Lakewood, Dallas

Lakewood is a neighborhood in East Dallas, Texas (USA). It is adjacent to White Rock Lake.

Lakewood is located on the west shore of White Rock Lake not far from Downtown Dallas. This winter shot of the 100 year-old spillway shows some of the trails and bike paths surrounding the lake and connecting to the Santa Fe Trail to Downtown and White Rock Creek Trail to North Dallas. The Katy Trail from the Turtle Creek, Park Cities and SMU areas will be connected to the lake by 2012

About

The Lakewood Theater opened in 1938 with "Love Finds Andy Hardy"

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. Lakewood also has two of the most highly rated wine destinations of Dallas, Times Ten Cellars and The Wine Therapist. Times Ten is located in the original Art Deco Lakewood Post Office and The Wine Therapist is located in the old Colbert-Volk Department Store building. Older neighborhood restaurants that have become "institutions" are Matt's "Rancho" Martinez and Angelo's Spaghetti House. Other institutions which grew out of Lakewood area were the Wyatt's Cafeteria chain and Minyard Food Stores. Lakewood has the oldest building in the El Chico chain, which is now been branded as a Cantina Laredo. 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. It is known for its trees, creeks and gently rolling hills.

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.

History

Lakewood Boulevard boasts many 1920s and 30s mansions and estates. Most are in the Tudor styles by Dines and Kraft or Mediterranean-Hollywood styles by Clifford Hutsell. As the "Choose Woodrow" sign indicates, the neighborhood strongly supports its Dallas public schools. This is the former home of the "Mayor of Lakewood" and "First Lady" Jim and Barbara Young

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, Lakewood Hills (formerly 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.

File:Harrell's.jpg

E.C."Doc" Harrell opened his drugstore in 1924 and became "The Father of Lakewood". He lived at 2303 Cambria and also helped found Lakewood Bank and Trust. After his only child, Charles, was killed in World War II he 'adopted'the students at the local schools and his soda fountain became a hangout until the late 1970s. He mailed all Woodrow students a booklet during the war entitled "Your Hometown". He wrote, "Never forget that you are the best. From the best neighborhood, from the best city, from the best country on earth.

Lakewood Elementary is a Blue-Ribbon, Exemplary school

J.L. Long Middle School is an official Dallas Landmark and International Baccalaureate Candidate School

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the Lakewood Post Office at 6120 Swiss Avenue.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools (DISD)

Woodrow Wilson High School is an official IB World School

The Dallas Independent School District serves the Lakewood area. The area is within Trustee District 2 In 2008 Jack Lowe represented the district. The current representative is Mike Morath. Besides his business and university accolades, he was an International Baccalaureate Diploma graduate in another city. The Lakewood area schools are implementing IB.

Public schools serving the Lakewood subdivision include Lakewood Elementary School (K-5), J.L. Long Middle School (6-8), and IB World School Woodrow Wilson High School (9-12).

Woodrow Wilson High School is the first in Dallas to begin offering Pre-International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme classes for 2010-11 Freshmen. It was one of four IB candidate schools in Texas. After a successful site visit by International Baccalaureate Organization in November, 2010 the school was accredited as an official IB World School by the Geneva, Switzerland headquarters in March, 2011.

J. L. Long Middle School was certified as a candidate school for International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme in May 2011. As such it now offers IB MYP curriculm and now offers Mandarin Chinese. . Less than two dozen public middle schools in Texas are offical IB schools.

Private schools

• Lakehill Preparatory School [1]
• Saint Thomas Aquinas School [2]
• Zion Lutheran School [3]
• Holy Trinity Catholic School[4]
• Dallas Academy [5]

Preschool programs

Lakewood Early Childhood PTA serves the area.

Public libraries

The Dallas Public Library Lakewood Branch is located at 6121 Worth Street, 75214.

Postal services

The United States Postal Service operates the Lakewood Post Office at 6120 Swiss Avenue, 75214-9998.

Popular Events

Entertainment

The Shakespeare Festival of Dallas debuted in 1972 in the Bandshell at Fair Park before moving to its current home at Samuell Grand Amphitheatre — appropriately in Samuell Grand Park — in 1989.

Media

Advocate Magazines is the local magazine that covers a variety of neighborhood topics and has served the community since 1991.

External links

• Lakewood Neighborhood Association
• [6], a community magazine serving the Lakewood neighborhood
• Lakewood Service League
• [7]Lakewood Early Childhood PTA and Home Festival Fundraiser
• Headlines about Lakewood and East Dallas from The Dallas Morning News
• Lakewood.BubbleLife.com
• [8] J. L. Long Middle School
• [9] Woodrow Wilson Alumni
• [10] Woodrow Wilson High School