Dallas (pronounced /ˈdæləs/) is the third-largest (as estimated by the United States Census Bureau on 1 July 2006) city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the UnitedStates. The city covers 385square miles (997km²) and is the county seat of DallasCounty.[Dallas - Serving you!. City of Dallas (2006). Retrieved on 2006-05-04.] As of July 1, 2006, U.S. Census estimates put central Dallas at a population of over 1.2 million.[Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network - Inventory of World Cities. Retrieved on 21 October 2006.]
Dallas was founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city on 2 February 1856. The city\'s economy is primarily based on the petroleum industry, telecommunications, computer technology, banking, and transportation. It is the core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States and lacks any navigable link to the sea[side note: In ascending order from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (in terms of metropolitan population): Chicago via Lake Michigan, Los Angeles via the Pacific Ocean, and New York City via the Atlantic Ocean.]—Dallas\'s prominence despite this comes from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, its position along numerous railroad lines, and a strong industrial and financial sector.[Handbook of Texas Online - DALLAS, TX. By Jackie McElhaney and Michael V. Hazel. Retrieved on 20 April 2006.]
History
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- See also: Historical events of Dallas, Texas
Before Texas was claimed in the 16th century as a part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain by the Spanish Empire, the Dallas area was inhabited by the Caddo Native Americans. 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 Dallas well within Spanish territory.[Herbert E. Bolton, "Athanase de Mezieres and the Louisiana-Texas Frontier 1768-1780," Cleveland: Arthur H Clark Company, 1914.] 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.[Handbook of Texas Online - "Republic of Texas." By Joseph Milton Nance. Retrieved 25 September 2006.] In 1839, four years into the Republic\'s existence, Warren Angus Ferris surveyed the area around present-day Dallas. He shot the bears, poisoned the wolves, chased off the natives, and made the area safe for John N. Bryan to "found" the city of Dallas in 1841. In 1846 the Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States and Dallas County was established. It is strongly debated that the City of Dallas, Texas is named after the U.S. Vice President, George Mifflin Dallas.
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 385square miles (997.1km²)—342.5square miles (887.1km²) of it is land and 42.5square miles (110.1km²) of it (11.03%) is water. Dallas makes up one-fifth of the much larger urbanized area known as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex—about a quarter of all Texans live in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington metropolitan area.[DFW Metroplex population: 6,003,967 per A Texas population: 23,507,783 per B; 6,003,967/23,507,753 = 0.24935538 or 25.54%.]
Topography
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The DFW Metroplex at night, photographed from the
International Space Station in early 2003. Dallas is the larger
nexus of light on the right (east), Fort Worth the smaller on the left (west).
Dallas, and its surrounding area, is mostly flat and lies at an elevation ranging from 450feet (137m) to 550feet (168m). The western edge of the Austin chalk formation, a limestone escarpment, rises 200feet (61m) and runs roughly north-south through Dallas County The uplift is particularly noticeable in the neighborhood 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
The Trinity River is a major Texas waterway that passes from the city of Irving into west Dallas, where it is paralleled by Interstate 35E along the Stemmons Corridor, then flows alongside western downtown, and through and alongside south Dallas and Pleasant Grove, paralleled by Interstate 45, where it exits into unincorporated Dallas County and heads southeast to Houston. The river is flanked on both sides by 50feet (15m) tall earthen levees to protect the city from floods.[Trinity River Corridor Project - Dallas Floodway History. (PDF). Retrieved on 19 October 2006.] The river has been treated much like a drainage ditch throughout Dallas\'s history, but as Dallas began shifting towards a postindustrial society, public outcry about a lack of aesthetic and recreational use for the river ultimately gave way to the Trinity River Project. The project, which began in the early 2000s and is scheduled to reach completion in the 2010s, will result in lakes, new park facilities and trails, and transportation improvements.[Trinity River Corridor Project - FAQs. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.]
