Dallas/ˈdæləs/ is the ninth-largest city in the United States and the third-largest city in the state of Texas.[2][3] The bulk of the city is in Dallas County, of which it is the county seat. However, slices of the city are located in Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. The city had a population of 1,197,816 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4]
The city is the largest economic center of the 12-county region. Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area had a population of 6,645,678 in 2012.[5] The metroplex economy is the sixth largest in the United States, with a 2010 gross metropolitan product of $374 billion.[6] Its 2010 Real GDP amounted to $325 billion.
Dallas was founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city in February 1856. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, transportation and logistics. The city is home to the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the nation.[7] Located in North Texas, Dallas is the main core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea.[8]
The city's prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position along numerous railroad lines. With the advent of the interstate highway system in the 1950s and 1960s, Dallas became an east/west and north/south focal point of the interstate system with the convergence of four major interstate highways in the city, along with a fifth interstate loop around the city. Dallas developed a strong industrial and financial sector, and a major inland port, due largely to the presence of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.[9]
In the latest rankings released on September 14, 2011, Dallas was rated as an Alpha- world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network and is the only city in the South Central region to achieve that status. Dallas is also ranked 14th in world rankings of GDP by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.[10]
Before Texas was claimed in the 18th century as a part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the Dallas area was inhabited by the Caddopeople. Later, France also claimed the area, but in 1819 the Adams-Onís Treaty made the Red River the northern boundary of New Spain, officially placing the future location of Dallas well within Spanish territory.[11] The area remained under Spanish rule until 1821, when Mexico declared independence from Spain and the area became part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. In 1836, the Republic of Texas broke off from Mexico to become an independent nation.[12]
In 1839, Warren Angus Ferris surveyed the area around present-day Dallas. Two and a half years later, John Neely Bryan established a permanent settlement near a river he found and called that settlement Dallas. The Republic of Texas was then annexed by the United States in 1845 and Dallas County was established the following year. Dallas was formally incorporated as a city in February 2, 1856. The name of the city has uncertain origins. See History of Dallas (1839–1855) for more information on this.
Geography
Dallas is the county seat of Dallas County. Portions of the city extend into neighboring Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 385.8 square miles (999.3 km2), 340.5 square miles (881.9 km2) of it being land and 45.3 square miles (117.4 km2) of it (11.75%) water.[13] Dallas makes up one-fifth of the much larger urbanized area known as the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, in which one quarter of all Texans live.
Dallas and its surrounding area are mostly flat; the city itself lies at elevations ranging from 450 feet (137 m) to 550 feet (168 m). The western edge of the Austin Chalk Formation, a limestoneescarpment (also known as the "White Rock Escarpment"), rises 230 feet (70 m) and runs roughly north-south through Dallas County. South of the Trinity River, the uplift is particularly noticeable in the neighborhoods of Oak Cliff and the adjacent cities of Cockrell Hill, Cedar Hill, Grand Prairie, and Irving. Marked variations in terrain are also found in cities immediately to the west in Tarrant County surrounding Fort Worth, as well as along Turtle Creek north of Downtown.
Dallas, like many other cities in the world, was founded along a river. The city was founded at the location of a "white rock crossing" of the Trinity River, where it was easier for wagons to cross the river in the days before ferries or bridges. The Trinity River, though not usefully navigable, is the major waterway through the city. Its path through Dallas is paralleled by Interstate 35E along the Stemmons Corridor, then south alongside the western portion of Downtown and past south Dallas and Pleasant Grove, where the river is paralleled by Interstate 45 until it exits the city and heads southeast towards Houston. The river is flanked on both sides by 50 feet (15 m) tall earthen levees to protect the city from frequent floods.[14]
Since it was rerouted in the late 1920s, the river has been little more than a drainage ditch within a floodplain for several miles above and below downtown Dallas, with a more normal course further upstream and downstream, but as Dallas began shifting towards postindustrial society, public outcry about the lack of aesthetic and recreational use of the river ultimately gave way to the Trinity River Project,[15] which was begun in the early 2000s and is scheduled to be completed in the 2010s. If the project materializes fully, it promises improvements to the riverfront in the form of man-made lakes, new park facilities and trails, and transportation upgrades.
The project area will reach for over 20 miles (32 km) in length within the city, while the overall geographical land area addressed by the Land Use Plan is approximately 44,000 acres (180 km2) in size—about 20% of the land area in Dallas.
Green space along the river will encompass approximately 10,000 acres (40 km2), making it one of the largest and diverse urban parks in the world.[16]
White Rock Lake, a reservoir constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, is Dallas' other significant water feature. The lake and surrounding park is a popular destination for boaters, rowers, joggers, and bikers, as well as visitors seeking peaceful respite from the city at the 66-acre (267,000 m2) Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, located on the lake's eastern shore. White Rock Creek feeds into White Rock Lake, and then exits on to the Trinity River southeast of downtown Dallas. Trails along White Rock Creek are part of the extensive Dallas County Trails System.
Dallas has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), though it is located in a region that also tends to receive warm, dry winds from the north and west in the summer, bringing temperatures to the 100 °F (38 °C) mark about 20 days annually, the majority in August, and heat indices easily breaking 110 °F (43 °C). When only temperature itself is accounted for, the north central Texas region where Dallas is located is one of the hottest in the United States during the summer months, usually trailing only the Mojave Desert basin of Arizona, southern Nevada, and southeastern California. Its temperature ranges are rather similar to those of Seville in Spain.
