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…