A documentary film, Saving Magic Eleventh Street, chronicling the restoration and renewal of Garland’s historic Travis College Hill neighborhood, will premier Friday, April 22, during the city’s Heritage Celebration 2016.
The film traces the 103-year-old addition’s transition from a once-proud, high-profile residential area through its days of decline due to crime and disregard and then metamorphosing back to a position of honor, culminating with its being awarded a Texas Historical Marker and the relocation of Garland’s historic Pace House to one of its residential tracts.
The 20-minute documentary will be shown for free at 2 p.m. in the Plaza Theater. It also may be viewed continuously during the Travis College Hill historic home tour Saturday, April 23, at 401 South 11th, one of the five 11th Street homes on the tour, from noon to 5 p.m.
The film’s storyline is told through the eyes of Kay Wheeler Moore, who grew up on South 11th and narrates her childhood recollections about life on the street. She describes how she and her husband, Louis, were grieved when the beloved neighborhood began falling into decay and describes their efforts to rally other 11th Street residents to create a better day for the historic area, originally named the city’s first Garland Avenue. The neighborhood has been home to three Garland mayors, five city council members, a Dallas County commissioner, and the school board president; one resident was a prominent preacher; others owned businesses in town.
The title, Saving Magic Eleventh Street, is drawn from a description by Kay’s mother, Mable Wheeler, who arrived on 11th Street as a new bride in 1941 after her marriage to J.D. Wheeler. The Wheelers, who were Garland community leaders, later built a home at 412, where they lived throughout Kay’s childhood until just a few months before each of their deaths. Kay recalls that her mother always affectionately called the street “Magic 11th” because it had been Mable’s home during many red-letter periods of her life.
The film describes a cooperative effort between the neighborhood, the City of Garland, and other governmental entities to respond to citizen concerns, so that the “magic” could return to 11th Street once again. Travis College Hill lies within Avenues B and D on 11th Street in historic downtown Garland.
MJM Productions, directed by the Moores’ son, Matthew, of Phoenix, Arizona, produced the documentary. Matthew and his team of videographers covered the Pace House move in October 2014; the film features the special aerial drone videography from that moving day. MJM videographers also captured highlights in April 2015 when U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions and a host of other dignitaries were present as the historical marker was awarded to Travis College Hill.
MJM Productions is one of several media/advertising companies with which Matthew is affiliated. With one of these he oversees promotional operations for the Sedona, Arizona Chamber and Tourism Bureau; visitmesa.com; the Gila River Indian Community, and Cancer Centers of America.