Winters in Dallas are generally mild to warm, with a normal daily average temperature in January of 47.0 °F (8.3 °C). However, strong cold fronts known as "Blue Northers" sometimes pass through the Dallas region, forcing daytime highs below the 50 °F (10 °C) mark for several days at a time. Snow accumulation is seen in the city in about 70% of winter seasons, and snowfall generally occurs 1–2 days out of the year for a seasonal average of 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). Some areas in the region, however, receive more than that, while other areas receive negligible snowfall or none at all.[20]
A couple of times each winter in Dallas, warm and humid air from the south will override cold, dry air, resulting in freezing rain or ice and causing disruptions in the city if the roads and highways become slick. On the other hand, temperatures reaching 70 °F (21 °C) on average occur on at least 4 days each winter month. Dallas averages 26 annual nights at or below freezing,[21] with the winter of 1999–2000 holding the all-time record as having the fewest freezing nights, with 14. During this same span of 15 years,[specify] the temperature in the region has only twice dropped below 15 °F (−9 °C), though it will generally fall below 20 °F (−7 °C) in most (67%) years.[21] In sum, extremes and variations in winter weather are more readily seen in Dallas and Texas as a whole than along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, due to the state's location in the interior of the North American continent and the lack of any mountainous terrain to the north to block out Arctic weather systems.
Spring and autumn bring pleasant weather to the area. Vibrant wildflowers (such as the bluebonnet, Indian paintbrush and other flora) bloom in spring and are planted around the highways throughout Texas.[22] Springtime weather can be quite volatile, but temperatures themselves are mild. The weather in Dallas is also generally pleasant from late September to early December and on many winter days. Autumn often brings more storms and tornado threat, but usually fewer and less severe than in spring.
Each spring, cold fronts moving south from the North will collide with warm, humid air streaming in from the Gulf Coast, leading to severe thunderstorms with lightning, torrents of rain, hail, and occasionally, tornadoes. Over time, tornadoes have probably been the biggest natural threat to the city, as it is located near the heart of Tornado Alley.
The all-time record low temperature within the city itself is −3 °F (−19 °C), set on January 18, 1930, while the all-time record high is 113 °F (45 °C), set on June 26 and 27, 1980 at nearby Dallas–Fort Worth Airport.[21][27] The average daily low in Dallas is 57.4 °F (14.1 °C) and the average daily high is 76.9 °F (24.9 °C). Dallas receives approximately 37.6 inches (955 mm) of rain per year.
Several smaller structures are fashioned in the Gothic Revival style, such as the Kirby Building, and the neoclassical style, as seen in the Davis and Wilson Buildings. One architectural "hotbed" in the city is a stretch of historic houses along Swiss Avenue, which contains all shades and variants of architecture from Victorian to neoclassical.[33] The Dallas Downtown Historic District protects a cross-section of Dallas commercial architecture from the 1880s to the 1940s.
Homes in Munger Place Historic District in the winter
Midtown Dallas is currently undergoing construction of new high-rise apartments, restaurants, and retail. The midtown area is generally a new classification of the city, consisting of North Park Mall, SMU, White Rock Lake, The Dallas Arboretum, and new retail/high-rises, most notably along Park Lane and Central Expressway. Midtown is bordered by University Park to the west, Preston Hollow to the North, Lake Highlands/Lakewood to the East, and Uptown/City Place to the South.
Kidd Springs Park in Oak Cliff
Southwest of Downtown lies Oak Cliff, a hilly area that has undergone gentrification in recent years in neighborhoods such as the Bishop Arts District. Oak Cliff originated as a township founded in the mid-1800s and was annexed by the city of Dallas in 1903.[35] Today, most of the area's northern residents are Hispanic. The ghost town of La Reunion once occupied the northern tip of Oak Cliff. South Oak Cliff is a mixture of Black/African American, Hispanic, and Native American.
South Dallas
South Dallas, a distinct neighborhood southeast of Downtown, lays claim to the Cedars, an eclectic artist hotbed south of downtown and Fair Park, home of the annual State Fair of Texas, occurring in October.
Much of the southern portion of the city is characterized now by high rates of poverty and crime.[36] To spur growth in the southern sector of the city, University of North Texas System opened a Dallas campus in October 2006 in South Oak Cliff near the intersection of Interstate 20 and University Hills Blvd.[37] Large amounts of undeveloped land remain nearby, due to decades of slow growth south of Downtown.
Further east, in the southeast quadrant of the city, is the large neighborhood of Pleasant Grove. Once an independent city, it is a collection of mostly lower-income residential areas stretching all the way to Seagoville in the southeast. Though a city neighborhood, Pleasant Grove is surrounded by undeveloped land on all sides, including swampland separating it from South Dallas that will in the future be part of the Great Trinity Forest,[38] a subsection of the city's Trinity River Project.
