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The Cedars: the lone star state's new hot spot
Advocate, The, Nov 6, 2007 by Daniel Kusner
When nighttime falls, a once-forgotten corner just south of Dallas's downtown skyscrapers glows in vibrant neon. Live music and nouveau cuisine beckon metrosexuals and postgays alike. The Cedars (not to be confused with the gayborhood of Oak Lawn's Cedar Springs Road) is a scrappy ghetto that's quickly emerging as an enclave of polished town homes, swanky eateries, and funky nightlife. Its renaissance is so cutting-edge that the savviest of gay Dallasites haven't even heard of it. In the 1870s a forest of red cedars covered the area, which was known for its Victorian manors and Jewish immigrants (these streets were the boyhood stomping grounds of Aaron Spelling, and Stanley Marcus of Neiman's fame grew up nearby). By the late 1920s the Cedars was in industrial deterioration, but in the mid 1990s artists began to convert low-slung brick warehouses into work-live spaces, with modern developers and nightlife soon following.
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1: GARNER FRANKLIN KLEINBATH BODY HOME
(1112 S. Akard St
GarnerFranklinKlein.com)
If you even set foot inside Gus Klein's boutique, you're bound to leave smelling better. The gay craftsman started out creating intoxicating soy-based candles; now he's introduced a fragrant bath and beauty line in addition to his diffuser line. But customers can customize their own aromas: Klein hosts hands-on workshops--like Boys Night Out--where patrons can create their own lotions, scrubs, and bath balms.
2: THE PALLADIUM BALLROOM AT GILLEY'S DALLAS
(1135 S. Lamar St.
GilleysDallas.com)
One of Dallas's best acoustic venues, it opened in early 2007. Jake Shears christened its stage with his spit at a Scissor Sisters gig, and Morrissey greeted the packed 10,000-square-foot venue with a "Saddle up, Dallas!"
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
3: AMUSE
(1326 5. Lamar St.
AmuseDallas.com)
Amuse's Sunday brunch is impressive, featuring bottomless mimosas and a dog-friendly patio (complete with pooch menus). Inside, dark wood curio cases bisect the dining area from the contempo lounge. Try the cider-marinated pork chops with a side of bleu cheese bacon risotto cake. Order the S'more fondue or peanut butter and jelly chocolate truffle lollipops. Adventurous chef Doug Brown is a master of New American Eclectic cuisine who also is a headliner for Toast to Life, the annual fund-raiser for Dallas's LGBT resource center.
4: SOUTH SIDE ON LAMAR
(1409 S. Lamar St.
SouthSideLiving.info)
The rebirth of an old Sears, Roebuck, and Co. mail-order center is the Cedars' most magnificent revitalization project. In 1999 the gigantic 10-story complex was transformed into 457 loft units, and the converted basement is an underground city with galleries, artisan studios, a boho caffeine palace, and a haute cocktail lounge.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
5: BILL'S RECORDS
(1317 S. Lamar St.
BillsRecords.com)
After 26 years as North Dallas's best secondhand music store, Bill's moved to the Cedars in February. Legendary proprietor Bill Wisener keeps the age of vinyl alive with aisles of LPs, though the disorganization of the CD bins can turn into a time-sucking scavenger hunt. Don't look for price tags either: Just ask Bill how much. Cute guys always strike the best bargains on imports, bootlegs, ginormous posters, and vintage T-shirts.
6: LEE HARVEY'S
(1807 Gould St.
LeeHarveys.com)
Arguably Big D's coolest club because it lacks pretension, Lee Harvey's is named after the city's (alleged) one assassin. It's an outdoor oasis complete with picnic tables, a hammock, and blazing fire pits year-round. A melting pot of laid-back hipsters--straights. hetero-flexibles, and the unabashedly queer. Groove to disco mash-ups or neo-cool bands that jam on the front porch. Chow down on tasty burgers, or delivery drivers can bring pizza right to your picnic table.
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READERS' TIPS
"The Cedars is an up-and-coming area of town. Some of the best views of the Dallas skyline can be found from there. New condos and lofts have been built in the area, and an old Ramada Inn is set to be completely refurbished into a boutique hotel known as The Cedars. Completion is at least two years away."
-Robert Bugg, Dallas
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