White Rock Lake is Dallas\'s other significant water feature. The lake and surrounding park is a popular destination among boaters, rowers, joggers, and bikers in the Lakewood/Casa Linda Estates neighborhoods of east Dallas. The 66-acre (267,000m²) Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden lies on the lake\'s eastern shore.[Dallasarboretum.org - Dallas Blooms. Retrieved on 17 April 2006.] Bachman Lake, just northwest of Love Field, is a smaller lake and park also used for recreation. Lake Ray Hubbard, a 22,745-acre (92km²) lake, is a vast and popular recreational lake located in an extension of Dallas surrounded by Garland, Rowlett, Rockwall, and Sunnyvale.[Lake Ray Hubbard - the Hook! Guide to Lone Star Lakes and Lunkers - Lake Ray Hubbard. Retrieved on 17 April 2006.] Mountain Creek Lake is a small lake along Dallas\'s border with Grand Prairie and is home to the (defunct as of September 1998) Naval Air Station Dallas (Hensley Field).[GlobalSecurity.org - Military - http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/ US Military Facilities] - NAS Dallas / Hensley Field. Retrieved on 17 April 2007.] North Lake, a small lake in an extension of Dallas surrounded by Irving and Coppell, served primarily as a water source for a nearby power plant, but the surrounding area is now being targeted for redevelopment due to its proximity to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (a plan that the neighboring cities oppose).[The Dallas Morning News - 18 May 2005. “Foes say North Lake development a threat to lifestyle” by Eric Aasen. Retrieved on7 April 2006.]
Climate
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| Weather averages for Dallas, Texas
|
| Month
| Jan
| Feb
| Mar
| Apr
| May
| Jun
| Jul
| Aug
| Sep
| Oct
| Nov
| Dec
|
| Average high °F (°C)
| 55 (13)
| 61 (16)
| 69 (21)
| 77 (25)
| 84 (29)
| 92 (33)
| 96 (36)
| 96 (36)
| 89 (32)
| 79 (26)
| 66 (19)
| 57 (14)
|
| Average low °F (°C)
| 36 (2)
| 41 (5)
| 49 (9)
| 56 (13)
| 65 (18)
| 73 (23)
| 77 (25)
| 76 (24)
| 69 (21)
| 58 (14)
| 47 (8)
| 39 (4)
|
| Precipitation inch (mm)
| 1.89 (48)
| 2.31 (58.7)
| 3.13 (79.5)
| 3.46 (87.9)
| 5.30 (134.6)
| 3.92 (99.6)
| 2.43 (61.7)
| 2.17 (55.1)
| 2.65 (67.3)
| 4.65 (118.1)
| 2.61 (66.3)
| 2.53 (64.3)
|
Source: weather.com [Monthly Averages for Dallas, TX. Retrieved on Jan 10, 2008.] 10 Jan 2008
|
The spring and fall seasons are pleasant in Dallas, as seen in this March photograph from an Oak Cliff park
Dallas has a humid subtropical climate, yet this part of Texas also tends to receive warm, dry winds from the north and west in the summer. Winters are generally mild, with typical daytime highs between 50°F (10°C) and 65°F (18°C) and nighttime lows between 30°F (−1°C) and 50°F (10°C). However, strong cold fronts known as "Blue Northers" sometimes pass through Dallas, plummeting nightly lows below 30°F (−1°C). Snowfall is seen on average 2-4.5 days out of the year and snow accumulation is typically seen at least once every winter.[NOAA - DFW Climate. Retrieved on 26 March 2006.] A couple of times each year, warm and humid air from the south overrides cold, dry air, leading to freezing rain, which often causes major disruptions in the city if the roads and highways become dangerously slick. On the other hand, daytime highs above 65°F (18°C) are also not unusual during the winter season. In sum, extremes in weather are more readily seen in Dallas and Texas as a whole than along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, due to the state\'s inland location.
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.[TXDOT - Wildflower and Fall Foliage. Retrieved on 17 April 2007.] Springtime weather can be quite volatile, but temperatures themselves are generally mild. The weather in Dallas is also pleasant between late September and early November, and unlike springtime, major storms rarely form in the area.
In the spring, cool fronts moving from Canada collide with warm, humid air streaming in from the Gulf Coast. When these fronts meet over northern and central Texas, severe thunder storms are generated with spectacular lightning shows, occasional torrents of rain, hail, and at times, tornadoes. Over time, tornadoes are perhaps the biggest threat to the city. Dallas was hit by a powerful tornado on 2 April 1957, The tornado would have likely been an F3.[Stormtrack.org - APRIL 2, 1957: DALLAS\'S DATE WITH DISASTER. Retrieved on 17 April 2006.] On March 28, 2000, the “Fort Worth Tornado” had an impact upon Dallas\'s neighbor Fort Worth\'s downtown, and a tornado in Arlington, Texas also happened that day damaging some homes. Even though Dallas lies at the lower end of the "Tornado Alley", that day had the worst tornadoes to happen to the metroplex in the last 50 years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture places the city of Dallas in Plant Hardiness Zone 8a.[USNA - USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: South-Midwest US. Retrieved on 13 June 2006.] Dallas has the 12th worst ozone air pollution in the nation according to the American Lung Association, ranking it behind Los Angeles and Houston.[Lungusa.com. Retrieved on 2 March 2006.] Much of the air pollution in Dallas, and the DFW Metroplex in general, comes from a hazardous materials incineration plant in the southern-most suburb of Midlothian, as well as concrete installations in neighboring Ellis County.[Downwindersatrisk.org - Pollution in Midlothian. Retrieved on 17 April 2006.] Another major contributor to air pollution is exhaust from automobiles. Due to Dallas\'s spread out nature and high amount of urban sprawl, automobiles are the only available mode of transportation for many.