Dallas is known for its barbecue, authentic Mexican, and Tex-Mex cuisine. Famous products of the Dallas culinary scene include the frozen margarita.[39] Fearing's restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas hotel in Uptown Dallas was named the best hotel restaurant in the US for 2009 by Zagat Survey. The Ritz-Carlton Dallas hotel was also named 2009 best US hotel by Zagat, and 2009 No. 2 hotel in the world by Zagat, trailing only the Four Seasons King George V in Paris, France. A number of nationally ranked steakhouses can be found in the Dallas area, including Bob's Steak & Chop House, currently ranked No. 1 according to the USDA Prime Steakhouses chart.[40]
Arts
The Winspear Opera House and the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Downtown Dallas Arts District
Also, not far north of downtown is the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University. In 2009 it joined up with "Prado on the Prairie" for a three-year partnership. The Prado focuses on Spanish visual art and boasts the best collection of Spain's art in North America, with works by Picasso, Goya, Velasquez, El Greco, Murillo, Zurbaran, Ribera, Fortuny, Rico, de Juanes, Plensa and plenty of other Spaniards. These works, as well as Non-Spanish highlights like sculptures by Rodin and Moore have been so successful of a collaboration that the Prado and Meadows have agreed upon an extension of the partnership.[43]
Deep Ellum, immediately east of Downtown, originally became popular during the 1920s and 1930s as the prime jazz and blues hot spot in the South.[45] Artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, and Bessie Smith played in original Deep Ellum clubs such as The Harlem and The Palace. Today, Deep Ellum is home to hundreds of artists who live in lofts and operate in studios throughout the district alongside bars, pubs, and concert venues.[46] A major art infusion in the area results from the city's lax stance on graffiti, and a number of public spaces including tunnels, sides of buildings, sidewalks, and streets are covered in murals. One major example, the Good-Latimer tunnel, was torn down in late 2006 to accommodate the construction of a light rail line through the site.[47]
Like Deep Ellum before it, the Cedars neighborhood to the south of Downtown has also seen a growing population of studio artists and an expanding roster of entertainment venues. The area's art scene began to grow in the early 2000s with the opening of Southside on Lamar, an old Sears warehouse converted into lofts, studios, and retail. Within this building, Southside on Lamar hosts the Janette Kennedy Gallery with rotating gallery exhibitions featuring many local, national, and international artists.[48] Current attractions include Gilley's Dallas and Poor David's Pub.[49][50]Dallas Mavericks owner and local entrepreneur Mark Cuban purchased land along Lamar Avenue near Cedars Station in September 2005, and locals speculate that he is planning an entertainment complex for the site.[51]
South of the Trinity River, the flourishing Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff is home to a number of studio artists living in converted warehouses. Walls of buildings along alleyways and streets are painted with murals and the surrounding streets contain many eclectic restaurants and shops.[52]
Dallas has an Office of Cultural Affairs as a department of the city government. The office is responsible for six cultural centers located throughout the city, funding for local artists and theaters, initiating public art projects, and running the city-owned classical radio station WRR.[53]
Dallas has numerous local newspapers, magazines, television stations and radio stations that serve the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as a whole, which is the 5th-largest media market in the United States.[54]
Dallas has one major daily newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, which was founded in 1885 by A. H. Belo and is A. H. Belo's flagship newspaper. The Dallas Times Herald, started in 1888, was the Morning News' major competitor until Belo purchased the paper on December 8, 1991 and closed the paper down the next day. Other daily newspapers are Al Día, a Spanish-language paper published by Belo, Quick, a free, summary-style version of the Morning News, and a number of ethnic newspapers printed in languages such as Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Other publications include the Dallas Weekly, the Oak Cliff Tribune and the Elite News, all weekly news publications. The Dallas Morning News also puts out a weekly publication, neighborsgo, which comes out every Friday and focuses on community news. Readers can post stories and contribute content at the Web site, [6]. The Dallas Observer and the North Texas Journal are also alternative weekly newspapers, D Magazine, a monthly magazine about business, life, and entertainment in the Metroplex. Local visitor magazines include "WHERE Magazine" and "Travelhost" – available at hotel desks or in guest rooms. In addition, the Park Cities and suburbs such as Plano also have their own community newspapers. Also, THE magazine covers the contemporary arts scene.
63 radio stations operate within range of Dallas.[55] The City of Dallas operates WRR 101.1 FM, the area's main classical music station, from city offices in Fair Park.[56] Its original sister station, licensed as WRR-AM in 1921, is the oldest commercially operated radio station in Texas and the second-oldest in the United States, after KDKA (AM) in Pittsburgh.[57] Because of the city's centrally located geographical position and lack of nearby mountainous terrain, high-power class Amedium-wave stations KRLD and WBAP can broadcast as far as southern Canada at night and can be used for emergency messages when broadcasting is down in other major metropolitan areas in the United States.
Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC), the largest company in the Spanish-language radio station business, is based in Dallas.[58] In 2003, HBC was acquired by Univision and became Univision Radio Inc., but the radio company remains headquartered in the city.[59]
The Catholic Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe juxtaposed against the JPMorgan Chase Bank Tower in the Downtown Dallas Arts District.Gaston Avenue Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas (postcard, circa 1905-1924)
The Catholic Church is also a significant organization in the Dallas area and operates the University of Dallas, a liberal-arts university in the Dallas suburb of Irving. The Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe in the Arts District is home to the second-largest Catholic church membership in the United States, and oversees over 70 parishes in the Dallas Diocese. The Society of Jesus operates the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. Dallas is also home to three Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.[60] The city of Dallas and Dallas County have more Catholic than Protestant residents, while the converse is usually true for the suburban areas of Dallas.
Dallas' Jewish population of approximately 45,000 is the largest of any city in Texas.[61] Since the establishment of the city's first Jewish cemetery in 1854 and its first congregation (which would eventually be known as Temple Emanu-El) in 1873, Dallas Jews have been well represented among leaders in commerce, politics, and various professional fields in Dallas and elsewhere. See History of the Jews in Dallas, Texas for more information.
The Cathedral of Hope is a predominantly LGBT congregation located in the Oak Lawn area. The Dallas Cathedral of Hope is said to be the world's largest Christian LGBT church. Located on the campus of the Cathedral of Hope, the Interfaith Peace Chapel was the last project that Priktzer award-winning architect Philip Johnson designed. Johnson is quoted as saying, "this is a building I’ve waited all my life to build. It will be my memorial."
Jehovah's Witnesses also have a large number of members throughout Dallas and surrounding suburbs.
There are several Unitarian Universalist congregations, including First Unitarian Church of Dallas, founded in 1903.[64]
Furthermore, a large Muslim community exists in the north and northeastern portions of Dallas, as well as in the northern Dallas suburbs. The oldest mosque in Texas is located in Denton, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Downtown Dallas. The oldest mosque in Dallas is Masjid Al-Islam located just south of Downtown Dallas.
A sizable Sikh community resides in Dallas and its surrounding suburbs. There are at least three SikhGurudwaras in this metropolitan area.[65][66][67]
There are several Hindu temples in DFW area in cities such as Irving and the Indian Community is growing in the DFW Metroplex. There's also a Jain Temple, ISKCON (Hare Krishna) Temple, Sai Baba Temple and other temples in DFW.
