Site of seminal Robert Johnson recordings to be demolished.

[MilesColtrane]

Fucking morons.

Why don't they just invest a little bit of money, and turn it into a tourist destination?

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-01-22/news/at-thecrossroads/

It stands at the end of a short, out-of-the-way dead-end street a few blocks from City Hall: 508 Park Ave., where a man and a guitar more or less invented rock and roll 72 years ago. The building is vacant and decaying, but not alone. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the small block upon which it sits was lined with the homeless, who surrounded an idling car parked in front of the building where in the summer of 1937 Mississippi-born bluesman Robert Johnson recorded 13 of the most important pieces of the American songbook. The homeless gathered around the car with their hands out, and it drove away—it was like something out of a zombie movie, a sad and familiar sight in downtown Dallas.

The building was carved out of marble in the 1920s, when it was constructed as the home of the Warner Bros. Pictures storage facility. Marble, builders believed, would contain a conflagration should the highly flammable nitrate film stock ever catch fire. Historians also believe the marble created the marvelous acoustics that led Brunswick Records to use the building as its branch office and makeshift recording studio.

-snip-

It wasn't until 2006 that historians had definitive proof that Johnson recorded such immortal, oft-covered songs as "Hellhound on My Trail," "Love in Vain" and "Traveling Riverside Blues" at 508 Park Ave. (Among those who've re-recorded such titles: The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton, who in 2004 shot a sequence for his DVD Sessions for Robert J in the former studio.) Till then, there had only been theories and best guesses. But three years ago, a blues collector from San Diego turned over to the Library of Congress an April 11, 1961, Columbia Records memo in which Frank Driggs, then assembling a Robert Johnson collection for the label, asked Law for some clarification concerning those Dallas sessions. (In November 1936 Johnson recorded in a San Antonio hotel.)

[stlsaxman]

1. This is CRIMINAL!

In the name of everything sacred- how could they even consider this???

[Kali]

2. I agree historical places/things should be preserved, but

it is naive to think tourism will save the day, especially in rough economic times.

[MilesColtrane]

7. Too bad House of Blues, Inc. was taken over by Live Nation.

It would make perfect sense for them to purchase the property.
The House of Blues in Dallas could run the site and offer it as a special destination for private parties and other functions.

As it is, Live Nation is more concerned with concert promotion and I doubt they'd consider this.

[harrison]

3. Of course, its Dallas where they seem to tear down

anything older than thirty years. My bro lives there and it drives him a little bonkers. If you want to hear something, go listen to some of these recordings and you realize that only one man is playing the guitar. What a shame.

[dysfunctional press]

4. "fucking morons"?

if it's such an important site- why is it in such disrepair? :shrug:

the only "fucking morons" i could identify would be those people who pretend to care about it- but haven't done anything themselves over the years to save it.

[MilesColtrane]

10. "if it's such an important site- why is it in such disrepair?"

Because a lot of people in Dallas have the same attitude as you.

Namely, that if I've never heard of it, it's not significant to anyone else either. Or, perhaps it's that you believe that the free market alone should decide what happens to our historic and cultural landmarks.

http://www.preservationdallas.org/

[dysfunctional press]

16. obviously not everyone agrees that it's a historic or cultural landmark...

the preservation of the site would be the responsibility of those who feel that it is.

that's generally how those things work.

if you feel that it IS an important historical and cultural site- what concrete steps have you taken to help refurbish/preserve it? :shrug:

[MilesColtrane]

17. Member and volunteer of:

http://www.preservationdallas.org/

Also, I posted about it on Democratic Underground: a national message board.

[panader0]

5. Yes, a museum please.

I believe I have everything he ever recorded.

[theboss]

8. If you bought the box set, that's everything more or less

It seems like there are only 29 surviving songs out there.

