THE OFFLAKE PARKS

Flag Pole Hill is a popular destination for picnics, concerts and fireworks-watching in the spring (and for clumsy rides on makeshift sleds when it snows). It became Flag Pole Hill in 1936. Before that, it was Doran’s Point, named for William Doran (18471931), the city commissioner responsible for negotiating to purchase the 2,292 acres of land that would become White Rock Lake Park, according to historian Sally Rodriguez.

A photo of the hilltop pavilions in the Dallas Municipal Archives shows that the waters of White Rock Lake once reached the very base of Flag Pole Hill. Today, Northwest Highway separates the hill from the main lake.

High school cross-country runners from around the region know Norbuck Park, across the road from Flag Pole Hill, for a steep, tree-lined incline and a flat finishing stretch. For the less competitive, the cross-country course suits more pleasurable pursuits such as hiking and nature-watching. Pay homage here to the late Rowland D. Adams (1917-1962), who is remembered on a plaque near the playground as a man “whose love of God and life inspired him to appreciate the beauty of the world and his fellow man. To be a coach and counselor to boys and girls. To be a friend and example to all.” According to his obituary, Adams organized the White Rock Churches Athletic Association in 1956. In 1962 alone there were more than 2,000 youngsters participating in baseball and basketball programs, many of whom Adams himself coached. He died at age 44 following a long illness.

Untraveled Trails

White Rock Lake increasingly attracts pedestrians and cyclists slow and fast, competitive and recreational, friendly and aggressive. And, with apologies to The Notorious B.I.G.: mo’ people, mo’ problems. The west side of the lake offers a wide, smooth trail — alongside a road for faster cyclists and motor vehicles. East of the lake, however, nearly all traffic opts for the public street over the narrow, deteriorating pedestrian path above it. This creates a situation in which cars, runners, strollers and cyclists all share space. Since rules for trekking a trail (stay right) differ from road rules (stay left, facing oncoming vehicular traffic), pedestrians are generally confused, occupying both sides of the road. Yelling happens. Fights ensue. People fall down. Children cry. To quell the chaos, a $7.2 million effort to improve the pedestrian trail from the base of the Mockingbird Bridge (Mockingbird Point) to Emerald Isle on the south side of the lake is underway. The Dallas Park Department is rebuilding the existing broken trail as opposed to constructing a new shoreline trail as they did west of the lake. Also included in this three-phase project are parking lot and playground improvements, new picnic areas, and native grassland designation for select areas.

The Bathroom Murals

Along the 9.5-mile or so route around White Rock Lake, there are ostensibly several potential pit stops, mostly in the form of portables. Permanent restroom buildings exist at The Stone Tables, Big Thicket, near the old boathouse and kitty-corner from Celebration Tree Grove. Some of these feature painted murals and artistically detailed windows. The restrooms at Poppy Drive and East Lawther, for example showcase cheerful paintings of fish, turtles and birds collectively called “White Rock Rush Hour” by the late artist Joseph Korngut (an animal lover who died in 2011 after a long illness, according to his obituary). The problem: these structures are locked several months out of the year.

The official reason for locking down the restrooms is “winterizing,” according to Shana Murff with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. “After the first freeze, we turn off everything with running water, because if one pipe bursts, the whole system goes down.”

All of the turning on and off of water must be done manually, which is why parkgoers might find fountains dry, even on a warm and sunny afternoon.

Also of note: Locked restrooms possibly mean less work for police patrolling the lake. At one time, the restroom buildings at White Rock were popular meeting spots for sexual deviants, making them problematic for law enforcement and an unassuming public. According to a Dallas Morning News article, undercover Dallas police officers made 153 arrests for public lewdness in 2002, prompting authorities to warn parents against allowing children in the bathrooms unaccompanied. Today the prettily painted stalls all feature signs warning against “unlawful activity.”