Downtown Outdoors / News
Nov 6, 2015
Photo Worthy Spots in Downtown Arlington
Downtown Arlington has a lot to offer from fantastic restaurants and shops to excellent entertainment spots. Some of these spots have great aesthetic appeal for portraits. With my camera in hand and a model, I set off to explore the downtown area to see what photo worthy spots Arlington had to offer.
Located off of Center Street, Front and Center Cyclery was easily one of my favorite spots to take portraits at. The mint green accent color and colorful bicycle spokes on the chain link fence created a perfect retro feel and simply stood out as a unique background.
Next, we stumbled upon this old school barbershop called Legendz Classic Barbershop. It’s a short walk around the corner from Front and Center Cyclery. Like the barbershop itself, the wall gives a classy, old-fashioned vibe which adds to the list of photo worthy spots in Arlington.
Directly across the street from Front and Center Cyclery and to the right of Mellow Mushroom, Arlington Music Hall stands out with its tiffany blue glow. Built in 1949, this historic music hall says retro all over it, and at night its original marquee shines with hundreds of lights. To make this portrait unique, I placed my subject in the middle of two contrasting walls.
To the right of Arlington Music Hall is Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. At first taking portraits in front of a restaurant sounds odd, but this wood and brick wall gives a nice rustic background. With no evidence of the background looking like a restaurant, it’s hard to believe this was taken in front of Babe’s! As an added bonus, there’s a cool, old-fashioned bus parked in front of Babe’s that adds to the list of photo worth spots in downtown Arlington.
Off in the distance, behind Mellow Mushroom’s parking lot, is a hidden gem in downtown Arlington. There are pieces of Arlington’s history nestled away on Front Street at a place called Knapp Heritage Park. For a small donation of $2, residents can take a tour of four buildings in the park. The pioneer feel makes this place charming and perfect for photo shoots.
Out of the four buildings, my favorite was the one-room schoolhouse. The schoolhouse had little to no light sources, but the natural light from the windows and open doors created perfect lighting for a portrait.
Next time you visit downtown Arlington, I challenge you to explore and find more photo worthy portrait spots. Which spot would you get your pictures taken at in downtown Arlington?
Jessica Chapa is currently the multimedia editor for The Shorthorn and a journalism junior at the University of Texas at Arlington.