For the atheist, agnostic, nonbeliever and strictly spiritual individuals, there is "The Winter SolstiCelebration". After 15 years, this celebration has become a minor Dallas cultural tradition for the "spiritual but not religious" people of North Texas. "That gentle rejection of commonly held ideas fills many of those who will take part in the event. They are mostly people who refuse to be pigeonholed by any one religion – but who long for the sense of community that an organized faith supplies."[68]
With the opening of Victory Park, WFAA Channel 8 has begun to host an annual New Year's Eve celebration in AT&T Plaza that the television station hopes will reminisce of celebrations in New York's Times Square, and on New Year's Eve 2011 set a new record of 32,000 people in attendance. Also, several Omni hotels in the Dallas area host large events to welcome in the new year including murder mystery parties, rave inspired events, and other events. The city has their own New Year's Day parade, the Comerica Bank New Year's Parade.
Multiple different teams were referred to as the "Dallas Texans". The Dallas Texans (NFL) played the National Football League for one season in 1952. Another version of the Dallas Texans was a charter member of the American Football League IV in 1960, before becoming the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963. Another version, the Dallas Texans competed in the now-defunct Arena Football League from 1990–1993, after which the AFL team was the Dallas Desperados from 2002–2008. In 2010, the Dallas Vigilantes began playing in the American Airlines Center as a part of the restructured Arena Football League.
Nearby Arlington, Texas is the new home to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. Since joining the league as an expansion team in 1960, the Cowboys have enjoyed substantial success, advancing to eight Super Bowls and winning five; according to profootballreference.com, as of the end of the 2009 season they were the winningest active NFL franchise. Known widely as "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys are financially the most valuable sports 'franchise' in the United States, worth approximately 1.5 billion dollars.[72] They are also the second most valuable sports organization in the world. The Cowboys are only out-valued by Manchester United, who are valued at 1.8 billion dollars.[73] In 2009, the Cowboys relocated to their new 80,000-seat stadium in Arlington, which was the site of Super Bowl XLV.[74] The college Cotton Bowl Classic football game was played at the Cotton Bowl through its 2009 game, but has moved to AT&T Stadium.
Cricket is another sport that is popular among diaspora from South Asian countries. Local universities such as SMU, University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas at Dallas have their own cricket clubs that are affiliated with USA Cricket.
1 MISL Title 1987 1 CISL Title 1993 2 WISL Titles 1998, 2001
As reported by Olympic news outlet Around the Rings, Dallas is looking at a 2020 Summer Olympics bid. Those in favor of Dallas say that it should be chosen because no major stadiums would have to be built for the games.[84]
The City of Dallas maintains and operates 406 parks on 21,000 acres (85 km2) of parkland. Its flagship park is the 260-acre (1.05 km2) Fair Park, which hosted the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936. The city is also home to Texas' first and largest zoo, the 95 acres (0.38 km2) Dallas Zoo, which opened at its current location in 1888.[85]
The city's parks contain 17 separate lakes, including White Rock and Bachman lakes, spanning a total of 4,400 acres (17.81 km2). In addition, Dallas is traversed by 61.6 miles (99.1 km) of biking and jogging trails, including the Katy Trail, and is home to 47 community and neighborhood recreation centers, 276 sports fields, 60 swimming pools, 232 playgrounds, 173 basketball courts, 112 volleyball courts, 126 play slabs, 258 neighborhood tennis courts, 258 picnic areas, six 18-hole golf courses, two driving ranges, and 477 athletic fields.[86]
As part of the ongoing Trinity River Project, the Great Trinity Forest, at 6,000 acres (24 km2), is the largest urban hardwood forest in the United States and is part of the largest urban park in the United States.[38] The Trinity River Audubon Center is a new addition to the park. Opened in 2008, it serves as a gateway to many trails and other nature viewing activities in the area. The Trinity River Audubon Center is the first LEED-certified building constructed by the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department.
Dallas also hosts three of the twenty-one preserves of the extensive (3,200 acres (13 km2)) Dallas County Preserve System. Both the Joppa Preserve, the McCommas Bluff Preserve the Cedar Ridge Preserve are all within the Dallas city limits. The Cedar Ridge Preserve was formerly known as the Dallas Nature Center, but management was turned over to Audubon Dallas group, which now manages the 633-acre (2.56 km2) natural habitat park on behalf of the City of Dallas and Dallas County. The preserve sits at an elevation of 755 feet (230 m) above sea level, and contains a variety of outdoor activities, including 10 miles (16 km) of hiking trails and picnic areas.
Just southwest of Dallas is Cedar Hill State Park, maintained by the Texas Parks and Wildlife state agency. A 1,826-acre (7.39 km2) urban nature preserve, the park is located on the 7,500-acre (30 km2) Joe Pool Reservoir, and offers activities such as mountain biking, birding, camping and fishing; swimming is allowed at the swimming beach only.[87]
To the west of Dallas in Arlington is Six Flags Over Texas, the original franchise in the Six Flags theme park chain. Hurricane Harbor, a large water park owned by Six Flags, is also in Arlington.
