Ever see a cool building or landmark and want to know more about it? A new app called Pegasus Urban Trails is now available to help people uncover culturally-significant landmarks, discover little known treasures within the central business district of Dallas and to create pedestrian trails linking Dallas’ urban districts.The Urban Armadillos organization was founded in 2012 by Mike Wyatt and Skyler Baty who enlisted a group of civic-minded professionals to aid them in their endeavor. The group was named Urban Armadillos and empowered to “Dig Up Dallas” district by district! From that small start the group has grown to over 300 professionals. The volunteer group selected Dallas’ unique landmarks, parks, architecturally-significant structures, and places with “pop culture” within each of the downtown districts.
The districts include Civic Center, Dallas Arts District, Deep Ellum, Dallas Farmers Market District, Main Street District, Reunion District, Thanksgiving Commercial Center, and West End Historic District. By connecting the districts, the Urban Armadillos goal is to preserve Dallas’ urban treasures, to enrich the experience of visitors to downtown Dallas, and to increase the overall economic vitality and legacy of our city.
In January 2013, the Urban Armadillos joined with Preservation Dallas with the goal to work together to finalize the trails and format the individual site information for use in brochures and a mobile app. The mobile app was recently completed and named Pegasus Urban Trails in honor of the “Pegasus” located on top of the historic 1922 Magnolia building in downtown Dallas. The easy to use mobile app lets users select trails they would like to follow by map or name. Sites can also be sorted by address, name or topic – including architecture, history, art, and pop-culture. The Pegasus Urban Trails mobile app is available for free on Google Play or the App Store on iTunes. The mobile app project has been funded in part by AT&T, Downtown Dallas, Inc., and the Fondren Preservation Fund for Texas of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
