Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The city covers almost 400 square miles and is the county seat of Dallas County. As of 2005, U.S. Census estimates put Dallas at a population of 1.2 million. The city is the main cultural and economic center of the 12-county Dallasâ€"Fort Worthâ€"Arlington metropolitan area, which encompasses 5.7 million people. Dallas is one of 11 U.S. world-class cities, as ranked by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network.

Dallas was founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city on 2 February 1856. The city is known globally as a center for 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—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 its powerful industrial and financial tycoons.

History

Native Americans inhabited the Dallas area before it was claimed, along with the rest of Texas, as a part of the Spanish Province of New Spain in the 1500s. The area was very close to French territory, but the boundary was carried upward a bit in 1819 with the Adams-OnÃs Treaty.Present-day Dallas remained under Spanish rule until 1821, when Mexico declared independence from Spain. Dallas joined the new nation, and became part of the state of Coahuila y Tejas. The Republic of Texas broke off from Mexico in 1836 (and remained an independent country for nearly 10 years); and this is when Dallas's development began.

The city of Dallas was founded by John Neely Bryan in 1841 after first surveying the area in 1839. Bryan, who shared Sam Houston's insight into the wisdom of Native American customs, must also have realized that these Caddo trails intersected at one of the few natural fords for hundreds of miles along the wide Trinity floodplain. Dallas County was established in 1846 and was named after George Mifflin Dallas, who was the eleventh United States Vice President at the time. However, the origin of the city's name is debatable; Bryan stated only that it was named "after my friend Dallas".

Dallas was formally incorporated as a town in 1856. The city had a few slaves, mostly brought by settlers from Alabama and Georgia. It was a fairly insignificant place until after the American Civil War in which it was part of the Confederate States of America, and only legally became a city in 1871. The city paid the Houston and Central Texas Railroad US$5,000 to shift its route 20 miles (32 km) to the west and build its north-south tracks through Dallas, rather than through Corsicana as planned. A year later, Dallas leaders could not pay the Texas and Pacific Railroad to locate there, so they devised a way to trick the Railroad—Dallas had a rider attached to a state law which required the railroad to build its tracks through Browder Springs—which turned out to be just south of Main Street. The major north-south and east-west Texas railroad routes intersected in Dallas in 1873, thus ensuring its future as a commercial center.

By the turn of the twentieth century Dallas was the leading drug, book, jewelry, and wholesale liquor market in the Southwestern United States. It also quickly became the center of trade in cotton, grain, and even buffalo. It was the world's leading inland cotton market, and it still led the world in manufacture of saddlery and cotton gin machinery Handbook of Texas Online - DALLAS, TX. Retrieved 21 February 2006.. As it further entered the 20th century, Dallas transformed from an agricultural center to a center of banking, insurance, and other businesses.

In 1930, oil was discovered 100 miles (160 km) east of Dallas and the city quickly became the financial center for the oil industry in Texas and Oklahoma. Then in 1958 the integrated circuit was invented in Dallas by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments. During the 1950s and 1960s, Dallas became the nation's third-largest technology center, with the growth of such companies as Ling-Tempco-Vought (LTV Corporation) and Texas Instruments. In 1957 two developers, Trammell Crow and John M. Stemmons, opened a Home Furnishings Mart that grew into the Dallas Market Center, the largest wholesale trade complex in the world. On 22 November 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Elm Street while his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Dallas underwent the building boom which produced a distinctive contemporary profile for the downtown area and a prominent skyline, influenced by nationally acclaimed architects. By the 1980s, when the oil industry mostly relocated to Houston, Dallas was beginning to benefit from a burgeoning technology boom (driven by the growing computer and telecom industries), while continuing to be a center of banking and business. Also in the mid-to-late 1980s, many banks, especially in Dallas, collapsed during the Savings and Loan crisis, nearly destroying the city's economy and scrapping plans for hundreds of structures. Because of the immense worldwide success of the hit television series Dallas, the city became one of the most internationally recognizable U.S cities during the 80s. In the 1990s, Dallas became known as Texas's Silicon Valley, or the "Silicon Prairie."

Like many major US cities, Dallas has experienced an "urban renewal" in the 2000s. From 1988 to 2005, not a single high-rise structure was built within the downtown freeway loop. In 2005, three towers began construction amid tens of residential conversions and smaller residential projects. By the year 2010, the North Central Texas Council of Governments expects 10,000 residents to live within the loop. Just north, Uptown is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country.

Geography and environment

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 385.0 square miles (997.1 kmÂ²)—342.5 square miles (887.2 kmÂ²) of it is land and 42.5 square miles (110.0 kmÂ²) of it (11.03%) is water. These statistics are only for the city of Dallas proper. In fact, Dallas only makes up about one-fifth of the much larger urbanized area known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. About a quarter of all Texans live in the DFW Metroplex. DFW Metroplex population: 5,700,256 per A. Texas population: 22,859,968 per B; 5,700,256/22,859,968 = 0.24935538 or 24.9%.