In its beginnings, Dallas relied on farming, neighboring Fort Worth's Stockyards, and its prime location on Native American trade routes to sustain itself. Dallas' key to growth came in 1873 with the building of multiple rail lines through the city. As Dallas grew and technology developed, cotton became its boon and by 1900 Dallas was the largest inland cotton market in the world, becoming a leader in cotton gin machinery manufacturing. By the early 1900s Dallas was a hub for economic activity all over the Southern United States and was selected in 1914 as the seat of the Eleventh Federal Reserve District. By 1925 Texas churned out more than ⅓ of the nation's cotton crop, with 31% of Texas cotton produced within a 100-mile (160 km) radius of Dallas. In the 1930s petroleum was discovered east of Dallas near Kilgore, Texas. Dallas' proximity to the discovery put it immediately at the center of the nation's petroleum market. Petroleum discoveries in the Permian Basin, the Panhandle, the Gulf Coast, and Oklahoma in the following years further solidified Dallas' position as the hub of the market.[89]
The end of World War II left Dallas seeded with a nexus of communications, engineering, and production talent by companies such as Collins Radio Corporation. Decades later, the telecommunications and information revolutions still drive a large portion of the local economy. The city is sometimes referred to as the heart of "Silicon Prairie" because of a high concentration of telecommunications companies in the region, the epicenter of which lies along the Telecom Corridor located in Richardson, a northern suburb of Dallas. The Corridor is home to more than 5,700 companies[90] including Texas Instruments (headquartered in Dallas), Nortel Networks, Alcatel Lucent, AT&T, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Nokia, Rockwell Collins, Cisco Systems, Sprint, Verizon Communications, XO Communications and until recently[when?]CompUSA (which is now headquartered in Miami,FL).
In the 1980s Dallas was a real estate hotbed, with the increasing metropolitan population bringing with it a demand for new housing and office space. Several of Downtown Dallas' largest buildings are the fruit of this boom, but over-speculation and the savings and loan crisis prevented any further additions to Dallas' skyline. Between the late 1980s and the early 2000s, central Dallas went through a slow period of growth and has only recently recovered. Since 2000, the real estate market in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex has been relatively resilient. However, Dallas is among the largest cities in the U.S. where rent declined significantly. Whereas the national decline in rent is approximately 4%, Dallas rent declined an average of 8% in early 2010.[91]
Texas Instruments, a major manufacturer, employs 10,400 people at its corporate headquarters and chip plants in Dallas. Defense and aircraft manufacturing dominates the economy of nearby Fort Worth.[92][93]
In addition to its large number of businesses, Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other city in the United States and is also home to the second shopping center ever built in the United States, Highland Park Village, which opened in 1931.[98] Dallas is home of the two other major malls in North Texas, the Dallas Galleria and NorthPark Center, which is the 2nd largest mall in Texas. Both malls feature high-end stores and are major tourist draws for the region.[citation needed]
According to Forbes Magazine's annual list of "The Richest People in America" published September 21, 2011, the city itself is now home to 17 billionaires, up from 14 in 2009. In 2009 (with 14 billionaires) the city placed 6th worldwide among cities with the most billionaires.[99][100] The ranking does not even take into account the 8 billionaires who live in the neighboring city of Fort Worth.
Dallas is currently the third most popular destination for business travel in the United States, and the Dallas Convention Center is one of the largest and busiest convention centers in the country, at over 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2), and the world's single-largest column-free exhibit hall.[101]
The city uses a council-manager government, with Mike Rawlings serving as Mayor, A.C. Gonzalez serving as interim city manager, and 14 council members serving as representatives to the 14 council districts in the city.[102][103][104] This organizational structure was recently contested by some in favor of a strong-mayor city charter, only to be rejected by Dallas voters.
In the 2006–2007 fiscal year, the city's total budget (the sum of operating and capital budgets) was $2,344,314,114.[105] The city has seen a steady increase in its budget throughout its history due to sustained growth: the budget was $1,717,449,783 in 2002–2003,[106] $1,912,845,956 in 2003–2004,[106] $2,049,685,734 in 2004–2005,[107] and $2,218,345,070 in 2005–2006.[107]
National and state legislators representing Dallas:
As a city, present-day Dallas can be seen as moderate, with conservative Republicans dominating the wealthy suburban neighborhoods of North Dallas and liberal Democrats dominating neighborhoods closer to Downtown as well as the city's southern sector. As a continuation of its suburban northern neighborhoods, Dallas' northern parts are overwhelmingly conservative. Plano, the largest of these suburbs, was ranked as the fifth most conservative city in America by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, based on the voting patterns of middle-age adults.
Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer said in 2002 "the early vote in majority-black precincts in Southern Dallas is the city's only disciplined vote. Especially in citywide elections on issues that are not entwined in the internal politics of the black community, the Southern Dallas African-American vote has a history of responding obediently to the call of leadership."[109]
In the 2004 U.S. Presidential elections, 57% of Dallas voters voted for John Kerry over George W. Bush.[110] Dallas County as a whole was closely divided, with 50% of voters voting for Bush and 49% voting for Kerry.[111]
In 2004, Lupe Valdez was elected Dallas County Sheriff. An open lesbian, Valdez is currently the only female sheriff in the state of Texas. Despite controversies in her handling of county jails, she won re-election in 2008 with a 10-point victory over Republican challenger Lowell Cannaday.[112]
Conservative Republican Tom Leppert defeated liberal Democrat Ed Oakley in the city's 2007 mayoral race by a margin of 58% to 42%. Though candidates' political leanings are well publicized in the media, Dallas' elections are officially non-partisan. The city's previous mayor was Laura Miller, a liberal Jewish woman who had previously written for the Dallas Observer, the city's most popular alternative newspaper.[citation needed]
Policing in Dallas is provided predominantly by the Dallas Police Department, which has around 3,500 officers.[113] The Dallas chief of police is David Brown (effective May 5, 2010).[114] The Police Headquarters are located in the Cedars neighborhood of South Dallas.
