Museums – Page 8 – jane sadek

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The Witte Museum – San Antonio

January 15, 2014September 28, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THE WITTE MUSEUM IN SAN ANTONIO

The South Texas Heritage Center sets the Witte apart from any run-of-the-mill science and natural history museum.

Our first stop in San Antonio was The Witte Museum. I’d never visited it before, even though I’ve been to San Antonio many times. Most of my other trips have been overnight, two days as the most, and I prefer art museums over all others, especially one like The Witte, which used to be billed as a science and natural history museum. I’m not into stuffed animals and models of the solar system.

A New Description Captures My Attention

The Witte no longer calls itself a science and natural history museum. Now they are “San Antonio’s premiere museum of South Texas history, culture, and natural science.” That sounds a whole lot more like something I want to see. They’ve also just finished a “South Texas Heritage Center”with a special exhibitions called “Porfirio Salinas: Capturing South Texas on Canvas.” That certainly peaked my interest.

Bill, bless his heart, goes to these places because I want to, but I thought he might enjoy a special exhibition called CSI. However, it was 3PM when we arrived, only two hours before closing, so the CSI exhibit was immediately deleted – especially since it required a separate entrance fee. Just ahead of us a bus tour was arranging itself in the first gallery, so we detoured into another one. OOOPS, stuffed animals! So I checked the map and exited out a side door.

The South Texas Cultural Center

Once we stepped outside the main building, the South Texas Cultural Center was right in front of us. Inside, it being December and all, we found an unusual holiday tree just outside the Salinas exhibit. Come to find out, Salinas was a painter of bluebonnets a la William A. Slaughter. Every bit as good and with his own style, but his primary subject was bluebonnets, just like the more famous Slaughter. The exhibition was housed in a small gallery, but Bill had a hard time getting me out of there.

The rest of the first floor was devoted to the Old Time Trail Drivers Association. There were wonderful old photos, gorgeous saddles, interesting equipment and lots of logbooks and journals, but time was a-wasting and we still had a lot to see.

The Witte Museum, San Antonio TX — Patriotism and Pageantry: Fiesta Honors the Military

Upstairs was a mock-up of a South Texas town with a lot of artifacts strewn among the scenery. We strolled along and picked up quite a bit of history, but didn’t linger overlong. Next on my list was the Betty Coates Textile Gallery, because that’s where the Fiesta dresses are.

Back Inside the Main Building

As far as I’m concerned, the textile gallery alone is well worth a visit to The Witte. One of my favorite things about the Tyler Rose Garden is the Rose Queen gowns museum. Well, the Betty Coates Textile Gallery is the Tyler museum in miniature, but instead of Rose Queen gowns, gowns from San Antonio’s Fiesta are displayed. Just like a Rose Queen, Fiesta Royalty chooses themes for their coronation finery and the gowns on display were devoted to patriotism. We got an eyeful of red-white-and-blue glitz and glamour there.

Magic Lanterns, a Special Exhibition

Around the corner we found a special exhibition, focusing on a form of photography most folks don’t even know about, Magic Lanterns. I happened to take both a photography course and a history of cinema course while I was completing my BA in performance arts, so Magic Lanterns were something I’d been versed in from several points of view. Magic Lanterns were fancy slide shows at the time photography was still in its infancy. It was the x-box of it’s day. I’m just guessing, but I’m betting this was Bill’s favorite part of the museum.

We whirled through the rest of the museum so quickly that I can’t give you a coherent report. Here’s the bottom line: The Witte is no longer a building full of dead animals. A lot more is happening. Put it on your itinerary next time you go to San Antonio. You’ll be glad you did.

So where are we headed next? La Mansion del Rio! Don’t miss it.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

South Texas Christmas Ramble

December 11, 2013August 13, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: SOUTH TEXAS CHRISTMAS RAMBLE – WACO, AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO & GALVESTON

Did you miss me last week? I missed being here, but not too much, because I was out having fun. For years I’ve wanted to visit San Antonio while the luminaries glowed on the Riverwalk. I finally headed that way and tacked Galveston’s Dickens on the Strand at the end of the trip. I didn’t know the North Pole would be traveling with us.

Rambling South

Having declared this a ramble, we did take it slow. Last Tuesday morning went like almost any morning at our house, except that my bags were packed and sitting next to the door. After my morning ride on the stationary bike, I made some breakfast and then headed for a bath. Meanwhile, my husband, the investor, checked on the market and made sure his trades were all properly lined up. About 10:30 we hit the road.

Waxahachie Drive Tour

First stop, Waxahachie. We were a few days early for the Gingerbread Tour of Homes, but thought we might take a sneak peek at some of the old Victorians all dressed up for Christmas. I’d found a copy of the tour map online and started putting Bill through his paces. He was very obedient, but by the fifth house we realized the effort wasn’t worth it. It’s the second time I’ve tried to do this and after this second fail we hightailed it back to I-35.

A Detour for the Love of Dr. Pepper

I had a wish list for Waco which included the Lee Lockwood Library, but they’re closed on Tuesdays, so we went to the Dr. Pepper Museum. This pilgrimage had been lurking for a while on my “to do” list, but the other times I’d tried to drop by failed for one reason or another.

I'm a Pepper. Are you a Pepper, too? — I’m a Pepper. Are you a Pepper, too?

Now, if there ever was a Pepper, it’s me, so I was looking forward to the museum big time, but erase all thoughts of the CocaCola Museum in Atlanta out of your mind. Dr. Pepper doesn’t even come in a close second. Even a Pepper like me has to admit it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. Just pare down your expectations a bit.

The building housing the museum is where the beverage was originally served and then bottled. Since we were there on a mid-week afternoon in early December, we didn’t exactly have to fight any crowds. We paid our $8 per person (choke choke) admission and started poking around the place.

