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

HCP #079: A History of Tenth Street Historic District Freedmans Town

In this episode, we explore the story of 10th Street, one of the most important surviving Freedman’s Town landscapes in the United States. Long before I35 cut through Oak Cliff, 10th Street was a thriving African American community built by formerly enslaved people and their descendants. Through churches, schools, businesses, homes, and family networks, residents created a neighborhood where generations could live, work, worship, and build a future together. We trace the rise of neighborhood institutions while looking at the people who shaped the community and the lasting impact they had on Dallas. We also examine how roads, urban renewal, and decades of disinvestment fractured the neighborhood, and how descendants and preservationists are working to recover and protect its history today. This is a story about resilience, memory, and why 10th Street still matters.

HCP #078 - Sean Springer: Creativity, Craftsmanship, and Finding Rhythm in Oak Cliff

Sean Springer, founder of Springer Design Studio, joins The Hidden City to talk about his journey from studying sculpture at RISD to building a woodworking and design practice rooted in craftsmanship, healing, and creativity. Sean shares how working with reclaimed wood shaped his artistic path, the philosophy behind his handmade objects, and why materials like wood still feel deeply alive to him.We also talk about fatherhood, creative community at Tyler Station, learning through physical work, and the ways art, design, and movement can reconnect us to the world around us. Along the way, Sean reflects on collaboration, injury and healing, and the inspiration he draws from Oak Cliff and beyond.

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.