According to the FBI, a city to city comparison of crime rates is not meaningful, because recording practices vary from city to city, citizens report different percentages of crimes from one city to the next, and the actual number of people physically present in a city is unknown.[115] With that in mind, Dallas' violent crime rate (12.06 per 1,000 people) is lower than that of St Louis (24.81), Detroit (24.22), Baltimore (16.96), Philadelphia (15.62), Cleveland (15.47), Miami (15.09), Washington, D.C. (14.48), Kansas City (14.44) and Boston (13.39). However, Houston (11.69), Los Angeles (7.87), and New York City (6.38) have lower violent crime rates than Dallas.[116]
Fire Department (Dallas Fire-Rescue Department)
The city of Dallas is protected 24/7, 365 by the 1,670 paid, full-time firefighters of the city of Dallas Fire-Rescue Department (DFD), providing both fire protection and emergency medical service to the city. The Dallas Fire-Rescue Department operates out of 57 Fire Stations in 2 Divisions of 9 Battalions, located throughout the city, and maintain and operate a fire apparatus fleet of 57 Engines, 21 Trucks, 40 Rescues, 3 Peak Demand Rescues, 1 Haz-Mat. Unit, 2 Haz-Mat. Teams, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 9 Brush/Booster Units, 1 Marine Unit (based on Lake Ray Hubbard), 7 smaller Fireboats, 1 Swift Water Rescue Unit, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units. All DFD Paramedics are Firefighters, but not all Firefighters are Paramedics; but are trained to at least EMT-Basic. EMT-Paramedics and EMT-B's are trained through the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.[117][118] The department also operates the Dallas Firefighter's Museum at Dallas' oldest remaining fire station, built in 1907, along Parry Avenue near Fair Park. In addition, the department operates in mutual aid agreements with several surrounding municipalities.
In 1995, the Dallas Fire Department Training Academy (now the Chief Dodd Miller Training Academy) began to host firefighter recruits from other Metroplex municipalities in its 22-week basic firefighter training school, effectively becoming a regional training center. The Academy is reverently known as "The Drill Tower" by instructors and graduates, referring to the facility's most taxing structure/activity, a six story tower whose staircase is routinely climbed three times in rapid succession by recruits in full gear and high-rise hose packs.
Battalion 1 is located at Fire Station #4; Battaion 2 is located at Fire Station #7; Battalion 3 is located at Fire Station #8; Battalion 4 is located at Fire Station #28; Battalion 5 is located at Fire Station #25; Battalion 6 is located at Fire Station #14; Battalion 7 is located at Fire Station #35; Battalion 8 is located at Fire Station #34, Battalion 9 is located at Fire Station #47; Battalion 10 is out of service as of Oct. 22, 2012. Division Chief 806 is located at Fire Station #55, while Division Chief 807 is located at Fire Station #1. The Swift Water Rescue Unit is located at Fire Station #34 and the Urban Search and Rescue Units are located at Fire Stations 33 and 19.
This article appears to contradict the article Demographics of Dallas. Please discuss at the talk page and do not remove this message until the contradictions are resolved.
As of the 2010 Census Dallas had a population of 1,197,816. The median age was 31.8.
According to the 2010 Census, 50.7% of the population was White (28.8% non-Hispanic white), 25.0% was Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.9% Asian, 2.6% from two or more races. 42.4% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (they may be of any race).[121]
At the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, among the Hispanic population, 36.8% of Dallas was Mexican, 0.3% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Cuban and 4.3% other Hispanic or Latino.[122][123][124]
There were 458,057 households at the 2010 census, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were headed by married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were classified as non-family households. 33.7% of all households had one or more people under 18 years of age, and 17.6% had one or more people who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.42.[125]
At the 2010 census the city's age distribution of the population showed 26.5% under the age of 18 and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.8 years. 50.0% of the population was male and 50.0% was female.[125]
According to the 2005–2007 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the city was $40,147, and the median income for a family was $42,670. Male full-time workers had a median income of $32,265 versus $32,402 for female full-time workers. The per capita income for the city was $25,904. About 18.7% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those aged 65 or over.[126] The median price for a house was $129,600.[127]
Dallas' population was historically predominantly white (non-Hispanic whites made up 82.8% of the population in 1930),[128] but its population has diversified as it has grown in size and importance over the 20th century to the point that non-Hispanic whites now represent less than one-third of the city's population.[129] In addition, recent data showed that 26.5% of Dallas' population and 17% of residents in the Metroplex as a whole were foreign-born.[130][131]
Dallas is a major destination for Mexican immigrants, both legally and illegally. The southwestern and southeastern portions of the city, particularly Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove, are chiefly inhabited by black and Hispanic residents, while the southern portion of the city is predominantly black. The West and East sides of the city are predominately Hispanic. North Dallas, on the other hand, is mostly white, though many enclaves of predominantly black and Hispanic residents exist.
Trilingual sign on shop in multilingual neighborhood: English, Spanish, Amharic.
The Dallas-Fort-Worth Metroplex has an estimated 70,000 Russian-speakers, mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Bloc. Included in this population are Russians, Russian Jews, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Moldavians, Uzbek, Kirghiz, and others. The Russian-speaking population of Dallas has continued to grow in the sector of “American husbands-Russian wives”. Russian DFW has its own newspaper The Dallas Telegraph.
About half of Dallas's population was born outside of Texas. Many residents have migrated to the city from other parts of the country, particularly the Midwest, Northeast, and California.[133]
Dallas is a center of education for much of the south central United States. In addition to those located in the city, the surrounding area also contains a number of universities, colleges, trade schools, and other educational institutions.
The following describes the various universities and their proximity to the city:
Colleges and universities in the Dallas city limits
Texas Woman's University (TWU) has two branches of their university located in Dallas. There is a campus located near Parkland hospital that specializes in nursing. There is also a campus near Presbyterian hospital that specializes in occupational therapy and physical therapy.
Paul Quinn College is a private, historically black college located in southeast Dallas. Originally located in Waco, Texas, it moved to Dallas in 1993 and is housed on the campus of the former Bishop College, another private, historically black college. Dallas billionaire and entrepreneur Comer Cottrell, Jr., founder of ProLine Corporation, bought the campus of Bishop College and bequeathed it to Paul Quinn College in 1993.[135] The school enrolls about 3,000 undergraduate students.
