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    Giant Umbrellas Are Lots of Fun

    Giant umbrellas steal the show at new Sundance Square Plaza in Fort Worth

    Alex Bentley
    Oct 1, 2013 | 4:01 pm

    Downtown Fort Worth and its central entertainment area, Sundance Square, has long been a popular gathering spot. Now, thanks to a extensive plaza project that's 30 years in the making, Sundance Square is about to become even more attractive.

    The simply-named Sundance Square Plaza is scheduled to open November 1, 2013. A series of parking lots have been transformed into a nearly one-acre open area featuring fountains, an indoor/outdoor pavilion, a multi-purpose permanent stage and, strikingly, four giant umbrellas.

    Although the plaza project has only officially been underway since summer 2012, it's actually been part of the plan for Sundance Square since its early days.

    "Sundance Square has been in varying stage of development for over 30 years now," Sundance Square president and CEO Johnny Campbell says. "The master plan had a 'central plaza' on it that would be sort of the center of the development and the centerpiece of the city."

    Each umbrella measures 40 feet by 40 feet and consists of a telescopic mast, folding steel frame and a Teflon fabric capable of handling high wind speeds.

    Recent developments, including Sundance Square hosting ESPN's coverage of Super Bowl XLV, helped the project to finally get underway.

    "I think the Super Bowl reminded us that Fort Worth can be and is a regional and national attraction," Campbell says. "And we were also reminded of just what a great backdrop downtown Fort Worth can be for these kinds of functions. Those two parking lots were probably two of the most programmed parcels of land in North Texas, but now, instead of programming them on two ugly asphalt parking lots, we’ll have a great plaza."

    The construction of the plaza and the surrounding area has dramatically changed the look of Sundance Square. In addition to the plaza, the central part of the square will boast two new buildings, the Commerce and the Westbrook, that also open November 1. Main Street between third and fourth streets will be closed to normal vehicular traffic, effectively making it part of the plaza.

    The part that everyone will be talking about, though, are the four giant umbrellas that have just been installed. Each umbrella — the only ones of their kind in the United States — measures 40 feet by 40 feet and consists of a telescopic mast, folding steel frame and a Teflon fabric capable of handling high wind speeds in open and closed positions.

    The umbrellas will react automatically to changing weather conditions, and will provide their own sort of entertainment in addition to protection from the sun and the rain. Each umbrella comes equipped with multi-colored LED lights that will be lit up at night.

    Campbell thinks that the umbrellas will become a draw in their own right.

    "We were looking for something that would be dramatic and that would be an attraction, but was also very convertible and very flexible," Campbell says. "If there is no weather reason for what the umbrellas are doing, they might just open or close from time to time as part of a show."

    Flexibility is key to the entire plaza. The stage on the west end can host concerts, movies and other events, and a pavilion on the east side has indoor and outdoor seating, public restrooms and spaces for small events. Meanwhile, the south side features a double allée of trees, and three different fountains offer everything from water shows to a children's play area. There's also a 65-foot pool replete with a wave wall.

    "This is going to be a great space where you can just be downtown without necessarily having to be in a store or in a restaurant buying something," Campbell says. "When you think of the umbrellas and the tree allées and the dancing fountains and the stage and the pavilion building — it’s full of features that should provide a great place that’s interesting for everyone."

    Officials have a full weekend of activities planned to help open the plaza on November 1-3. In the following days, weeks and months, expect every major Fort Worth event, from the Lone Star Film Festival to the Stock Show to the Main St. Arts Festival to ESPN's coverage of the NCAA Final Four, to utilize the new plaza.

    Four giant umbrellas are currently being installed as part of the new Sundance Square Plaza.

    Giant umbrellas in Sundance Square Plaza
      
    Photo courtesy of Sundance Square
    Four giant umbrellas are currently being installed as part of the new Sundance Square Plaza.
    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    Book News

    Barnes & Noble to open 2 new Dallas-area stores but will close Plano

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jun 12, 2025 | 6:56 pm
    Barnes & Noble
    Barnes & Noble
    Barnes & Noble, new look.

    There's good news and sad on the bookstore front: Two new locations of bookstore chain Barnes & Noble are opening in the Dallas area, one soon and one very soon, but a third is closing this week.

    Closing
    The store in Plano at 801 W. 15th St. is closing on Sunday, June 15. According to a company representative, the Plano store is an older, larger store model that the chain is turning away from, in favor of a new smaller model it's embracing for all new stores.

    It also has three other locations within close proximity: West Plano, Allen, and Richardson.

    Other DFW stores that still have that similar larger/older floorplan include Preston & Park in Plano; Prestonwood Center in North Dallas, and Lincoln Park in Dallas across from Northpark Center.

    Opening
    There are two new stores opening in summer/fall:

    • Rockwall, at 1009 E I-30, will open in late summer.
    • Prosper, at 1191 Gates Pkwy., in the newly developed Gates of Prosper, will open in the fall.

    According to a spokesperson, the new Rockwall store will follow the chain's new design seen in their most recent store openings, featuring "all the best books, toys, games, vinyl, and gifts our customers have come to expect." It will also house a B&N Café.

    The store is approximately 20,000 square feet and will be located in the space formerly occupied by Staples, which closed in January 2025.

    The store in Prosper will be nearly 20,000 square feet and is anticipated to feature the same model and selection as the Rockwall store, including a B&N Café.

    In August 2019, Barnes & Noble was acquired by Elliott Advisors (UK) and taken private. Elliott’s acquisition of Barnes & Noble followed its June 2018 acquisition of Waterstones, the largest bookseller in the U.K.

    Barnes & Noble is experiencing a period of growth, the result of a strategy to hand over control of each bookstore to its manager. They're enjoying strong sales and have opened many new stores after 15-plus years of declining store numbers. In 2022, they opened more new bookstores in a single year than in the entire decade from 2009 to 2019.

    They've continued to open more locations, including three in the DFW area in 2024: a store in Allen as well as stores in Flower Mound and Richardson — part of a wave of store openings that show the chain in the midst of a major comeback.

    Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest retail bookseller in the United States. The company has more than 630 bookstores across the U.S., as well as its online bookstore at bn.com, the Nook Digital business which offers both e-books and an audio book subscriptions service, the SparkNotes educational service, stationery and gift retailer Paper Source, and the publisher Union Square & Co.

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    news/entertainment
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