Cityscape

The City of Dallas has many vibrant communities and eclectic neighborhoods. Major areas in the city include:

Downtown, the center of the city and the epicenter of urban revival, coupled with Oak Lawn and Uptown Dallas, the shiny new urban areas thriving with shops, restaurants, and nightlife. Downtown Dallas has a variety of neighborhoods, including the West End Historic District, the Arts District, the Main Street District, Farmers Market District, the City Center business district, the Convention Center District, the Reunion District and Victory Park.

East Dallas is home to Deep Ellum, a trendy arts area close to downtown, the homey Lakewood, and Fair Park.

North Dallas is home to mansions as palatial as Versailles in Preston Hollow, strong middle-class communities such as Lake Highlands around White Rock Lake, and high-powered shopping at Galleria Dallas, NorthPark Center, and Preston Center.

Oak Cliff is a hilly area that includes entertainment districts such as the Bishop Arts District.

South Dallas lays claim to the Cedars, an eclectic artist hotbed south of downtown, and Pleasant Grove, a poorer section of the southeastern city.

The city is further surrounded by many suburbs, with enclaves such as Cockrell Hill, Highland Park and University Park.

Geology

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). Blurriness over parts of the image is caused by clouds.

Dallas, and its surrounding area, is mostly flat and lies at an elevation ranging from 450 to 550 feet (137 to 168 m). The western edge of the Austin chalk formation, a limestone escarpment, rises 200 feet (61 m) 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 and southern downtown, and ultimately between 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 with a 50 feet (15 m) earthen levee to keep the city from flooding. Several bridges traverse the river connecting southern Dallas to downtown Dallas. From the early 2000s to the 2010s, the Trinity River Project, a major public works project undertaken by the city of Dallas, will improve the river along its length.

White Rock Lake is Dallas's other significant water feature. The lake and surrounding park is a popular destination among boaters, joggers, bikers, and skaters in the Lakewood/Casa Linda Estates neighborhoods of East Dallas. The lake also boasts the 66 acre (27 ha) Dallasarboretum.org - General Info. Retrieved 17 April 2006. Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden on its shore. Bachman Lake, just northwest of Love Field, is a smaller lake and surrounding park that is also used for recreation. Lake Ray Hubbard, a 22,745 acre (9,205 ha) Lake Ray Hubbard - the Hook! Guide to Lone Star Lakes and Lunkers. Retrieved 17 April 2006. lake, is a vast and popular recreational lake located in an extension of Dallas surrounded by Garland, Rowlett, Rockwall and Sunnyvale. 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 - Author: David Weber. Retrieved 3 May 2006.) Naval Air Station Dallas (Hensley Field). 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. (Original Location of article.) Retrieved 7 April 2006..)

Climate

Tree-lined Haskell Ave in Cityplace, near Uptown.

Dallas receives approximately 37.1 inches (941.1 mm) of rain per year, much of which is delivered in the spring. Dallas has a humid subtropical climate, yet this part of Texas also tends to receive hot, dry winds from the north and west in the summer. In the winter, strong cold fronts from the north pass through Dallas, plummeting temperatures well below freezing. The average annual snowfall in Dallas is 2.5 inches (6.35 cm), with snowfall seen six days out of the year and snow accumulation seen two days out of the year NOAA - DFW Climate. Retrieved 26 March 2006.. Occasionally, warm and humid air from the south overrides cold, dry air, leading to freezing rain, which usually causes major disruptions in the city for a day or two if the roads and highways become dangerously slick. Regardless, winters are relatively mild compared with the Texas Panhandle and with other states to the north. Dallas winters are occasionally interspersed with Indian summers.

Spring and fall and the pleasant, moderate temperatures accompanying these seasons are somewhat short-lived in Dallas. However short the seasons are, residents and visitors appreciate the beauty of the vibrant wildflowers (such as the bluebonnet, Indian paintbrush and other flora) which bloom in spring and are planted around the highways throughout Texas TXDOT - Wildflower Facts. Retrieved 26 March 2006.. In the spring the weather can also be quite volatile and change quickly in a matter of minutes. The clichÃ© about volatile climates popular in various parts of the US—"if you don't like the weather, wait a little while and it'll change"—applies well to Dallas's spring weather. The sporadic volatility of the spring season is coupled with a very pleasant "normality"—barring storms, Dallas in spring is very mild and enjoyable. Similarly, late September, October, and early November is very pleasant and is typically storm-free.

Dallas lies near the southern end of Tornado Alley, which runs through the prairie lands of the Midwest. In the spring, cool fronts moving from Canada collide with warm, humid air streaming in from the Gulf Coast. When these fronts meet over Dallas, severe storms are generated with spectacular lightning shows, torrents of rain, large hail and, at times, tornadoes.

