Downtown Dallas

Downtown Dallas
A portion of the downtown Dallas skyline
Location in Dallas
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Dallas
City	Dallas
Area
- Total	1.4 sq mi (3.63 km2)
- Land	1.4 sq mi (3.63 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation	440 ft (134 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,198
- Density	1,570/sq mi (605.5/km2)
ZIP code	75201, 75202, 75270
Area code(s)	214, 469, 972

Dallas Downtown

Downtown Dallas is the main business district in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city. The area officially termed "downtown" is bounded by the downtown freeway loop: bounded on the east by I-345 (although known and signed as the northern terminus of I-45 and the southern terminus of US 75 (Central Expressway), on the west by I-35E, on the south by I-30, and on the north by Spur 366 (Woodall Rodgers Freeway).

History

Downtown Dallas achieved notoriety on November 22, 1963, with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy and Governor John Connally (who survived) were shot as their motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in what is now the West End Historic District. Part of the former Texas School Book Depository is now the Sixth Floor Museum, with exhibits about Kennedy and the assassination. Nearby is the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial.

The building boom of the 1970s and 1980s produced a distinctive contemporary profile for the downtown skyline, influenced by nationally prominent architects. At the same time, the establishment of the West End Historic District in the 1980s preserved a group of late 19th century brick warehouses that have been adapted for use as restaurants and shops.

With the construction of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts in the Arts District of downtown, Dallas will be the only city in the world that has four buildings within one contiguous block designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize winners.

Overview

Downtown Dallas as seen from Lake Cliff in Oak Cliff.

Though it has been likened to a glorified office park with no cultural character, the area is undergoing a transition as dozens of residential conversions and new high rise condos bring more permanent residents to the downtown area. (See: North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).^[1]) Its redeveloped Main Street has recently become more of a place for Dallasites to play after several restaurants, hotels, and residential towers opened their doors along the strip. Downtown's growth can partially be attributed to Dallas Area Rapid Transit's (DART) two (soon to be 4) LRT lines and the one commuter line that run through Downtown and an aggressive stance taken by the city to drive development at all costs. The city has forked over $160 million of public funds in downtown Dallas for residential development that attracted $650 million of private investment.Two of the first new-construction office building projects downtown in over 20 years broke ground in 2005—One Arts Plaza, a mixed use office, retail, residential development in the Arts District which will be the new home of 7-Eleven’s headquarters; and the vibrant Hunt Consolidated office building.

The city, along with several non-profit organizations, has recently pushed for the development of the deck park over Spur-366 (Woodall Rodgers Freeway) to create a seamless Uptown/downtown district, hoping the Uptown real estate market would help further redevelop downtown - though unfortunately dead zones, mainly huge parking lots, will still be abundant.

Importantly, The Trinity River Corridor is poised to undergo a significant transformation (the Trinity River Project) into a giant urban park. The park is expected to include an equestrian center, lakes, trails and three bridges designed by Santiago Calatrava. Funding over the years, however, has been a constant problem. Though serious work on the project now appears eminent, with the first two bridges having received significant private backing.

Culture

Neighborhoods

Districts of downtown Dallas
Bryan Place Cedars Deep Ellum Oak Lawn State Thomas Uptown Victory Park Arts District City Center District Convention Center District Farmers Market District Government District Main Street District Reunion District West End Historic District

Within Loop

• Arts District
• City Center District
• Convention Center District
• Farmers Market District
• Government District
• Main Street District
• Reunion District
• West End Historic District

Adjacent Neighborhoods

• Trinity/Design District - outside loop.
• Victory Park (also considered part of the Stemmons Corridor or Oak Lawn - outside loop).
• Uptown (also considered part of Oak Lawn - outside loop).
• State Thomas (also considered part of Oak Lawn - outside loop).
• Bryan Place (also considered part of East Dallas - outside loop).
• Baylor/Meadows (also considered part of East Dallas - outside loop)
• Deep Ellum (also considered part of East Dallas - outside loop).
• Fair Park (also considered part of South Dallas - outside loop).
• Cedars (also considered part of South Dallas - outside loop).

Tallest structures

1. Bank of America Plaza - 921 feet (281 m)
2. Renaissance Tower - 886 feet (270 m)
3. Comerica Bank Tower - 787 feet (240 m)
4. JPMorgan Chase Tower - 738 feet (225 m)
5. Fountain Place - 720 feet (219 m)

Transportation

Looking south down Market in the West End Historic District

Downtown Dallas is surrounded by a major highway loop composed of, from the north and clockwise, Spur 366 (Woodall Rodgers Freeway), unsigned Interstate 345 (connecting U.S. Highway 75 (Central Expressway) to the north and Interstate 45 to the south), Interstate 30, and Interstate 35E. The loop is the center of Dallas's hub-and-spoke highway system which can be likened to a wagon wheel. U.S. Highway 67 is carried through downtown on Interstate 35E to the south and Interstate 30 to the east, and U.S. Highway 175 and the Dallas North Tollway join with other major highways within a mile of downtown.

Downtown is the center of the DART light rail system. The Blue and Red lines run through, from south to north, Convention Center, Union, West End, Akard, St. Paul, and Pearl stations. The Trinity Railway Express commuter train, which connects downtown Fort Worth with downtown Dallas, terminates at Union Station. Union Station also has Amtrak service, with trains connecting to Chicago and Los Angeles.