[SacredCow]

6. Why do such MORONS always own buildings of historical significance?

There was an estate down the road from my parents that was built by George Caldwell, who was a compadre with the Earl Long administration in the 30's. The house was built with materials and labor diverted from WPA projects (mostly from building much of the campus of Louisiana State University), for which Caldwell was forced to resign his cushy LSU job and eventually sent to prison. A beautiful house built with stolen materials and labor- what could be more Louisiana? :)

Some years back, after being passed through a few hands, the estate ended up under the ownership of a developer who literally let the house rot away for a few years, thus making it uninhabitable (I hear the mold counts were off the charts). Then, he put it up for sale for a ridiculous price (for a house that needed so much work) and after a few months of no offers applied to have it razed, and the estate turned into 5 lots. There was an outcry over what he had done, but it went through.

The company who tore it down had a rough time of it- the house was built like a fortress. They were able to salvage much of the exquisite woodworks, cabinetry, brick and fixtures.

I'm glad to say that after the house was razed, the lots sat on the market for some time and the asshat developer took a HUGE beating. But they've since been sold and some butt-ugly houses were built on them.

[serrano2008]

9. This is obviously a gold-mine and

the poster here is crazy for not putting his entire savings into buying it. Who's with me? Anybody else think MilesColtrane is a "moron" for not seeing the potential here?

You just can't save everything, and most places don't need to be saved cause most people aren't interested and those that are can't keep it in business.

I live in Kansas City and used to drive to work everyday by Walk Disney's original studio at 31st and Troost. It's in this big abandoned building, all run down, bad part of town. One day there was a big banner on the building, saying it was "Walt Disney's Original Studio!" and they were going to renovate it and pour all this money into it.

Within a week the banner was all spray-painted on by vandals, the building had more windows broken, and within about a month the banner was gone. That was about...um...9 years ago and the building is still sitting there. Is it probably an interesting place with lots of history? Yes. Is it worth anyones time and money to fix it up and do something cool with it? Apparently not.

[MilesColtrane]

12. Oh, you're probably right.

This "rock music" thing is obviously just a fad.

[serrano2008]

21. Oops, I think you accidentally responded to the wrong thread.

Cause I didn't really say anything you're saying I said.

Best of luck to you with your Johnson Museum though!

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Here in KC, they tried to demolish Walt Disney's first studio

The lack of appreciation for our cultural arts in this country is appalling.

[taterguy]

13. Since when did Disney do anything with artistic merit?

:hide:

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. LOL

It is Mickey Mouse's birthplace.

Don't you be dissin Mickey!!

[taterguy]

19. At least your town knows what to do with old bank buildings

The Kansas City Public Library is gorgeous.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. It really is neat isn't it?

[taterguy]

23. The rooftop chess board is a nice touch

Seriously, it's an example of something the government does well and should do.

Take something that would otherwise decay and turn it into a resource that can be used for the common good.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. I like the books on the outside of the building

The inside isn't too shabby either

[taterguy]

28. Clever of them to finance the project by having publishers pay to get their books on the building

It would have been nice if they had picked books based on artistic merit and cultural significance but money's tight. Why not sell it off to the highest bidder?

[stlsaxman]

15. hahahah!

:rofl:

[satya]

18. Maybe Eric CLapton would buy it? He worshipped Johnson according to his bio. nt

[Best_man23]

20. For those who see this and ask "who is Robert Johnson?"

"Considered by some to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll", his vocal phrasing, original songs, and guitar style have influenced a broad range of musicians, including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Jack White and Eric Clapton, who called Johnson "the most important blues singer that ever lived". He was also ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_(musician)

[Tsiyu]

25. Too bad

RJ was the man...

[Amerigo Vespucci]

26. That's W-A-Y past my comprehension level...

...how the HELL does someone sit down and go "let's DO this?"

:grr:

[OneBlueSky]

27. much as I appreciate Robert Johnson and his seminal contributions . . .

to American music, I can't get too wound up about an old hotel where he happened to record some of the very few songs that he ever recorded . . . if they can save it, fine and dandy . . . if they can't, I won't lose any sleep over it . . .

now if they wanted to demolish "the crossroads" where he made his deal with the devil, then you'd get my dander up . . .:evilfrown:

[jaundicedi]

29. Clapton did a recording session there.

Maybe he and the other musicians will do something. Most of the Blues preservation societies don't have a lot of money...