Over the past year, the bars and restaurants on Lower Greenville have propogated numerous myths to justify whatever cause they had in mind that day. We have found many in our Archives, but the ones listed below stand out the most:

Over the next few months, we will review these and others, and provide the information you need to make a fair decision as to its validity or bullshit level.

This issue will focus on Myth Number Three - Lower Greenville has always been an entertainment center.

Many of you are familiar with an old style of phonebook known as the criss-cross directory. Used mostly by salespeople and tax collectors, it was also called a "reverse directory." Instead of looking up someone by their name, you were looking for who lived on what street. This tool has been completely replaced by the Internet, where you now even look up someone's name and address if all you know is the phone number.

In the table below, you will find extracts of two reverse directories and a current list based on TABC permits, focusing on Lower Greenville and two side streets. The years presented are 1967, 1969 and 2000. We have highlighted in color those locations that sold or appeared to have had liquor sales of any kind. The only key to this chart is by name - if a personal name appears in the box, then it was most likely a residential location (excluding doctor's offices). There were some residential addresses on Lower Greenville, usually the second floor over a business address.

Lower Greenville was not an "entertainment center". It was a shopping strip providing the services and products required for a community which was still young and vibrant (most of the homes were less than 35 years old at that time). It had numerous laundry and dry cleaning services, since "permanent press" was not a common addition to clothing. There were many plumbers, electricians and personal service locations (barber, beauty, fix-it). And it provided well until "shopping malls" appeared.

The 1969 book was one of the last directories prepared before the growth of NorthPark Mall and other malls. When people started to shop in the air-conditioned malls, the neighborhood business became an endangered species. Over time, the area did become depressed - there is no denying that fact. The neighborhood went into a transition mode and experienced a decline which lasted early the mid-80's, just like anywhere else in the country. Restaurants only started to come into vogue after the 80's. Large bars as entertainment centers did not appear until the mid 90's, and only very small ones at that.

But the only reason it has been the home of bars and restaurants over the past five years is found in one very simple word - GREED.

Greed on the part of people like Roger Andres and Lou Reese. Does anyone remember the old Greenville Avenue Bank which later became Tango? That was a Lou Reese production. Roger and Lou, as well as others, learned quickly that this area could become profitable if you put enough bars in there to draw crowds. You did not need much parking space - between the Delta Overlays which provided parking credits in 1989, and the immediate neighborhood (which had declined on the west side) - you have nearly 5,000 parking spaces. During the past five years (and with the requisite wink of the eye and tip of the hat from City Hall as they ignored Code violations) this area has involuntarily become an "entertainment center" - and the neighborhood has been paying the price ever since.

Now do you understand why Roger Andres stood up at at the February Community Meeting last year and said that Resident Only Parking would take parking places away from the businesses? Because all their sales pitches and forecasts were based on having the neighborhood streets as parking lots for their guests - and screw the neighbors while you are at it. Is it any surprise that Stephen Schwartz, a slumlord in training who owns the run-down properties behind Whisky Bar and hopes to put businesses there (while really praying Roger and Shula turn that empty field across the street [behind Whisky Bar] into a parking lot) has already purchased one house on 2000 Summit in the past few weeks. He is counting on tearing as many houses down as possible for parking or business use in the future. Schwartz has already evicted the tenants from that house - by the way Steve, ROP is coming to that street whether you like it or not!

Look at Lower Greenville today. Crazy Charlies and Barcelona Tapas have closed, the old Gordo's renovation is dead, Papillion 2000 (the former Pound) is not opening yet, and Moonlight Express (the former Accents of Africa) is building up slowly. The Palace may or may not be leased. Then look at our Mixed Beverages Sales Chart for 1999. The bars and restaurants are paying the price of not having enough parking, charging for the all-valet-all-the-time-parking they do have, and of course the Barking Dogs Resident Only Parking campaign (not to mention some of the negative publicity we have generated in the local media).

Some of the names from Lower Greenville's hey-days are gone into history, but a few are still here. Read the list closely to see how many names you recognize as still being in business somewhere in Dallas. You will even see that some of the business people lived in the same area. We have also indicated areas that are now business locations or parking lots which were once homes (2200 Greenville, 5700 Belmont, 5600 Sears). At a later date we will publish lists for Bell, Alta and Prospect. Plus when we are really in a good mood, we have a criss-cross directory for 1934 to analyze.

And if you listen closely, you will hear the hot air hissing out of another Lower Greenville Bar and Restaurant myth!