Robert Abtahi and law partner David Payma have come to expect some interruptions in their daily work. Ever since they moved Texas Defenders to a newly renovated building by Baylor Hospital, near downtown Dallas, visitors off the street have been stopping by, asking to take a look around the place and maybe snap a few photos of the building. Their interest isn’t in the open floor layout with chic furniture. Rather, Apple Maps tags the building at 3302 Swiss Circle as a historical site. Formerly known as Hartgraves Cafe, this is where Bonnie Parker worked as a waitress, shortly before she met Clyde Barrow.
Abtahi and Payma decided to embrace the building’s history. They recently commissioned a mural on an exterior wall, depicting Parker in her waitress uniform, with her arms resting atop a display case. The artwork highlights a time in her life before she gained notoriety.
Bonnie and Clyde were infamous for their roles in the Barrow Gang, led by Clyde and consisting of Bonnie, Clyde’s brother Marvin “Buck” Barrow, his wife Blanche, and several other members. The Barrow Gang went on a crime spree robbing banks and gas stations, killing law enforcement officers who stood in their way. The spree ended in 1934, when Bonnie and Clyde were shot and killed in a police ambush along Louisiana State Highway 154. Parker was 23, and Barrow was 25.
Before their life of crime cemented their place as pop culture icons, the two were young adults working typical service jobs. Parker worked as a waitress at several cafés, including Hartgraves Cafe, while Barrow worked a few blocks away on Swiss Avenue at the United Mirror and Glass store.
Hartgraves, owned by Alcie Hartgraves, opened in 1923 after her husband died and remained part of the historic Swiss Avenue neighborhood until around 1930.
The 3302 Swiss Circle building remains one of the few standing structures in Dallas tied to Bonnie and Clyde history, as many other associated sites were never officially designated as historic landmarks before being demolished.
A Space Reimagined
Over the years, the distinctive curved building has housed a variety of tenants, including a tire shop, a bus driver’s club, an Alcoholics Anonymous office, and a wine bar. Concepts for a cafe were considered around 2015, but plans never came to fruition due to city of Dallas parking requirements. With the building remaining vacant for long periods, demolition became a possibility.
“Dallas has a reputation of both destroying its historic buildings and trying to forget its history,” Abtahi says.
Abtahi and Payma were exploring the neighborhood, hoping to relocate their law practice, when they stumbled upon the building, which at the time was covered in matte black paint with bright green trims around the windows and front entrance.
“We are both born and raised in Dallas and thought it would be, frankly, cool to own a piece of Dallas history and also have it be our office where we get to go to work every day,” Abtahi says.
During renovation, the firm tried to honor the historical site in as many ways as possible, even attempting to restore the original brick, but experts warned that the sandblasting process would ruin the building’s façade. The lawyers decided on a coat of fresh white paint on the exterior, with blue accents around the windows and front entrance.
Then came the difficult task of recognizing the building’s history without glorifying Parker’s criminal past. “Lawyers are supposed to have difficult conversations and tackle difficult topics,” Abtahi says. “We ultimately decided, history is history. This woman is a historical figure, good or bad, she’s part of Dallas history, and this building has a connection to her.”
Painting the Past
After admiring Deep Ellum murals by Jeremy Biggers, Abtahi decided he was the artist for the job. Biggers is an award-winning creator whose work has shown in galleries across the country. The Selena mural in the Bishop Arts District? That’s his.
Ironically, when Abtahi sought out Biggers, the two realized that their daughters attend the same school. “We literally were walking past each other every morning during dropoff, and so it was just like this natural thing, and it was perfect,” Abtahi says.
Abtahi and Payma talked with Biggers about how to execute a mural that respected an uncomfortable history. “Somebody eventually was going to do it, so it might as well be me,” Biggers says.
The work on the mural started in early February and took two weeks, with Biggers throwing up random symbols and phrases on the wall, with a statement in the middle saying, “This is a doodle grid. It helps me make sure my proportions are accurate. This is a mural of Bonnie Parker.”
The doodles on the wall ranged from the state of Texas drawn out, to Xs and Os, numbers and letters scattered around, and a single basketball. They served as a creative alternative to the standard square grid. Once the doodles were up, the artist took a photo of the wall, placed the reference image over the photo, and adjusted the transparency to see how and where the elements of the image align with each doodle.
“I basically just show up and put those doodles up and get right to work instead of having to measure things out and spend the time to painstakingly keep all those lines parallel and straight,” he says.
Stopping by the building during the day, some visitors let curiosity get the best of them and go inside to look around, while others politely wait outside. Some are locals, and some come from as far away as Florida.
Abtahi’s hope for the mural is that when these visitors come by, they will take a photo to mark their visit. Texas Defenders also bought out what used to be hartgravescafe.com and plan to link it to a QR code outside the building, so visitors can read up on the history and still get their landmark fix without turning the lawyers inside into tour guides. They’ve still got living criminal clients who need their attention.
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