The University of North Texas at Dallas, located along Houston School Road.[136] In 2009 UNT at Dallas became the first public university within Dallas city limits.[37] The University of North Texas System has requested approval from the Texas Legislature and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for the State's first new public law school in more than 40 years. Plans are for the UNT College of Law to be based at the Old Municipal Building in downtown Dallas.[137]
Dallas Baptist UniversityDallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private, coeducational university located in the Mountain Creek area of southwest Dallas. Originally located in Decatur, Texas, the school moved to Dallas in 1965.[138] The school currently enrolls over 5,600 students,[139] and offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees. Popular subjects include Biblical studies, business, and music degrees. DBU has been recognized by the National Council on Teacher Quality for their high quality teacher preparatory degrees.[140] The school also maintains an Intensive English Program for international students wishing to enhance their knowledge of the English language. The campus is a Tree Campus USA and is recognized as one of the most beautiful university campuses in the southwest.[141] The school has also become nationally recognized in the past few years for its baseball team which has made several playoff runs.
Dallas Theological Seminary, also within the city limits, is recognized as one of the leading seminaries in the evangelical faith. Situated 3 miles (5 km) east of Downtown Dallas, it currently enrolls over 2,000 graduate students and has graduated over 12,000 alumni.
Criswell College, (within two blocks of Dallas Theological Seminary). Criswell was started by First Baptist Church of Dallas in the early 1970s. It presently has around 400 students at both the undergraduate and graduate level studying different Biblical and Christian subjects.
Dallas County Community College District, the 2-year educational institution of Dallas County; it has seven campuses located throughout the area with branches in Dallas as well as the surrounding suburbs. DCCCD serves portions of Dallas in Dallas County.
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private, coeducational university in University Park, an independent city that, together with the adjacent town of Highland Park, Dallas surrounds entirely. SMU was founded in 1911 by the Southern Methodist Church and now enrolls 6,500 undergraduates, 1,200 professional students in the law and theology departments, and 3,500 postgraduates.[142][143] According to sources such as the U.S. News & World Report, SMU is the best overall undergraduate college in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the third best in the State of Texas.
The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), also part of the state public University of Texas System, is located in the city of Richardson, is adjacent to Dallas' Far North Dallas neighborhood, and is in the heart of the Telecom Corridor. UT Dallas, or UTD, is renowned for its work in combining the arts and technology, as well as for its programs in engineering, computer science, economics, international political economy, neuroscience, speech and hearing, pre-health, pre-law and management. The university has many collaborative research relationships with UT Southwestern Medical Center. UT Dallas is home to approximately 21,145 students.
The University of Dallas (UD), in the suburb of Irving, is an enclave of traditional Roman Catholicism in the mostly Protestant religious landscape of Dallas. St. Albert the Great Dominican Priory and Holy Trinity Seminary are located on campus, while the Cistercian Monastery and Cistercian Preparatory School are located just north of the UD campus across Texas State Highway 114. The Highlands School, a PK–12 Legionary school, is just west of the UD campus and connects to campus by jogging trails. As a center for religious study, the Cistercian Monastery continues to be notable for scholastic developments in theology.
Texas Baptist University, Dallas, Texas (postcard, circa 1906) Chartered in 1881, main campus, south bank of the Trinity River
Also, within the Dallas/Fort Worth area, about 30 miles (48 km) to the west of the city of Dallas, Fort Worth has two major universities within its city limits, and one health sciences/medical school:
Most people in the city of Dallas are located within the Dallas Independent School District, the 12th-largest school district in the United States.[145] The school district operates independently of the city and enrolls over 161,000 students.[145] In 2006, one of the district's magnet schools, The School for the Talented and Gifted in Oak Cliff, was named the best school in the United States (among public schools) by Newsweek, retaining the title in 2007 and regaining the top spot in 2009. Another one of DISD's schools, the Science and Engineering Magnet, placed 8th in the same 2006 survey and moved up to the No. 2 spot the following year.[146] Other Dallas high schools named to the list were Hillcrest, W. T. White, Williams Preparatory, and Woodrow Wilson high schools. Woodrow Wilson was also named the top comprehensive high school in Dallas by local publication D Magazine.
Many school districts in Dallas County, including Dallas ISD, are served by a governmental agency called Dallas County Schools. The system provides busing and other transportation services, access to a massive media library, technology services, strong ties to local organizations for education/community integration, and staff development programs.[148]
The city is served by the Dallas Public Library system. The system was originally created by the Dallas Federation of Women's Clubs with efforts spearheaded by then-president Mrs. Henry (May Dickson) Exall. Her work in raising money led to a grant from philanthropist and steel baron Andrew Carnegie, which enabled the construction of the first branch of the library system in 1901.[149] Today, the library operates 27 branch locations throughout the city, including the 8-story J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in the Government District of Downtown.[150]
Dallas also has a VA hospital in the southern portion of the city, the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The center is home to a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP), part of an initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mail-order prescriptions to veterans using computerization at strategic locations throughout the United States.
U.S. News and World Report, in its 2004 edition on "America's Best Hospitals" gave Parkland Memorial Hospital one of the best overall ratings. The specialties at Parkland Memorial Hospital were also rated among the best in the nation, in seven different categories. Those categorie and the ratings were: Rheumatology- 23rd nationally; Orthopedics- 20th nationally; Kidney Disease- 17th nationally; Hormonal Disorders- 14th nationally; Heart and Heart Surgery- 18th nationally; Gynecology- 11th nationally; Ear, Nose, and Throat- 47th nationally.
