Deep Ellum News

Dallas' Deep Ellum makes the cut on National Register of Historic Places

Much Deep Ellum festivities are on the way.

Courtesy photo

Dallas neighborhood Deep Ellum is hitting a milestone anniversary: It's 150 years old. According to a release, it made the official list of National Register of Historic Places.

This designation came via the Deep Ellum Foundation, who served as the applicant under the guidance of Preservation Dallas, with financial support from the Summerlee Foundation as well as the city of Dallas.

Events, exhibits
The Deep Ellum Community Center will celebrate a grand opening on Saturday, September 23 (even though it opened in 2022). Writer-fillmaker Alan Govenar is curating exhibitions in partnership with his nonprofit Documentary Arts, Deep Ellum Foundation, and Deep Ellum Community Association.

A permanent exhibition will cover the history of Deep Ellum during the 1920’s and 1930’s, with photographs, a listening room, and 78 rpm recording studio. This is funded by the Texas Commission on the Arts through the Cultural Districts grant program.

A temporary exhibition called "Unlikely Blues" will present the graphic works of Chicago artist Louis Paeth, who designed “Race Record” ads that were made to promote early blues artists, including Blind Lemon Jefferson. So that at least is some Deep Ellum connection.

Jay Brakefield, co-author with Alan Govenar of Deep Ellum and Central Track: Where Cultures Converged, will host a weekly Deep Ellum history tour featuring the ongoing indoor and outdoor exhibitions.

Deep Ellum Archive
The Deep Ellum Archive – an initiative of the Dallas Public Library, Deep Ellum Foundation and Deep Ellum Community Center – has collected over 150 items and is accepting donations.

Sounds of Deep Ellum
There's a compilation vinyl album called The Sounds of Deep Ellum that was released in June 2023, featuring 10 tracks from Stone Mecca, Labretta Suede & The Motel 6, Lorelei K, singer Maya Piata, soul hip hop act Cure for Paranoia, indie rockers The Memory Shivers, hip hop lyricist Flower Child, jazz act Skinny Cooks, R&B hip hoppers Chilldren of Indigo, and funk rocker Ducado Vega.

(There was an album released in 1987 by Island Records called The Sound of Deep Ellum, featuring songs by The New Bohemians, The Trees, and Reverend Horton Heat; it was re-released in 2017 by Field Day Records.)

On Saturday, July 29 at 7 pm, they'll celebrate the release with live music and fashion at House of Blues Dallas — wait, that's not in Deep Ellum — with Deejay Mike B, and performances by Jacks Haupt and Muriel Argueta aka The Oak Cliff Princess.

downtown deep-ellum

This week's hot headlines

Deep Ellum bar's closure leads this week's 5 most-read Dallas stories

On Premise

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Editor's note: Two big closures rocked the Dallas restaurant and bar scene this week. There was also an intriguing home for sale on Dallas' ritziest road, a new barbecue joint with an unusual focus, and more. Here's a look back at the top stories of the week. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Those are here.

1. Dallas bar closes after surviving a decade in Deep Ellum. A Dallas bar that opened 10 years ago in Deep Ellum has closed its doors: On Premise, which rode a decade-long wave in the often-turbulent neighborhood, closed on October 31.

2. Authentic upscale Mexican restaurant at Turtle Creek Dallas closes. In major bummer Dallas restaurant news, authentic Mexican restaurant Jalisco Norte has closed: The upscale restaurant and bar at Turtle Creek Village clocked out after seven years.

3. Dallas and Austin are facing the same kind of housing issues. The state’s housing crisis is effectively a new problem for state and local leaders — mainly because, for the longest time, Texas used to be cheap. "YIMBY" activists in Dallas have pushed local leaders, with mixed results, to embrace the idea that the country’s ninth-largest city should make it easier to build homes besides standalone single-family homes on large lots and big apartment buildings.

4. 50s Dallas home for sale on swanky Strait Lane still has pink bathroom. A house on Dallas' Strait Lane that is possibly home to the last '50s-era pink bathroom on the tony thoroughfare is up for sale. The bathroom's days are probably numbered — but maybe in this one case, it's not a bad thing.

5. Barbecue spot Kafi BBQ coming to Irving will be smoking halal Wagyu. A barbecue restaurant with an unusual focus is coming to Irving: Kafi BBQ, which specializes in halal Wagyu beef, will open at 8140 N. MacArthur Blvd. #100, Valley Ranch, in the former Rafikiz Bar and Grill.