June 29th Sneak Preview tour as described in bold near bottom
E X H I B I T A N N O U N C E M E N T
The Fine Arts Division of the Dallas Public Library is pleased to host 508 Park: The Past Meets the Future, an exhibit and event celebrating the ?resurrection? of the 1930 Art Deco building at 508 Park Avenue in Downtown Dallas. The structure, which was almost lost to posterity, has played a significant role in the city?s cultural history.
In recent years, 508 Park has become famous as one of the only two locations where Bluesman Robert Johnson (1911-38) recorded. Johnson recorded only twenty-nine songs in his brief career, in 1936 and ?37. That small repertoire, however, was powerfully influential, shaping the future work of such major pop, rock, and blues stars as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, and Led Zeppelin. In recognition of the site?s heritage, it was here that in 2004 Eric Clapton recorded parts of the DVD Sessions for Robert J.
However, 508 Park?s storied past goes well beyond its connection to Robert Johnson. It served as the local offices and/or distribution warehouse for divisions of the American Record Corporation and Warner Brothers Film Exchange. Available space sometimes doubled as a makeshift recording studio, not only for Johnson, but for other groundbreaking performers such as Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, the Stamps Quartet, W. Lee O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys, the Crystal Springs Ramblers, and the Light Crust Doughboys.
After years of intense local interest in the building, The Stewpot of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas bought the site in June 2011. Their plans to preserve and reopen the building moving their ?Open Art Studio? there and creating a Museum of Street Culture to be curated by Alan Govenar, have stirred a great deal of excitement among local music lovers.
508 Park: The Past Meets the Future allows the public a ?sneak peek? at what they can expect to see in the museum when the building is reopened. On Saturday, June 29, Alan Govenar, Pat Bywaters, and Carol Adams, the trio at the center of researching the building?s history and envisioning the Museum, will present an overview of that history, including some of the music that was recorded here. They will also provide a ?preview of coming attractions,? highlighting plans for the building and the work in progress.
Following the presentation, the Friends of the Dallas Public Library will host a ?musical reception,? giving guests the opportunity to talk with our guest speakers while hearing music from artists who recorded at 508 Park Avenue.
The program begins at 2:00 p.m., on the 4th floor of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library (1515 Young Street). The exhibit will be open June through December. For more information, please call the Fine Arts Division: 214-670-1643.