Parkland Memorial Hospital is named one of Modern Healthcare's "25 busiest community hospital emergency departments". Parkland is a 2006 Professional Research Consultants Excellence in Healthcare award winner for Patient Perception and Overall Quality of Care.[citation needed]
Like many other major cities in the United States, the primary mode of local transportation in Dallas is the automobile, though efforts have been made to increase the availability of alternative modes of transportation, including the construction of light rail lines, biking and walking paths, wide sidewalks, a trolley system, and buses.Walk Score ranked Dallas the twenty third most walkable of fifty largest cities in the United States.[151]
Dallas is at the confluence of four major interstate highways—Interstates 20, 30, 35E, and 45. The Dallas area freeway system is set up in the popular hub-and-spoke system, shaped much like a wagon wheel. Starting from the center of the city, a small freeway loop surrounds Downtown, followed by the Interstate 635 loop about 10 miles (16 km) outside Downtown, and ultimately the tolled President George Bush Turnpike. Inside these freeway loops are other boulevard- and parkway-style loops, including Loop 12 and Belt Line Road. Another beltway around the city upwards of 45 miles (72 km) from Downtown is under plan in Collin County.
The recently completed interchange at the intersection of Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway (Interstate 635) and Central Expressway (U.S. Highway 75) contains 5 stacks and is aptly called the High Five Interchange. It is currently one of the few 5-level interchange in Dallas and is one of the largest freeway interchanges in the United States.
The following is a list of the freeways and tollways in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area:
File:DARTRailMap2012.JPGThe DART Rail System Map.A northbound train at the Mockingbird StationCityplace/Uptown Station
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the Dallas-area public transportation authority, providing rail, buses and HOV lanes to commuters. DART began operating the first light rail system in Texas in 1996 and is now the largest operator of light rail in the US.[152] Today, the system is the seventh-busiest light rail system in the country with approximately 55 stations on 72 miles of light rail, and 10 stations on 35 miles of commuter rail.[153] Four light rail lines and a commuter line are currently in service: the Red Line, the Blue Line, the Green Line, the Orange Line (peak-service only), and the Trinity Railway Express.
The Orange Line initially operated as a peak-service line providing extra capacity on portions of the Green and Red Lines (Bachman Station on the Green Line, through the Downtown transit mall, to Parker Road Station on the Red Line making a "U"-shape). However, the first stage of a 14-mile extension has been completed as of December 2012, serving Irving and Las Colinas along with its current services.
The second and final phase will open in December 2014 and will provide DFW Airport with rail service. DFW Airport Station will be the terminus for the Orange Line and will connect to Skylink.[154] This will provide passengers the convenience of disembarking the DART rail, proceeding to security check-in and immediately boarding Skylink to be quickly transported to their desired terminal. The Blue Line has also been extended by 4.5 miles to serve Rowlett at the Rowlett Park & Ride facility.[155]
In August 2009, the Regional Transportation Council agreed to seek $96 million in federal stimulus dollars for a trolley project in Dallas and Fort Worth. The Oak Cliff Transit Authority took the lead with leaders envisioning a streetcar line that would link Union Station and the Dallas Convention Center in downtown to Oak Cliff, Methodist Medical Center, and the Bishop Arts District via the Houston Street Viaduct.[156] Dallas was awarded a $23 million TIGER grant towards the $58 million Dallas Streetcar Project in February 2010.[157] The Dallas Streetcar Project will link up with the current McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) trolley line (also known as the M-Line) in Uptown with a new alignment on Olive Street.
In addition to light rail, Amtrak's Texas Eagle also serves Union Station, providing long-distance train service to Chicago, San Antonio and Los Angeles once daily. The Trinity Rail Express terminates at Union Station and T&P Station.
DFW International Airport is located in the suburbs slightly north of and equidistant to Downtown Fort Worth and Downtown Dallas. In terms of size, DFW is the largest airport in the state, the 4th largest in the United States, and 6th largest in the world; DFW International Airport is larger than the island of Manhattan.
In terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest airport in the state, 5th busiest in the United States, and 6th busiest in the world. The headquarters of American Airlines, the 3rd largest air carrier in the world behind United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, is located less than a mile from DFW within the city limits of Fort Worth. Similarly, Love Field is located within the city limits of Dallas about 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Downtown, and is headquarters to Southwest Airlines, the largest domestic airline in the United States.
The city offers garbage pickup and recycling service weekly through its Sanitation Services department.[161] Telephone networks, broadband internet, and cable television service are available from several companies, including AT&T, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FiOS.
Boz Skaggs, rock musician and classmate of Steve Miller
Clay Smothers, African-American member of the Texas House of Representatives from Dallas County; radio personality in Dallas; operator of an orphanage in Henderson County
Burt Solomons, lawyer, Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives from Denton County, born in Dallas in 1950
^Payne, Darwin (1982). "Chapter VI: The Spirit of Enterprise". Dallas, an illustrated history. Woodland Hills, California: Windsor Publications. pp. 157–185. ISBN0-89781-034-1.
^Jewish population small in number, large in influence in Texas by Glenn Dromgoole. Abilene Reporter-News, 11 Mar 2007. Retrieved 2012-04-27. This article is a review of Lone Stars of David: The Jews of Texas, ed. Hollace Ava Weiner and Rabbi Kenneth D. Roseman (Brandeis University Press).
^Payne, Darwin (1982). "Chapter VII: The Emergence of "Big D"". Dallas, an illustrated history. Woodland Hills, California: Windsor Publications. pp. 189–221. ISBN0-89781-034-1.
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United States
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Interstate 20
Interstate 30
Interstate 35E
Interstate 35W
Interstate 45
Interstate 635
Interstate 820
U.S. Highway 67
U.S. Highway 75
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U.S. Highway 287
State Highway 114
State Highway 121
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State Highway 360
Loop 12
Spur 366
Spur 408
Spur 482
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