Every good story paints a picture.
Arlington has a good story, and thanks to Dan T. Pope, it has the pictures to match.
In his new book, DREAM: Capturing the Spirit of the American Dream City, the longtime Arlington resident uses his photographs to tell the past, present, and future of the nearly 150-year-old North Texas municipality, home today to about 400,000 people.
“Arlington needed a book to tell our amazing story,” said the author, whose book is due out in November. When we are given the opportunity, we get it done. We make it happen. We have a “Can Do” spirit I use numerous illustrations of that in the book.”
The examples are plentiful.
It brought GM to town in the 1950s. Six Flags went up in 1961. The Rangers arrived in 1972.
The Cowboys relocated to Arlington in 2009. There’s an Esports Stadium. An entertainment district is in place by the football and baseball stadiums.
UT-Arlington’s enrollment has topped 40,000 students.
Last spring, the National Medal of Honor Museum opened after the city won out against more than a dozen other major U.S. cities.
That’s a lot of story to tell.
In 2026, the story will continue!
“What I’m trying to capture is that Arlington has a special spirit about it,” Pope said. “There is a can-do spirit, there is a cooperative spirit in this city that a lot of other cities don’t have. We’ve been given many opportunities, and we have taken advantage of them. I captured those stories to illustrate the spirit.”
Pope, 69, moved to Arlington in 1988 to pastor a church. With a passion for photography, he built a business, Roaring Good Photography, that includes graphic design. His creativity is evident in the illustrations and imagery in his Arlington photographs.
“I have a unique form of photography, which I’ll showcase in the book at times, where I’ll take pictures of Arlington and make them look like paintings,” he said. “Another creative effect I’ve done is to do a then-and-now comparison. I went to the place where a picture was taken 100 years ago, and I took it today, framed it up, and put one on top of the other, and peeled off layers so you have one picture that shows off both time frames. I call it blended history. There are about six of those prints in the book.”
Arlington’s beginnings – “Did you know it was almost named Hayterville?” he said – are also a topic in the book. Pope knows the story of the city’s beginnings well, from its near-namesake, Andrew Hayter, to another potential naming inspiration, politician Middleton Tate Johnson, to recent leaders.
He thinks of the city’s founders and leaders as “dreamers” whose vision the city has long reflected and still does today – thinking big.
“Andrew Hayter was Arlington’s Father,” he said. “Johnson was Arlington’s Pioneer. Tillie Bergen is Arlington’s Graceful Servant. Richard Greene is Arlington’s Guardian; he was mayor when GM and the Rangers could have left. Jeff Williams is Arlington’s Catalyst. And I have a good bit about Tom Vandergriff in there, too. He was Arlington’s Visionary.”
Visual stories are everywhere in the 144-page coffee table book.
“This book is meant to inspire, to educate, and to entertain,” he said.
Just take a look at how he does it.
The book may be ordered at arlingtondreambook.com or from the author at dtpope@sbcglobal.net or by texting 817-487-5067. It will retail for $59 on Nov. 1. Before Nov. 1, it is available for $50, tax included.