All time recorded high is 113 °F, and all time recorded low is -2 °F.
The average daily low in Dallas is 57°F (14°C) and the average daily high in Dallas is 77°F (25°C).[ Dallas receives approximately 37.1inches (942.3mm) of rain per year, much of which is delivered in the spring or summer.
]
Cityscape
Dallas skyline from the Trinity River floodplain Architecture
- See also: List of tallest buildings in Dallas
Dallas\'s skyline contains several buildings over 700feet (210m) in height and the city is considered the fifteenth-tallest city on earth.[Ultrapolis Project - World\'s Tallest Cities. Numbers for 2004 & 2005, 2006 numbers under development. Retrieved on 22 April 2007.]
Most of the notable architecture in Dallas is modernist and postmodernist. Iconic examples of modernist architecture include I. M. Pei\'s Fountain Place, the Bank of America Plaza, Renaissance Tower, and Reunion Tower. Examples of postmodernist architecture include the JPMorgan Chase Tower and Comerica Bank Tower. Several smaller structures are fashioned in the Gothic Revival (Kirby Building) and neoclassical (Davis and Wilson Buildings) styles. One architectural “hotbed” in the city is a stretch of homes along Swiss Avenue, which contains all shades and variants of architecture from Victorian to neoclassical.[Swissavenue.com - Retrieved 13 June 2006.]
Neighborhoods
Major areas in the city include:
Near the Farmers Market in downtown
The east side of Dallas contains the community of East Dallas, home to Deep Ellum, a trendy arts area close to downtown, homey Lakewood, the historic Vickery Place, Bryan Place, and historically and architecturally significant homes on Swiss Avenue. Above the Park Cities is north Dallas, home to mansions as palatial as Versailles in Preston Hollow, strong middle and upper-class communities north into Bent Tree and Far North Dallas, and high-powered shopping at Galleria Dallas, NorthPark Center, and Preston Center. East of north Dallas and north of east Dallas is Lake Highlands, one of the most unified middle-class areas in the city, with the strongest definition—it is in the northeastern part of the city above White Rock Lake and east Dallas.[Lake Highlands Area Improvement Association - Map. Retrieved 3 October 2006.]
Kidd Springs Park in Oak Cliff
The West Village in Oak Lawn
The southern portion of Dallas is home to Oak Cliff, a hilly area in southwest Dallas that is predominantly Hispanic and includes entertainment districts such as the Bishop Arts District. South Oak Cliff became a predominantly African American district after the early 1970s and has struggled with high rates of poverty and crime.[Dallas Morning News - “Dallas at the Tipping Point” - Costs of Crime. Retrieved 25 October 2006.] To the east, south Dallas lays claim to the Cedars, an eclectic artist hotbed south of downtown, Fair Park, and areas west of the Trinity River and east of Interstate 35E. The University of North Texas at Dallas, currently located south of Oak Cliff along Interstate 20,[University of North Texas Dallas Campus - Location. Retrieved 4 October 2006.] is being built in the area along Houston School Road.[University of North Texas Dallas Campus. New Campus. Retrieved 4 October 2006.] Further east, above (north and east of) the Trinity River, is Pleasant Grove—once an independent city, it is a predominantly black collection of neighborhoods stretching to Seagoville to the southeast.
The city is further surrounded by many suburbs and encloses the following enclaves: Cockrell Hill, Highland Park, and University Park.
- See also: List of neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas
Culture
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Politically and culturally, Dallas is the most liberal of the major Texas cities, with conservatives accounting for approximately 25% of the voting populace (in contrast 54% of Houston and San Antonio voters and an even higher percentage of rural Texan voters are conservative)[1]. Nonetheless, Dallas is a high profile center of conservative Protestant Christianity and is home to several renowned seminaries and influential megachurches. The political environment is also solidly pro-business. The Dallas TV series helped to solidify a number of Dallas stereotypes including wealthy oil barons, women with big hair, and businessmen wearing cowboy hats.
