Deep Ellum is known for its music and murals. The two combine at a reimagined ‘music art garden’ in what was a neglected space. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker reports it’s a space to linger a while.
A lift beeps under the I-345 overpass in Deep Ellum, but it's barely audible with the thump of vehicle tires passing overhead.
"When you get under here that booming sound becomes kind of like a white noise," muralist Jerod 'DTOX' Davies said. "You really can find another calm moment and serenity in city life."
Decades ago they paved paradise and put up I-345. Davies was among the artists who originally covered the concrete pillars with painted trees. Now, Davies wants to show 'new growth' in the neighborhood.
"It just kind of was a little whisper in my heart where I was like, man we could make this place to its full potential with just a little bit of like group effort,' Davies said. "So I've never been able to hug a redwood in the city, so that was like part of my goal!"
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Keeping the old painted trees for distance perspective, new towering redwood trees touch the top of the overpass. Below, notable faces dot monuments in the former art park -- now an art music garden.
"So there's some scenes of just a Deep Ellum show," Davies said pointing to one mural. "Kirk Franklin... The D.O.C. from NWA... American Idol stars who got their start auditioning at Sons of Hermann Hall."
The murals feature North Texas musicians who made their mark in Deep Ellum. "So giving people their 'flowers' while they're alive," Davies said.
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A grant from the City of Dallas and private donations helped pay for the project. Both established and new muralists contributed their work.
"There's nobody with a better knack for taking something that might be viewed by others as not worthy, or trash, or something that's not beautiful, to say no I have a different vision; and to be able to take it and turn it into something incredible," Deep Ellum Foundation Executive Director Stephanie Keller Hudiburg said.
The murals are expected to be finished next week. They will have QR codes that link to the artists and musicians, to make the space an interactive experience.
"This place, now there's a new energy here," Davies said. "It's a magical blend and there's a magical mix of creativity being showcased down here now."
