NEIGHBORHOODS


Uptown:
   The now-upscale Uptown area was originally outside the city limits of Dallas, and was home to those who were not welcome in the city. The west side, near present-day Harry Hines Boulevard, once hosted a large Hispanic neighborhood known as "Little Mexico". The east side, now anchored by Cityplace Center, was the site of the Freedmen's Town established by freed African-American slaves.

Very little of this working-class history remains, with the Hispanic west being turned into high-rise buildings, and the African-American east being destroyed by the construction of Central Expressway and the Woodall Rodgers Freeway. All that remains of Freedmen's Town is the Freedmen's Cemetery, which gained national recognition when Central Expressway reconstruction revealed over 1,100 graves beneath existing and proposed roadways.

Uptown is one-of, if not the most, pedestrian-friendly areas in the city of Dallas. It is largely "new urbanist" in scope, the majority of facilities considered "Uptown institutions" are relatively new and were created during the late 20th and early 21st Centuries' new urbanist urban planning movement.



The district is one of the most dense in Dallas and is home to a wide variety of establishments, including office buildings, residential towers and apartment complexes, retail centers, nightlife strips, and hotels. This mixed-use development practice lends to what many people identify as a very urban lifestyle, unlike the compartmentalized social structures of suburban bedroom communities and office parks. The majority of Dallas and its surroundings are compartmentalized due to the style of mid-20th Century American urban planning and so Uptown stands out in its surroundings as an alternative to the norm. This makes Uptown very popular with post-college graduates.

Uptown also contains three smaller distinct neighborhoods:

    * State Thomas
    * West Village
    * Knox Park


Expo Park:
  Xposition Park (or Expo Park) is a neighborhood in south Dallas. It is north and west of Fair Park, and is centered along Exposition Avenue on the eastern edge of Deep Ellum. It is home to several eclectic bars (The Amsterdam Bar and Fallout Lounge), a restaurant (The Meridian Room), and several small businesses (Hollywood 5 & Dime, Rob's Chop Shop, Dallas Hair Company), and small entertainment venues.


It is also widely known for being an artistic area with many art galleries (500 X Gallery, Centraltrak, The Wit Gallery, Avenue Arts Venue, etc.) and venues positioned on Exposition Avenue.

Deep Ellum:
  Deep Ellum (a corruption of "deep Elm Street") is an arts and entertainment district near downtown in east Dallas. It lies directly east of the elevated I-45/US 75 (unsigned I-345) freeway and extends to Exposition Avenue, connected to downtown by, from north to south, Pacific, Elm, Main, Commerce, and Canton streets. The neighborhood is north of Exposition Park and south of Bryan Place.

The area got its start in 1884 when Robert S. Munger built his first factory, for the Munger Improved Cotton Machine Company, in what is now Deep Ellum. In 1913, Henry Ford opened an assembly plant here to supplement the manufacture of the Ford Model T at the Detroit plant. In 1916, the first building built for and by blacks in Dallas—The Grand Temple of the Black Knights of Pythias—was built in Deep Ellum at Good-Latimer and Elm Street, later turned in to the Union Bankers Building .


Deep Ellum became distinguished as a prime jazz and blues hotspot in the South. Artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, and Bessie Smith played in Deep Ellum clubs like The Harlem and The Palace.

In 1937, a columnist described Deep Ellum as:

“     ...[the] one spot in the city that needs no daylight saving time because there is no bedtime...[It is] the only place recorded on earth where business, religion, hoodooism, gambling and stealing goes on at the same time without friction...Last Saturday a prophet held the best audience in this 'Madison Square Garden' in announcing that Jesus Christ would come to Dallas in person in 1939. At the same time a pickpocket was lifting a week's wages from another guy's pocket, who stood with open mouth to hear the prophecy.”

At the time, you could find gun and locksmith shops, clothing stores, the Cotton Club, tattoo studios, barber-shops, pawn shops, drugstores, tea rooms, loan offices, domino halls, pool halls, and walk-up hotels. On its sidewalks you could find pigeon droppers, reefer men, craps shooters, card sharps, and sellers of cocaine and marijuana.[2] Sometime around World War I, Leadbelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson got together and began composing folk tunes, with Dallas often in the lyrics. In a song called "Ella Speed":
“     Walked up Ellum an' I come down Main,
Tryin' to bum a nickel jes' to buy cocaine.
Ho, Ho, baby, take a whiff on me.     ”

Another song about Deep Ellum, "Deep Ellum Blues", included:
“     When you go down on Deep Ellum,
Put your money in your socks
'Cause them Women on Deep Ellum
Sho' will throw you on the rocks.

(chorus)
Oh, sweet mama, your daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues.
Oh, sweet mama, your daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues.


Lakewood:

  Lakewood is a neighborhood in East Dallas. It is adjacent to White Rock Lake, Bryan Place, and downtown Dallas.

