What the L? Legacy of Love Monument Needs Your Luvin’ on November 2

 

Amid all the brouhaha about the negative connotations surrounding some monuments, one Dallas monument with a positive message needs our help.  The Legacy of Love monument has resided at the corner of Oak Lawn Avenue and Cedar Springs Road since 2006. Y’all know where I mean — that triangle of land resulting from the clumsy turn onto Cedar Springs.

All monuments are symbols, but not all people like those symbols. The Legacy of Love monument has certainly been a sometime magnet for people who disagree with its message of inclusion. It’s been spray painted repeatedly and most recently the letter “L” has been stolen.  While one imagines some troubled Laverne & Shirley fan as the culprit, with a replacement cost of $3,000, it’s no joke. On the more benign, but equally damaging note, it’s also served as a hard bumper in multiple car accidents (I said that corner is clumsy). Of course time also takes its toll.

On Nov. 2, the Oak Lawn Committee, caretakers of the monument, will have a fundraiser to fund the ongoing maintenance (and sometimes repair) of the monument.  Sadly, the first $3,000 will now go to repair the latest stupid vandalism.

How You Can Help: Tickets

There is a fundraiser at 6 p.m. Nov. 2 inside the Landmark Restaurant at the Warwick Melrose Hotel. Tickets are $100 each.  But there are also sponsorship opportunities.  At $5,000, Platinum Level nets you an inscription on the monument, a big ol’ ad in the program, and 15 tickets. The $2,500 Gold Level gets you 10 tickets and a big ol’ ad in the program. Sliding $1,000 across the counter for Silver Level secures you a less big ol’ ad and 5 tickets. Click here for online reservations.

If you’re not hungry for a great time at the Landmark or you’re busy early-primping (or on the wagon) for the Black Tie Dinner the following week (you know who you are) fret not — there are other ways to show support.

Auction Items

Are you a business owner?  Send the Oak Lawn Committee a gift certificate. Not a business owner?  Send the Oak Lawn Committee a gift card … maybe for something you’d use yourself. That way you can get the tax deduction for the donation and then buy it back. Aren’t the best gifts the ones you give yourself?

Do you have a valuable item you’d like to donate?  You can do that too.  But please, don’t try and slip in a “Baccarat” vase that’s really something you won on the State Fair midway.

Write a Check

Want to be a secret Santa?  Write a check and send it to the Oak Lawn Committee. Checks should be made out to “Communities Foundation of Texas” with “Great Oak Lawn Fund” written on the memo line. If your pen is out of ink, you can also donate online, www.cftexas.org.

The Great Oak Lawn Fund is part of the Communities Foundation of Texas, a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization. Beyond a tax deduction, what’s also good about this fundraiser is that 100 percent of everything goes to the monument fund.

Questions about donations or auction items?  [email protected]. Want to know where to send the check?  Mail it to: P.O. Box 190912, Dallas, TX 75219.

Of course if one dirtbag person really wants to support the cause, they could return the L.

Remember:  High-rises, HOAs and renovation are my beat. But I also appreciate modern and historical architecture balanced against the YIMBY movement.  If you’re interested in hosting a Candysdirt.com Staff Meeting event, I’m your guy. In 2016 and 2017, the National Association of Real Estate Editors has recognized my writing with two Bronze (2016, 2017) and two Silver (2016, 2017) awards.  Have a story to tell or a marriage proposal to make?  Shoot me an email [email protected].