Tonight is the Ride of Silence, honoring cyclists killed or injured on public streets:

On May 16, 2012 at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

It’s a just-under-ten-mile loop route, beginning & ending in Trinity Park, and it’s for a great cause. Sounds as though there’s already 100+ riders confirmed.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

Think of a bike as a tool, a toy, a connector and a mode of expression with a low barrier to entry. It’s probably the most hackable (and hacked) simple machine on the planet. Bikes not only get us from place to place, they are the focus of a number of conversations about how we organize communities and define and share social boundaries, and how we can harness human power to recycle energy back to the grid. Most importantly though, bicycles are an intrinsic part of how we imagine and design the city of the future. They will play a significant role in shaping identity and communities and influencing social dynamics in urban areas, because they are the next great technology platform.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

This Saturday, from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM, is the Spring 2012 installment of Arts Goggle, the awesome (and awesomely popular) free art/music extravaganza that happens across the Near Southside.

It’s become a standard part of writing about Arts Goggle to say that “this is the biggest one yet,” but it’s consistently true. Each installment has grown from the one before, but this year things have really gotten crazy. Last fall, there were around 65 venues, but the event’s really caught on this time around and there are now ninety-five (95!) venues full of art and music for your enjoyment. As is standard, the majority of the action is clustered on Magnolia Avenue, Park Place, and South Main, but there’s pockets sprouting up all over the district. (And for the record, I’m exhibiting some of my photography at the offices of The Starr Conspiracy on Magnolia, along with fellow photographers Christina Furr and Lou Chapman – and we’ve got Rahr & Sons Brewing Company providing beer!)

Once again, I’d encourage you to make your Arts Goggle experience car-free if you really want the easiest and most fun time. With the Near Southside’s extensive bike lane network, it’s easy to get around on your own bike, and of course the fine folks at Fairmount Bike Taxi will be running around providing transportation. The T is bringing Molly the Trolley once again, for those who’d like to take transit. And, of course, the Near Southside’s a great place to walk. Stick the car somewhere out-of-the-way (or don’t take it in the first place) and enjoy the neighborhood for the ever-improving urban place it is.

Fort Worth South, Inc. has posted the full program for this installment on their web site. It’s got a map (complete with transit and bike routes) and a full artist listing, so you can get an idea of the huge scale of the event.

There’s also a listing of featured musical acts and their locations:

Supreme Golf Warehouse, South Main Urban Village

• Mondo Drummers
• The Lofters
• Earthquake Country
• The Pioneers
• Kenny Uptain / Sam Anderson
• My Wooden Leg
• The Hannah Barbarians
• The Phuss

Avoca Coffee, Magnolia Urban Village

• Bad Creek
• Goodwin
• Sunshine Emery Band
• Pistol Packing Mama

Park Place Block Party

• Marco Patrelli High School Band
• Neptune Locals
• Fish Fry Bingo
• Uboat

SiNaCa Studios School of Glass, Magnolia Urban Village

• 800 Mile Monday
• Walker & the Texas Dangers
• Sally Majestic
• Whiskey Folk Ramblers

This proves to be an event not to miss. Get yourself to the Near Southside this Saturday between 4:00 and 10:00 and go exploring!

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

I happened across the Night Riders heading out on their weekly Sunday pub crawl last night, and just had to grab a couple of shots of the crowd as it rolled down Magnolia Avenue toward the first stop of the evening. Click to go to Flickr and embiggen.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

Red Productions over near 7th Street has started hosting a free outdoor film series near their office, in the “Foch Alley” behind the Foch Street Warehouses development. Tomorrow night is the next installment, and they’re showing the beloved Mel Brooks sci-fi comedy Spaceballs.

Join us Thursday, May 10 for a free outdoor screening of the 1987 classic “Spaceballs.” This is the second screening in our series of 25th anniversary films. The screening will take place near Red Productions in Foch Alley.

Food and booze will be available for purchase. So bring your friends, your dog (or mog) and a chair and let’s have a good time. Please park along Foch Street.

The movie starts as soon as it gets dark enough. Only tell the people you like.

PLEASE KNOW that there is a ton of sexual innuendo and some foul language in this film. It’s technically rated PG, but nowadays it would easily be PG-13. So, you’re welcome to bring kids, but don’t get mad at us when they ask you what “the schwartz” is on the ride home.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve got a few new images, courtesy of David M. Schwarz Architects, of Sundance Square‘s new major project, which is adding three new buildings and the long-awaited central plaza to downtown’s liveliest area. Above is a view looking north along Houston Street toward the new office/retail building (right) fronting Houston and the western half of the plaza.

Here, we’re looking southwest toward 3rd & Commerce (that’d be the Barnes & Noble store on the left and the former 8.0/upcoming Flying Saucer on the right) at the new office/retail building (center) that will front Commerce and the eastern half of the plaza.

Finally, this model view gives an idea of the massing of the third building, running along 3rd between Throckmorton and Houston.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

The third phase of the West 7th development by Cypress Equities is definitely coming together now. The concrete first floor of the new mixed-use loft/retail building running along Norwood between Crockett and 7th has gone up, which means we should next be seeing wood framing for the lofts heading upward from there. The parking garage in back has also progress noticeably.

The third phase of the development will add 96 more lofts and 32,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. It was designed by Fort Worth’s own Bennett Benner Pettit, the firm formerly known as Gideon Toal.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

Our friend Joe Frank, who has built several infill bungalows in the Fairmount neighborhood as well as two previous single-lot mixed-use buildings near Magnolia along Oleander, has a new mixed-use project going up on a single lot at Hemphill & Cannon (also in the Near Southside). The building is two stories and will feature ground-floor commercial space and upstairs loft apartments. Masonry is already going up on the exterior.

Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve just heard from Sundance Square that they’ve got a new retail tenant headed your way: national women’s retailer LOFT is coming to downtown Fort Worth. LOFT will open a 5,394-square-foot store at the northeast corner of Houston and 3rd, in part of the former Billy Miner’s space, part of which was taken earlier by Five Guys Burgers. A further 5,000 square foot retail space is available between Five Guys and LOFT.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.

Fort Worth is continuing to progress toward the creation of a bike share system, as this site wrote about last year. Now, The T and new nonprofit Fort Worth Bike Sharing have launched a brief survey to get some input on demographics and bike share station locations.

It’s a quick survey, and it’ll help the bike share system move forward – go take it.

©2012 Fort Worthology. All Rights Reserved.