Lakewood boasts the historic Lakewood Theater, which shows classic films and hosts many contemporary musical and comedy events, and the popular Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens . Surrounding the Lakewood Theater is an entire neighborhood of trendy restaurants, shopping venues, such as Green Living Dallas' first eco-friendly independent store, and historical landmarks such as the Dixie House Cafe. Newer restaurants include the trendy comfort food provider Chef Sharon Hage's York Street Lakewood also has two of the most highly rated wine destinations of Dallas, Times Ten Cellars and The Wine Therapist . Older neighborhood restaurants that have become "institutions" are Matt's "Rancho" Martinez and Angelo's Spaghetti House. Situated roughly between Garland, East Dallas, and Fair Park, Lakewood is a popular settling place for people looking for the city life but averse to high traffic. It is also popular with cyclists, runners, and hikers who want easy access to White Rock Lake.

One of the year's highlights is the massive Lakewood Fourth of July Parade and Celebration. Only non-commercial entries are allowed in the parade and a celebration follows at Tokalon Park. That evening the entire neighborhood enjoys fireworks on the Lakewood Country Club golf course.



Each fall, the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for Lakewood Elementary with its Fall Home Festival and Tour.

Lakewood is also home to Lakewood Country Club Built in 1912, Lakewood Country Club’s three-story clubhouse overlooked a woodland that rolled and tumbled pleasantly over this fast growing East Dallas neighborhood. The Club’s founding fathers knew that the land at the corner of Gaston and Abrams would be a perfect spot for Dallas’ second 18-hole golf course.

There are many unique shopping areas with shops, bars, cafes and restaurants — most are original and not chains nor franchises.

Lakewood proper is surrounded by a collection of old-fashioned neighborhoods, generally developed from the early 1900s to the 1950s, including Lakewood Heights, Junius Heights Historic District (Bungalow Heaven), Parks Estates, Caruth Terrace, Wilshire Heights, Mockingbird Heights, Mockingbird Meadows, The Gated Cloisters, Hillside, Gastonwood-Coronado Hills, Hollywood Heights, and Belmont; among others. Commonly, people outside these neighborhoods group them together under the heading of Lakewood, The M-Streets, or Old East Dallas - which are overlapping regions in the near-eastern part of the city. Historic Swiss Avenue (Mansion Row) anchors the area towards Downtown.

Currently, there are a large number of Historic and Conservation Districts reflecting prodigious numbers of Craftsman, Prairie-Four Squares, Tudors, Spanish and Mediterranean Eclectic and Early Ranch homes, many of native Austin stone. The homes range from two-bedroom bungalows to massive estates on acreage. There is also a fair number of duplexes, four-plexes and very small apartment complexes.

Some of the older homes are being torn down in favor of much larger, more expensive homes.

Lower Greenville:

  Lower Greenville is a neighborhood in east Dallas, west of Lakewood. Specifically, the neighborhood is the area adjacent to Greenville Avenue south of Mockingbird Lane and north of Belmont Avenue. The area south of Belmont Avenue is often, and more specifically, called "Lowest Greenville," and the area north of Mockingbird Lane is called "Upper Greenville." "Lower Greenville" is also used to refer to the neighborhoods surrounding Greenville Avenue, including Vickery Place, the Belmont Addition, Greenland Hills (the "M Streets"), and Stonewall. It straddles Dallas Council Districts 14 and 2.

Lower Greenville is a major entertainment district in Dallas south of Mockingbird Lane containing many popular bars, restaurants, boutique stores and live music venues. Although most of the bar and restaurants of Lower Greenville host the annual Saint Patrick's Day parade, it is Upper Greenville (north of Mockingbird Avenue) that serves as the parade route. The Lower Greenville area hosts a big Saint Patrick's day block party between Vanderbilt Avenue and Vickery Boulevard on Greenville Avenue after the parade. Lower Greenville has benefitted somewhat by the decline in popularity in recent years of Deep Ellum, especially with the renovation and reinvention of the Historic Granada Theater (constructed in 1946 as a Movie House) in recent years as a major music venue (hosting many music acts that would have performed at the now defunct Gypsy Tea Room in Deep Ellum), and indeed voted most popular live music venue in Dallas by the Dallas Observer in 2007 and 2008.



In the early 20th Century, Greenville Avenue was one of the most important roads in Dallas, serving the new residential areas in East Dallas and indeed played the part that the North Central Expressway (US 75)) plays today. Before the construction of the North Central Expressway in the 1950s, Greenville Avenue was the main route from Northern Dallas into downtown, with the H&TC railroad occupying the current location of North Central Expressway. In the 1910s, Goodwin Avenue was at the far north end of Greenville Avenue and served East Dallas including the Belmont Addition and Vickery Place Addition. In the 1920's, the Greenland Hills Addition was platted North of Vickery Place, and Mockingbird Lane became the northern boundary of the City of Dallas. Prior to the mid 1920's, Greenville Avenue was known as the "Richardson Road" or the "Richardson Pike".

