‘I was in Before Deep Ellum was Cool’
It’s early in the afternoon and one of the Deep Ellum regulars, a formerly homeless man who has found employment in a nearby bar, is sitting on the other side of Merrill’s desk at Deep Ellum Auto Glass, reports an article.
Out the window across Main Street, his eyes take in the parking lot where his grandfather started the business in 1939, the article states.
The rest of the buildings on that side of the block are vacant, some with the ubiquitous “For Lease” signs in the windows, according to a recent tour.
“These are uncertain times for Deep Ellum,” said writer Bill Marvel. “Through it all Merrill and perhaps a dozen others like him remain.”
In a city where everything changes in the blink of an eye they’ve watched it all come and go, writes Marvel.
“And, most of them say, they’ll be here long after the current show passes on,” wrote Marvel.
Talk of the neighborhood’s decline and fall have not shaken Don Bannister at Catalina Cycles Harley Parts on Main Street, he states.
“I was in Deep Ellum before Deep Ellum was cool,” he said in a recent interview. “I came here July 1, 1967, my birthday. It was all automotive places.”
That all changed in the mid-1980s, Bannister told Marvel.
He’s standing behind the counter running the place all by himself.
He said he likes it because it reminds him of SoHo, New York’s neighborhood of artists and galleries, and New Orleans’ Quarter.
“When I was a boy living on nearby Fletcher Street, I used to walk through with my dad,” said Bannister. “I’ve been offered a considerable amount of money for the building and the parking lot next door which I also own. This has been a good place for me.”
For most of the survivors, Deep Ellum is a family thing, according to stats.
John D. McMurray III runs the company founded by his father and grandfather in 1940, according to records.
McMurray Metal Company, which sells bronze, copper, and brass, started over on Commerce Street but moved to its Elm Street location within a year, they say.
“There were a whole lot of little mom and pop stores,” said McMurray.
