Hats off to a new Dallas landmark, the Cedars Bowler Hat

by Tiney Ricciardi

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Adding a little bit of British flair to the Dallas skyline.

The Bowler Hat, commissioned by retailer Timothy Oulton, is currently being installed in the Cedars neighborhood of Dallas.

DALLAS — Artist Keith Turman has finally found a place to hang his hat – his 10-foot-tall, 20-foot-wide, two-ton bowler – on Griffin Street West in the Cedars area south of downtown.

The mammoth (but jolly good) sculpture was commissioned by the British furniture gallery Timothy Oulton at Central Expressway and Henderson Avenue, but the company’s plans to perch it on the corner of the building didn't comply with city codes. So the store donated the artwork to the neighborhood of its creator. Bowler Hat sits on property owned by Structural Studio, an engineering consulting firm.

Nigel Brown, president of Structural Studio, is glad have it there since Timothy Oulton considered destroying Bowler Hat after the original placement fell through. “It’s a piece of public art that is being displayed in a neighborhood that has a real strong presence of artists,” Brown says.

The hat, which took about four months to construct, is composed of wood, steel, fiberglass, epoxy and rigid foam. It will rise to a height of 30 feet when it’s hoisted onto an oversized coat rack.

Installation began on December 30 and is expected to be completed by the end of January.