Politics
Present-day Dallas as a singular entity can be seen as fairly moderate to liberal, with conservative Republicans dominating the upper-middle class 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\'s northern suburbs 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. However, the city of Dallas (excluding its suburbs) generally votes for Democratic political candidates in local, state, and national elections. In the 2004 Presidential elections, over 75% of Dallas voters voted for John Kerry over George W. Bush, making the city the 32nd most liberal city in the United States by sheer percentages and more liberal than traditionally left-leaning cities such as Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati.[http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/metro/081205libs.pdf] The county as a whole was split evenly, with 50% of voters voting for Bush and 49% voting for Kerry.[http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/statesub.php?year=2004&fips=48113&f=0&off=0&elect=0] In the 2006 elections for Dallas County judges, 41 out of 42 seats went to Democrats.
In 2004, Lupe Valdez was elected Sheriff of Dallas County the first Hispanic, first woman, and first open lesbian ever to fill that role. She is currently one of only two female sheriffs in the state of Texas., the other being Sheriff Rosanna Abreo of Bastrop County.
In 2006, conservative Republican Tom Leppert defeated Ed Oakley by a margin of 58% to 42% to become the Mayor of Dallas. Oakley, a liberal Democrat, would have become the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city had he been elected. The city\'s elections are officially non-partisan.
Cuisine
Dallas is renowned for barbecue, authentic Mexican, and Tex-Mex cuisine. Famous products of the Dallas culinary scene include the frozen margarita and the restaurants La Calle Doce, Sonny Bryan\'s Smokehouse, Enchilada\'s, Mi Cocina, Bone Daddy\'s Barbecue, and The Mansion on Turtle Creek.[Nelson, Colleen McCain. "One Man\'s Invention, Forever Frozen In Time - Dallas: Margarita Machine Takes Its Rightful Place In History", Dallas Morning News, 2005-10-05. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.] The French Room at the Hotel Adolphus in downtown Dallas was named the best hotel restaurant in the US by Zagat. Several nationally ranked steak and chop houses can be found in the Dallas area including Bob\'s Steak & Chop House which is currently ranked #3 according to the USDA Prime Steakhouses chart, behind Ruth\'s Chris Times Square and Bones Atlanta.[USDA top 10 Steak Houses in America] On average, Dallasites eat out about four times every week, which is the third highest rate in the country, behind Houston and Austin, and Dallas has more restaurants per capita than New York City.[Zagat Surveys - Dining Out More, For Less. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.][Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau - Deep in the Heart of Dallas. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.]
Arts
The Arts District in downtown is home to several arts venues, both existing and proposed. Notable venues in the district include the Dallas Museum of Art, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center,The Dallas Contemporary, The Dallas Children\'s Theatre. Venues under construction or planned include the Winspear Opera House and the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.[The Dallas Opera - The Winspear Opera House. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.][Dallas Center for the Performing Arts - Building the Center. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.] The district is also home to DISD\'s Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, which is currently being expanded.[Artsmagnet.org. Retrieved on 20 April 2006.]
Deep Ellum originally became popular during the 1920s and 1930s as the prime jazz and blues hotspot in the south.[Payne, Darwin (1982). "Chapter VI: The Spirit of Enterprise", Dallas, an illustrated history. Woodland Hills, California: Windsor Publications, 157-185. ISBN 0-89781-034-1.] Artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Huddie “Leadbelly” 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.[The Deep Ellum Association - Time Line. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.] One major art infusion in the area is the city\'s lax stance on graffiti; consequently, several public ways 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.[Rimmer, Terri. "Deep Ellum Mural Soon to Be a Lost Art: Famous Tunnel Going Away", Associated Content, 2006-06-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.]
The Cedars has 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, a Sears warehouse converted into lofts, studios, and retail.[Southside on Lamar - History. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.] Current attractions include Gilley\'s Dallas and Poor David\'s Pub.[Gilley\'s Dallas - “The Legend Returns: Gilley\'s Brings New Life to Downtown Dallas.” (PDF). Retrieved on 19 October 2006.][Poor David\'s Pub - Find Us. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.] 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.[The Dallas Morning News - 6 September 2005. Mark Cuban snaps up tracts near downtown by Steve Brown. Retrieved on 20 April 2006.]
The 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.[Bishop Arts District - Information from home page. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.]
Dallas has an Office of Cultural Affairs as a department of the city government. The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs is responsible for six cultural centers located throughout the city, funding for local artists and theatres, public art projects and running the city owned radio station WRR.[City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs - Cultural Centers. Retrieved on 19 October 2006.]
Sports
- See also: U.S. cities with teams from four major sports
Dallas is home to the Dallas Desperados (Arena Football League), Dallas Mavericks (National Basketball Association), and Dallas Stars (National Hockey League). Al
