Hidden City

HCP #077 - Zach Stuef: Illustration, Collaboration, and Building Creative Community in Oak Cliff

Illustrator and designer Zach Stuef joins The Hidden City to talk about moving from Michigan to Dallas, building a creative life through illustration, and why he still starts every project with pen and paper. We talk about collaboration, theology, concert posters, Oak Cliff creative community, and the tension between handmade art and AI-generated work. Savannah steps in as co-host for this episode as we dig into Zach’s creative process, personal projects, and the ideas and places that continue to shape his work.

HCP #076: How the Port of Dallas Was Almost a Thing

Dallas once had a real plan to become a port city, with boats traveling from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up the Trinity River into the heart of Dallas. In this episode, we trace the strange and ambitious history of the “Port of Dallas” and how Oak Cliff sat directly in the path of that dream. From devastating floods and disappearing bridges to the construction of the Oak Cliff Viaduct and the reshaping of the Trinity itself, this is the story of how Dallas tried to engineer its way into becoming something it wasn’t and how Oak Cliff still carries the marks of that vision today.

HCP #075 - April Allen: Stitching Oak Cliff Back Together and Opening Halperin Park

Two years after her first appearance on The Hidden City Podcast, April Allen returns as Halperin Park prepares to officially open in Oak Cliff this weekend. Recorded inside the park just days before opening, this episode captures a full-circle moment for one of Dallas’ most ambitious community-led projects. April, President & CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, shares what it took to bring the park from early renderings to reality, the emotional weight of reaching opening weekend, and how neighbors helped shape nearly every detail of the space. From the 12th Street Promenade reconnecting divided neighborhoods to the native landscaping, gathering spaces, and future plans for Phase Two, this conversation explores how Halperin Park was designed with Oak Cliff at its center. We also talk about opening weekend festivities, local partnerships, and why April believes this park will change how people experience both Oak Cliff and Dallas itself. This episode features sneak peeks of the new park, aerial footage, and an early look at one of Dallas’ most significant new public spaces.

HCP #074 - Frank Reaugh: Painting Texas and Building an Art Legacy in Oak Cliff

Frank Reaugh played a major role in shaping how people see Texas. His pastel landscapes of open prairie, longhorns, and wide skies captured something quieter and more honest about the state.In this episode, we follow his path to Oak Cliff, where he helped build the early art scene and taught a generation of artists at his studio near Lake Cliff Park. It’s a look at how one artist paid attention to the landscape long enough to change how people understood it, and how that legacy connects back to Oak Cliff.

HCP #073 - The Oak Cliff Street Car: Connection, Commerce, and the Shape of a Neighborhood

The streetcar didn’t just run through Oak Cliff, it helped build it. In this episode, we trace how early rail lines in the 1880s made Oak Cliff feel close enough to grow, shaping where people gathered and where businesses took root along Jefferson. We follow its evolution into a larger system, the decisions that led to its disappearance in the 1950s, and its return decades later. It’s a story about transit, but also about how a neighborhood forms, and how something as simple as crossing the Trinity can change what a place becomes.