Dallas

Jefferson Boulevard Street Photography in Oak Cliff, Dallas

On Jefferson Boulevard, the blend of American and Mexican culture all along its street is awesome and worth experiencing.

On Jefferson Boulevard, the blend of American and Mexican culture all along its street is awesome and worth experiencing.

Jefferson Boulevard is the best street in Dallas according to Advocate Magazine. The boulevard’s blend of American and Mexican culture all along it is awesome and worth experiencing. Because of this, I love going there to eat, walk, and visit the interesting stores there. Sadly though, Dallas is going through so much destructive gentrification right now. On the positive side, real estate developers have largely left this area of Oak Cliff untouched and I hope it remains that way.

Furthermore, another interesting aspect of Jefferson Boulevard is that’s where the Texas Theater is located. The theater has been in continuous operation since 1931. Undoubtedly, JFK history buffs would know that’s the theater where Lee Harvey Oswald hid when the police caught him after supposedly assassinating JFK.

Yesterday, on a cold foggy winter day, I went there with a couple of my brothers and we walked all up and down the boulevard doing some street photography. The liveliness of the street pleasantly surprised me despite the weather and COVID-19. The stores and restaurants were open and there were people walking around everywhere.

Many of the parking meters along the boulevard are painted and decorated in really creative ways.

Interestingly, all along the street, there are old phone booths decorated, painted, and turned into street art pieces.

Texas Theater in Oak Cliff, Dallas
Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrin
Chepo Tools
Mid-century architecture on Jefferson Boulevard, Oak Cliff
Vintage Famsa Sign in Oak Cliff
Jefferson Boulevard at Night

My brothers

Walking with me were two of my brothers, Michael and Samul, and their friend Kostas. I captured some photos of them here:

Samuel Rader
Kostas Loannides
Michael Rader
Michael Rader
Kostas Loannides
Samuel Rader

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  • I really like reading about what things are like in different parts of the country, accompanied by photos and told from an informal perspective.

    Thank you!

    Also, the brothers stepping out into the puddle reflection reminds me of Bresson, one of my favourite photographers.

    Presumably, since you were on a street shoot, that may have been an homage to him.

    • Thank John! I do too, it makes it feel more relatable and obvious about the perspective of the photographer.

      You are spot-on, that is exactly who we were paying homage to, it seemed like a fun thing to do at the moment, of course in our case we staged those photos instead of them being candid like Bresson's photo was.

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Matthew T Rader