The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) operates the M-Line, a free trolley service that runs down St. Paul Street from Uptown and terminates at Ross Avenue. North from downtown, it travels to McKinney Avenue from St. Paul, runs through the LoMac neighborhood, and finally loops around the West Village along Blackburn and Cole Avenues. A spur adjacent to the West Village runs to Cityplace Station.^[2]

Greyhound Lines operates a terminal at 205 South Lamar Street.^[3] DART operates the West and East Transfer Centers as hubs for its public bus system.^[4]

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) operates an express commuter bus route that serves two stops in Denton, one stop in Lewisville, and another that makes two stops, one in Denton and another in Carrollton.

Downtown Renaissance

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Stone Street, along the Main Street corridor.

Recently^[when?] downtown Dallas has undergone a series of important changes that city officials believe will drastically improve the city's core. These changes are located in four downtown areas: Victory Park, the Arts District, the Trinity River, and the Convention center corridor.

Victory Park, named one of the nation's most successful Brownfield reclamation projects, is home to the recently built (2001) American Airlines Center as well as several new high-rise hotels and office buildings. The Arts District, Dallas, already one of the world's largest, is in the final stages of a massive ten year construction project that will result in a new 2,300 seat opera house, a series of theatres, residential space, retail, parks, and a forty story residential skyscraper.

Of all the changes in downtown Dallas, the Trinity River corridor is undergoing the most dramatic. Currently the river runs in an artificially straight line a large distance from any part of downtown; however, Dallas is currently in the process of returning the river to its natural course, creating two large lakes to border the downtown area, and has commissioned two large cable stayed bridges to be built across the river and new lakes. Dubbed the Trinity River Project by local officials, plans are also in place for improved levies to protect downtown from possible flooding.

Separated from Victory Park and the Arts District by downtown central business area, the Convention Center corridor will be the site of a new convention center hotel. Currently, Dallas stands as one of the few major American cities without a hotel accompanying its convention center. Dallas hopes these changes will bring more permanent residents into the downtown area; currently the downtown population has grown to over 5,000 from the 1,000 citizens who lived in downtown at the end of 20th century, a number now projected to grow to 13,000 by the end of the decade.

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the Downtown Dallas Post Office at 400 North Ervay Street.^[5]

Economy

Comerica Bank Tower, headquarters of Comerica Bank

Whitacre Tower, headquarters of AT&T

AT&T is headquartered at the Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas; AT&T moved to Dallas from San Antonio, Texas in 2008. Mayor of Dallas Tom Leppert said in 2008 that he hoped that AT&T would stay in the central city.^[6]

Comerica is headquartered in the Comerica Bank Tower.^[7] On March 6, 2007, Comerica announced its decision to relocate its corporate headquarters to Dallas from Detroit, Michigan. The decision was attributed to its long-term strategy of growth in the South and Southwest regions of the United States.^[8]

Ensco International has its corporate headquarters in Suite 4300 in the Lincoln Plaza building.^[9] In 2009 Ensco announced that it will move its headquarters to London and become a British-registered company. The company said that it does not plan to move "a large number" of employees to London. The COO of the company will remain in Dallas.^[10]

Energy Future Holdings Corporation has its headquarters in the Energy Plaza complex in Downtown Dallas.^[11]

Blockbuster Video is headquartered in the Renaissance Tower.^[12] Greyhound Bus Lines is located at 350 North St. Paul Street.^[13]

Former economic operations

At one point Internet America, an internet service provider, was headquartered in the One Dallas Centre building in Downtown Dallas.^[14] In January 2006 the company announced that it would move the corporate headquarters, accounting department, and finance departments from Dallas to the Houston area.^[15][16] The company moved in early 2006.^[17]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Downtown Dallas is served by the Dallas Independent School District.

Three schools: Middle College High School at El Centro College, the Pegasus School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, are located in downtown. The Pegasus Complex is also in downtown.

The neighborhood schools for Downtown are outside of the loop.

Four elementary schools—City Park, Sam Houston, Hope Medrano, and Ignacio Zaragoza; three middle schools—Billy Earl Dade, Thomas J. Rusk, and Alex W. Spence; and two high schools—James Madison and North Dallas, serve downtown.^[18][19]

Private School

First Baptist Academy Downtown Campus

Residents are also served by First Baptist Academy of Dallas, a Biblically-integrated, college preparatory K–12 school located in the city center district of downtown Dallas.

Holy Trinity Catholic School^[20] is a nearby centrally located private school providing early education to three year olds through eighth grade. It is supported by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas.

Colleges and universities

El Centro College

El Centro College of the Dallas County Community College District is in Downtown.

The University of North Texas, located 35 miles (56 km) to the north in Denton, would like to open a law school downtown. A previous attempt was rebuffed by the state legislature. If eventually successful, Dallas would cease to be the largest city in the country without a public law school.^[21]

Gallery

August 1912: The tallest building is the Adolphus Hotel, which was completed earlier in the year. 150°, centered at From the northwest.		April 1, 1913: 180°, centered at south-southwest.
April 20, 1920: Very few of the tallest buildings in this photo still exist: Immediately obvious are The Adolphus Hotel and the Interurban Building. Every single-family house, the Medical Arts Building and the Baker Hotel have all since been razed and replaced.		September 17, 2005: The skyline from a levee on the Trinity River.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dallas

• City of Dallas web site
• Central Dallas Association web site
• Guide to Downtown Dallas