There’s been a lot of buzz around the recent arrival of the oft-rumored Fine Arts Theater hitting the real estate market, with a hefty pricetag in the ballpark of $1.5 million. Owned by the McBride family since 1983 with high hopes of renovation, there were overtures in 2014 and then renewed interest in 2016 but alas… it has never come to pass. A recent episode of the Politically Denton podcast explored some of the backstory and future possibilities, but I figured it would be a hoot to have a look back at the history of this iconic spot from back in the day.
Read MoreFAREWELL TO THE TWU WIMBERLY BRIDGE
Sadly, another Denton icon has fallen. Due to the cruel whims of fate and physics, the much-beloved pedestrian bridge that has helped visually define the Texas Woman’s University campus was demolished on Wednesday, June 21st. It may have come as a shock to some of us, and with the re-opening of Bell Ave. some are just now noticing the bridge's absence, but the TWU crew offered a thoughtfully dignified farewell to this campus landmark that has offered safe passage to generations of students since back in the day.
Read MoreTHE 1897 TEXAS AIRSHIP INVASION
Proving that history can indeed be a heckuva lot stranger than science fiction, today’s installment revisits a wacky wave of “Mystery Airship” reports that flooded Texas newspapers in 1897. Long before the infamous Roswell UFO crash sparked the public imagination and endless alien conspiracy theories in 1947, folks were spying odd “Aerial Travelers” during an outbreak of sightings between 1896 and 1897 that sounded like something straight out of a Jules Verne novel. The earliest autumn sightings were in California, but hundreds of reports quickly spread east into the Midwest and Texas by the following spring. You may have heard about the most famous sighting that occurred in Aurora, TX on April 17, 1897, which has been the subject of several books and numerous TV investigations, because it spectacularly crashed and locals purportedly buried it’s pilot thought to be “a native of the planet Mars” in their cemetery. The Aurora Spaceman’s graveyard even has a State Historical marker! The literally hundreds of other eyewitness encounters with various Mystery Air-Ships across Texas both before and after, however, are even more insanely entertaining and fantastically bizarre. Read on for more craziness!
Read MoreDENTON WOMEN OF DISTINCTION
Women’s History Month may be an annual event, but in Denton it’s a more or less daily occurrence to recognize outstanding ladies who are getting’ stuff done. We’ve profiled many a Denton trailblazer, but there are endless more tales to be told! This month we’ll introduce you to TWU’s Space Doctors, an African-American pioneer, and a couple of beauty queens who were far more than a pretty face.
Read MoreFINDING AMELIA EARHART IN DENTON, TX
The mysterious 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart has puzzled the public for almost 80 years, with numerous theories circulating about the vanished celebrity pilot. Last week, The Historical Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery made public results that may solve the mystery, which reminded us about the unexpected discovery of Earhart photos taken during her visit to Denton’s Texas Woman’s University back in the day.
Read More
WDDI THROUGH THE YEARS
Y'all. We're old now. If this blog were a human it would be in like 2nd grade. Actually, we probably would have been held back and about to go into 1st grade for the second time. Either way, we've been around for a while. During that time, we've gone through a few different phases. As we roll out a new logo and an updated website this week, we were reminded of the many logos we've taken on over the years. We thought it would be fun to take a look back at our past as we look forward to the future. Read on to see the many looks of We Denton Do It and a few that didn't make the cut.
Read MoreMYTHICAL CREATURES IN THE DENTON WILD
Denton has been a’buzz recently about foxes and bobcats or even coyotes seen scampering ever closer from the edges of the city limits, which has caused some concern for house pets. We’ve even playfully addressed “Mythical Beings in Denton” when footage of the long-fabled White Stag (sometimes called The Christmas Unicorn) was definitively captured on smartphones. This magical sighting has had several folks now asking us: What other legendary critters are maybe really lurking around out there in the Cross Timbers? I’ll break down some of the top contenders and examine how much fact or fiction is involved.
Read More