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A Battle for the Soul of Marfa

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Posted By: StormCnter, 1/25/2020 8:05:31 AM

There is little about Tim Crowley that doesn’t provoke a strong reaction. At 65, he is a tall, forceful, and fastidiously dressed man, even when he’s in jeans, cowboy boots, and a T-shirt. He brushes his silver hair carefully away from his high, unlined forehead, and he has a thin upper lip that can flatten into an expression of deep distaste when necessary. He flashes extremely white teeth and emits a deep—occasionally mirthless—belly laugh. Overall, Crowley has the cultivated manner and authoritative ease of an eighteenth-century British lord, which suits someone who is a successful trial lawyer, a global entrepreneur,

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Have you heard of the Marfa lights? The movie "Giant" was filmed there. And Big Bend National Park? Terlingua is 90 miles away from Marfa. Our old ranch is about 80 miles to the east. Progress and change are not always welcome or good.

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Reply 1 - Posted by: jjs 1/25/2020 8:45:49 AM (No. 297830)
Been through Marfa twice and have stayed at st George. Once in the late 80's when it was still "Marfa' and last year on my way to Big Ben Ranch State Park. Immediately noticed the artistic socially depraved sub culture hanging out. Went around the town on my way back to Waco.
6 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: Daisymay 1/25/2020 8:58:41 AM (No. 297847)
Grab cup of coffee for this Looooong article, but very interesting. Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed it!
5 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: MickeyMat 1/25/2020 9:02:38 AM (No. 297853)
I grew up in El Paso. I went to high school with one of Marfa’s Famed artists-Boyd Elder. His mother was my elementary school phys Ed teacher. I tried to finish the article. Couldn’t. It would sure be nice if Texas Monthly would employ a few good writers who did not have a Marxist advocacy bent. The resentment and hatred dripped forth from this one. I think it’s OK to laugh at silly artists and their rich clientele. And I am pretty sure Native Marfans and those who live in the region outside Marfa do-even those who are poor. This article would have been more attractive and enjoyable had it not been so rude and condescending with waaaay too many assumptions.
16 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: mobyclik 1/25/2020 9:07:02 AM (No. 297863)
Thought the article was wayyyy too long. But from what I read, it sounds like Crowley is turning Marfa into another hippy-dippy-artsy-fartsy commune. If I ever went there, it would be to try and see the Marfa Lights, that's it.
6 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: MickeyMat 1/25/2020 9:12:18 AM (No. 297870)
Sorry for the second post but just a FYI, the Marfa lights are a desert reflective phenomena of the headlights on Interstate 10 in the distance.
8 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: MDConservative 1/25/2020 9:30:10 AM (No. 297887)
FTA: “Everyone wanted Marfa to be frozen at the moment that they showed up.” This same attitude is leading to the death of many small towns across the country. Crowley may be a "Mexican patron", and where would Marfa be without him and all he hath wrought? I've been to Marfa, too, in those halcyon days pre-Crowley. Today people would be picking through the faded bones of abandonment without the change he and others brought. Take it, or leave it. It's not like those there then were doing anything but sipping sweet tea anyways.
4 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: chillijilli 1/25/2020 9:33:12 AM (No. 297890)
Thanks so much for posting such a fascinating, well-written piece! We once went wayyyyyyy out of the way to see Marfa. Well, you don't SEE it; you experience it. We literally unplugged---BEFORE devices even existed. We had long philosophical discussions about minimalism with wise but gritty locals. They explained their need to refocus, remove distractions, and live a slowed-down life. On the way home, we thought about turning around and heading back. But we both joked that maybe we'd drive forever and never reach Marfa again. Or if we asked for directions, people would scratch their head and ask, "Marfa? Never heard of it..." For that reason, to us, it's not Marfa. It's La Encantada. And yes, I still wear my Chinati Foundation tee shirt.
7 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: LadyChurchillUSA 1/25/2020 9:37:01 AM (No. 297891)
Interesting article if a bit long. But nothing new here. People trying to escape their overdeveloped overtaxed communities longing for something more rural then move there and make the new place into the old place, overdeveloped, over taxed mirror images of the places they left. It is what leftist do without a care as to what it might do to the place, funny thing is they never understand that it is they that are the problem but they do know that they want to keep people exactly like themselves out. It is the city bleeding into the suburbs and turning those suburbs into just an extension of the city they escaped. Then they vote for more liberals who look down their noses at the people who originally made their new home the old home they professed to want to live in. It is always the newcomer who wants to shut the door behind him all the while not realizing that he is part of the problem not the solution. But life goes on and there really is no way to stop the constant movement of the money to the "better" place, They will move further west or east or north or south and leave the debris behind. My guess is that in 10 yrs Marfa will be something of a ghost town when the elite move onto their next victim town.
11 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: Muguy 1/25/2020 9:57:28 AM (No. 297899)
There are a lot of great stops nearby Marfa.... Balmorhea, Fort Davis, McDonald Observatory just to name a few. Like so many old towns in Texas, the entreprenurial hipsters and the "arts and croissant" crowd are infiltrating at an alarming rate-- see it before that influence takes over!
6 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: czechlist 1/25/2020 10:30:00 AM (No. 297918)
Re#1 Magnolia? Re#5 The history of the lights date back to the 1800s. I don't think those were headlights on I10
4 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: Ruhn 1/25/2020 11:27:58 AM (No. 297978)
Besides the movie ‘Giant’, ‘Fandango’ had some scenes shot in Marfa starring a very young Kevin Costner and Judd Nelson— except for Dom. He was dug up around Big Bend (movie reference ;).
1 person likes this.

Reply 12 - Posted by: Aubreyesque 1/25/2020 12:37:21 PM (No. 298019)
OMG, Crowely sounds horrible! What an effete, social grubbing hippie! "Couldnt do this in Houston..."? Probably because no one would notice him, as it sounds like he does exactly what every other effete social grubbing hipster in Houston does. All it sounds like is he's happy he's the Big Fish in a Tiny Pond.
1 person likes this.

Reply 13 - Posted by: Magnante 1/25/2020 1:00:44 PM (No. 298044)
I visited Marfa because a friend's wedding was held there. Talked to a bunch of locals who were all friendl. If they resented the artsy crowd, I didn't detect it. Without the outsiders, the town would wither. I was glad my friend dragged me there, because it was a great base to see a variety of wonderful attractions. The McDonald Obeservatory tour is fantastic and is worth a trip on its own. Reserve ahead for that.
2 people like this.

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