, a Dallas historian, and sculptor Brad Oldham previewed the first phase of the complex on October 22 and will unveil it to the public with a weekend-long dedication from October 24-26.

The Stewpot, which has been helping the homeless since 1975, defines the objectives for 508 Park as a place where people of all cultures and walks of life will come together to experience and appreciate history, art and music. In the front will be an amphitheater; in the back, a community garden.

Among the art initiatives will be an art gallery, where 90 percent of the sales will go to the artist and 10 percent toward art materials. There'll also be a metal-casting program for Stewpot artists led by Brad Oldham International.

Music offerings will include a recording studio, 300-seat amphitheater for public performances, Stewpot musician talent show and a rooftop venue for a unique performance space. Film will include a screening room, outdoor movies and a film history exhibit.

The community garden will incorporate a learning center, horticultural therapy program, and eco-friendly practices such as solar energy and rainwater harvesting.

The dedication begins on Friday, with a 9 am worship service and, at 3:30 pm, a public unveiling of the multi-paneled sculpture wall. There'll be guided tours and a sidewalk sale of art created by the Stewpot's Open Art Program, followed by a performance by the Larry Lampkin Band at 4:30 pm.

On Saturday, the activities will center on gardening, with a legacy planting and sessions on bugs and growing in small places. On Sunday, there'll be more tours and afternoon performances by Bump City and JazzVespers. See the full schedule here.

Sculptor Brad Oldham gives the sculpture wall a final polish.

Photo courtesy of 508 Park

Sculptor Brad Oldham gives the sculpture wall a final polish.

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population report

Booming Dallas suburb was the fastest-growing city in the U.S. in 2024

City of Dallas - City Hall/Facebook

Dallas' population has grown to nealry 1.33 million residents.

The Dallas suburb of Princeton grew faster than any other city in the United States in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The new population report said Princeton's population has more than doubled in the last five years. The city saw a dramatic growth rate of 30.6 percent from July 2023 to July 2024, now boasting a population of just over 37,000 residents. The suburb is located 42 miles northeast from downtown Dallas.

The report also revealed Dallas retained its No. 9 spot on the list of the 15 most populous cities in the U.S. Dallas gained more than 23,000 residents during the one-year period, bringing the city's population to 1,326,087 people in 2024.

Elsewhere across North Texas, Fort Worth surpassed 1 million residents and eclipsed Austin as the 11th largest city in the nation. Fort Worth had the fifth-highest numeric increase in population last year, 23,442 residents, to bring the city's total population to 1,008,106 residents.

Houston and San Antonio were the only Texas cities to have higher numerical growth rates than Fort Worth. Houston gained 43,217 residents – the second-highest increase nationwide – while San Antonio ranked No. 4 in growth with an additional 23,945 residents.

Austin has yet to surpass the 1 million population threshold and has a population of 993,588 residents, the report says. The city now ranks 13th on the list of most populous U.S. cities after ranking 11th in 2024.

Sandwiched between No. 11-Fort Worth and No. 13-Austin is San Jose, California, whose population of 997,368 puts it in the 12-largest spot.

Fastest growing U.S. cities
Six additional Texas cities made the list of fastest-growing U.S. cities, with several in the DFW Metroplex:

Fulshear, near Houston (No. 2) with 26.7 percent growth (54,629 total population)
Celina (No. 4) with 18.2 percent growth (51,661 total population)
Anna (No. 5) with 14.6 percent growth (31,986 total population)
Fate (No. 8) with 11.4 percent growth (27,467 total population)
Melissa (No. 11) with 10 percent growth (26,194 total population)
Hutto, near Austin (No. 13) with 9.4 percent growth (42,661 total population)

The Austin suburb of Georgetown's growth has continued to slow since 2023, and it no longer appears in the list of fastest-growing cities. However, it did surpass 100,000 residents in 2024.

San Angelo, a small city in West Texas, also surpassed the 100,000-population threshold.

Most populous U.S. cities in 2024
New York City maintained its stronghold as the biggest in America in 2024, boasting a population of nearly 8.5 million residents. Los Angeles and Chicago also retained second and third place, with respective populations of nearly 3.88 million and more than 2.7 million residents.

"Cities in the Northeast that had experienced population declines in 2023 are now experiencing significant population growth, on average," said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. "In fact, cities of all sizes, in all regions, showed faster growth and larger gains than in 2023, except for small cities in the South, whose average population growth rate remained the same."

The 15 populous U.S. cities as of July 1, 2024 were:

No. 1 – New York, New York (8.48 million)
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California (3.88 million)
No. 3 – Chicago, Illinois (2.72 million)
No. 4 – Houston, Texas (2.39 million)
No. 5 – Phoenix, Arizona (1.67 million)
No. 6 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1.57 million)
No. 7 – San Antonio, Texas (1.53 million)
No. 8 – San Diego, California (1.4 million)
No. 9 – Dallas, Texas (1.33 million)
No. 10 – Jacksonville, Florida (1 million)
No. 11 – Fort Worth, Texas (1 million)
No. 12 – San Jose, California (997,368)
No. 13 – Austin, Texas (993,588)
No. 14 – Charlotte, North Carolina (943,476)
No. 15 – Columbus, Ohio (933,263)

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