Long before Dr. Pepper was a soda fountain drink, Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store was well known as the largest drug store in Texas. Cowpokes and railroad tracks converged in Waco creating a clientele for emporium’s soda fountain, but old Morrison, didn’t create Dr Pepper. One of his employees did. For a while, even though the drink was popular at the soda fountain, no one thought of bottling it. For one thing, soda fountains were all the rage and for another, bottling was an expensive process.

A la Madame Tussard’s, a wax replica of the man that did invent Dr Pepper greeted you in the original soda fountain area. He told you the history of Morrison’s Drug Store and that odd little beverage invented there. He also explained why the artisan wells in Waco made the bottling of Dr Pepper a possibility.

The reason I choked on the price of admission is because the majority of the museum is just a warehouse for Dr. Pepper ad media. Strolling through the first two floors is, for the most part, a review of the Dr Pepper marketing campaigns. Yes, there’s the original soda fountain and a room set up like the original bottling facility, but that’s pretty much all there is that has historical meaning for anyone except an ad executive. The third floor is devoted to Foots Clements. He’s a one time delivery truck driver who made his way through the ranks and then led the company for many years.

Remember this campaign? Have you ever actually drank it hot?

Several displays reminded me that 7Up is part of the Dr Pepper family, but what I found odd was that almost half of one floor was devoted to root beer. Root beer? I could never find the link between root beer and my favorite soda, but I did learn a few things about the whole frosty mug thing.

There’s a gift shop full of Dr Pepper t-shirts and commemorative bottles and then there’s a snack bar, where you can get a free sample of Dr Pepper products mixed the old soda fountain way. I’d have preferred a can. The sample didn’t taste quite right – but I bet when they started bottling Dr Pepper most people said they preferred what they were used to at the soda fountain.

Should you go to the Dr Pepper Museum? Well, that depends. Are you a Pepper? If you’re a devoted drinker of the brand, then you will enjoy it. Are you a Baby Boomer? Then you’d probably enjoy the walk down the advertising memory lane. Are you majoring in marketing at one of our American universities or colleges. Then maybe you’d learn a few things. Otherwise, like my husband, you’d probably prefer to spend your time elsewhere.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Museums, Shopping, TRAVEL

Remembering Dallas Department Stores

April 27, 2012June 25, 2025 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: REMEMBERING DALLAS DEPARTMENT STORES

Frequent visitors to my blog know I’m crazy for Neiman Marcus. It’s a touchstone for my beloved Dallas. I might be shopping in Atlanta’s NM, but I still feel right at home. I’m devoted to Neiman’s because it’s the only thing left from my childhood shopping experiences. Titche-Goettinger, Colbert-Volk and Sanger Harris all bit the dust.

My, How Things Have Changed

The transformation of the crisp turquoise-and-white-striped Titche-Goettinger bag into Dillard’s boring beige plastic thing was a disappointing retail slide for me. My mom went to work for Titches back in the 60’s. Along the way they merged with a San Antonio department store called Joske’s. I didn’t think Joske’s had near the eclat of Titche’s. For a few years, though they belonged to the same team, they each kept their own identity. Finally, the Joske’s name won out, but at least it was still a Texas name.

Then along came Dillard’s, an Arkansas company, and bought out Joske’s. I’d like to be able to say that I haven’t walked into the store since, but my mom retired with a 25% lifetime discount, so I’d be lying. However, I would be telling the truth if I told you I missed that department store with the turquoise-and-white-striped shopping bags.

For all those decades my mom worked at Titches/Joske’s/Dillard’s her main competition was Sanger-Harris, but it was a friendly competition. If we could buy it a mom’s store we would, but I had plenty of Sanger’s labels in my closet – especially stuff I’d bought at Red Apple days. The prices were so low you felt like they were paying you to carry merchandise home. Joske’s had EOM (end of month) markdowns that were often as drastic, but Red Apple Days just sounded like a lot more fun.

I had a grudging admiration for Sanger-Harris after Titche’s became Joske’s. I wouldn’t have mentioned it to mother, but I thought they were winning the retail war. Their stores seemed more upscale and their shopping bags were prettier. I especially liked the exterior of the stores. When you went to a mall Sanger’s always stood out, because they had gorgeous mosaic murals on the exterior. You didn’t have to be able to read to know you’d arrived.

Sadly, Sanger Harris eventually went the same route as Titches. First, they merged with a Houston retailer named Foley’s and ended up changing their name. Then Macy’s bought them out, and not too many years ago, at that. I remember visiting the Macy’s in Temple with my Aunt Edie shortly after the change-over. We agreed we liked Sanger Harris better.

DMA to Remember, Too

With all these pleasant Sanger-Harris memories it is no wonder that I’m excited about a new exhibit on it’s way to the Dallas Museum of Art. According to the latest issue of the museum’s member’s magazine, back in the 50’s a young VP of A. Harris & Company (which later merged with Sanger Brothers) commissioned an artist to create a series of paintings of Dallas. The paintings were exhibited at the DMA a couple of times in the fifties, but they haven’t been in Dallas since. Now they are coming back and will be presented with photos of my city taken at the time of the paintings.

Art, shopping and Dallas! That’s like three of my favorite things in the world! Why do you think I enjoyed the Jean Paul Gautier exhibit so much? Anyway, mark your calender for May 20th, because George Groz’s Impressions of Dallas is coming to the DMA. The name of the exhibit is “Flower of the Prairie” and you’ll be able to see it until August 19. And Macy’s, since you’ve gone to the trouble to sponsor this exhibition, all is forgiven. I’ll come spend some money there soon.

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