Before the construction of the North Central Expressway in 1950, Greenville Avenue was the main route to Richardson, Plano, McKinney and north to the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas. It is for this reason that the "Lower Greenville" area was developed as one of the most important centers in Dallas for shopping and restaurants, especially the area comprising "Lowest Greenville" in modern times. The arrival of the automobile in Dallas was via Greenville Avenue, and even today the Lower Greenville Avenue area is a hot spot for automobile and motorcycle enthusiasts. This is especially true for what is arguably the center of the Lower Greenville area, the intersection of Goodwin Ave and Greenville Ave, which has been a popular gathering spot and watering hole since at least the 1930s.

Oak Cliff:
  Oak Cliff is a community in Dallas, that was formerly a separate town located in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1903. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as "Dallas' older, established neighborhood".

Oak Cliff has turn-of-the-century and mid-20th century housing, many parks, and proximity to the central business district of downtown Dallas.

The boundaries of Oak Cliff are roughly Interstate 30 and the Trinity River on the north, Interstate 35E on the east, Camp Wisdom Road on the south, and Cockrell Hill Road on the west. In practice nearly every neighborhood south of the Trinity River (excluding west Dallas) is called Oak Cliff, though much of it was never part of the original town. For example, the South Oak Cliff neighborhood (one of the primary African-American neighborhoods in Dallas), which generally includes neighborhoods south of Illinois Avenue, was never part of the original town of Oak Cliff. Neighborhoods east of I-35 are normally considered part of Oak Cliff as well, in addition to the undeveloped parts of the Mountain Creek area.



The suburb of Oak Cliff originated on December 15, 1886, when John S. Armstrong and Thomas L. Marsalis bought a farm of 320 acres on the west side of the Trinity River for $8,000. The farm was subdivided into 20-acre blocks, and the plat of the new suburb made. Armstrong and Marsalis began to develop the land into an elite residential area, which proved to be a success by the end of 1887, with sales surpassing $60,000. However, after a disagreement between the partners, Marsalis secured complete control over Oak Cliff's development. Armstrong would go on to create his own elite residential development on the north side of Dallas, known as Highland Park.

According to the first plat filed, the original township of Oak Cliff extended as far north as First Street, later named Colorado Boulevard, just north of Lake Cliff, then known as Spring Lake, and as far south as a pavilion below Thirteenth Street. It was bounded on the east by Miller Street, later named Cliff Street, and on the west by Beckley Avenue. Jefferson Boulevard was the route of a steam railroad, and the principal north and south thoroughfare was Marsalis Avenue, then called Grand Street.

Oak Lawn:
  Oak Lawn is a neighborhood in Dallas, defined as a Planned Development District No. 193, the Oak Lawn Special Purpose District. It is located immediately north of downtown. The district is generally bounded by Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Central Expressway, the City of Highland Park, Inwood Road, and Harry Hines Boulevard. It is over 12 square miles in area.

Oak Lawn is one of the wealthier parts of Dallas, with many professionals and urban types living in upscale townhouses, condos, apartments, and duplexes. Along the Uptown portion on McKinney Avenue and along Turtle Creek Boulevard, there are many new high-rise condominiums and apartments. It is also a very diverse neighborhood with well established areas of older, single family homes.

Oak Lawn is known for its good restaurants, as well as its many bars and clubs. (In particular those catering to the LGBT community of Dallas.) Running through the center of Oak Lawn from downtown to Love Field is Cedar Springs Road, which has housed the center of the Dallas gay community for over 35 years at the intersection of Cedar Springs Road and Throckmorton Street.


Oak Lawn is known for being the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex's center for gay- and lesbian-themed entertainment. The area boasts a host of Dallas' most renowned gay bars and nightclubs, including Station 4 (formerly The Village Station), The Brick, Woody's (formerly Moby Dick's), J.R.'s, Sue Ellen's (recently opened in the Throckmorton Mining Company's old location), Throckmorton Mining Company (recently opened in the Sue Ellen's old location), Havana, The Round-Up Saloon, Mickey's (formerly BJ's), Illusions, Pekers (formerly The Side 2 Bar and Phases), Zippers, Crews Inn (closed 2009), Pub Pegasus, The Hidden Door, The Tin Room, Rush, Cross Bar, and The Hideaway, most of which are located along, or close to, Cedar Springs Road.

Oak Lawn is contiguous with the Dallas Design District, and so much of the area conveys a very "artsy" and upscale feeling. The sight of Rainbow flags hanging in front of businesses and homes and same sex couples holding hands and showing public affection is very common here.