Tornadoes are perhaps the biggest threat to the city of Dallas. They are common in the Dallas suburbs in the spring and summer, but the city itself is not immune to being hit by a major tornado. Many experts fear a direct hit on downtown Dallas by an F4 or F5 tornado can cause major devastation and kill hundreds, perhaps thousands and leave a large part of the city in ruins. Dallas was hit by a tornado on April 2, 1957 that likely would have registered as an F3 Stormtrack.org - APRIL 2, 1957: DALLAS'S DATE WITH DISASTER. Retrieved 17 April 2006., but it luckily missed downtown. In May 2000, the "Fort Worth Tornado" hit neighboring Fort Worth's downtown, causing great damage to many of the city's skyscrapers Kenuhl.com - Personal Account of tornado. Retrieved 17 April 2006..

The Metroplex experiences a particularly acute springtime "monsoon" season every year—around the middle of March—that rapidly feeds a unique region-wide runoff that swells Johnson Creek (in Arlington and Grand Prairie), as well as the West and Elm Forks of the Trinity River, onto several square miles of flood plain inside the metro area, much of it inhabited. Every March, many neighborhoods in these cities have 4 or more feet of water inside dwellings, and low-lying developed areas adjacent to the Stemmons Corridor and Oak Cliff in Dallas experience severe flooding.

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 13 June 2006.. Dallas has the 10th worst ozone air pollution in the nation according to the American Lung Association, worse than Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, but better than Los Angeles and Fresno, California, and Houston Lungusa.com. Retrieved 2 March 2006.. In reality, much of the air pollution in Dallas, and the DFW Metroplex in general, comes from a hazardous materials incineration plant in Midlothian, a small town just south of Dallas, as well as many concrete installations in neighboring Ellis County Downwindersatrisk.org - Pollution in Midlothian. Retrieved 17 April 2006..

The average daily low in Dallas is 57 Â°F (14 Â°C) and the average daily high in Dallas is 77 Â°F (25 Â°C). Weather.com - Climatology Graph - Dallas, Texas, United States. Applies to following table as well. Retrieved 28 March 2006.

Demographics

Population density map per Census 2000

Dallas's Population by year
Year	Pop.
1860	678
1870	3,000
1880	10,385
1890	38,067
1910	150,000
1920	158,976
1930	260,475
1940	294,734
1950	434,462
1960	679,684
1970	844,401
1980	904,078
1990	1,006,877
2000	1,188,580
2004 (est.)	1,210,393
2006 (est.)	1,260,950

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,188,580 people, 451,833 households, and 266,581 families residing in the city proper, which is bounded by largely developed suburbs and exurbs. The population density was 3,469.9 people per square mile (1,339.7/kmÂ²). There were 484,117 housing units at an average density of 1,413.3 per square mile (545.7/kmÂ²). The racial makeup of the city was 50.83% White, 25.91% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 2.70% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 17.24% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. 35.55% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Hispanics outnumbered African-Americans for the first time in the 2000 census as the largest minority group in Dallas. Many newly-arrived Hispanics have settled in poorer neighborhoods such as Oak Cliff that were once predominately African American. While Hispanics have moved in, many African Americans have migrated further south to cities such as Cedar Hill or DeSoto that until recently were predominately White communities.

There were 451,833 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of 451,833 households, 23,959 are unmarried partner households: 18,684 heterosexual, 3,615 same-sex male, and 1,660 same-sex female households. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 35.3% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,628, and the median income for a family was $40,921. Males had a median income of $31,149 versus $28,235 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,183. About 14.9% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those aged 65 or over. The median price for a house was $118,435, and the Dallas area has seen a steady increase in the cost of homes over the past 5 years.

Economy

Downtown Dallas as seen from Lake Cliff

Dallas and the surrounding Metroplex are very important economically. The city is sometimes referred to as Texas's Silicon Valley or the "Silicon Prairie" because of a high concentration of telecom companies. Originally seeded with a nexus of communications engineering and production talent following World War II by companies such as Collins Radio Corp., the epicenter of the area's telecom industry is along the "Telecom Corridor" which is home to more than 5,700 companies Telecom Corridor website. Retrieved 21 February 2006. and regional offices for Alcatel, AT&T, Ericsson, Fujitsu, MCI, Nokia, Nortel, Rockwell, Sprint and Verizon. The headquarters for Texas Instruments is also located there.

AMR Corporation (parent company of American Airlines), Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, Radio Shack, and Pier 1 Imports are based in Fort Worth. id Software is based in Mesquite. ExxonMobil, Kimberly-Clark, Michael's Stores, and Zale Corporation are headquartered in Irving. Electronic Data Systems, Frito Lay, Dr Pepper and JCPenney are headquartered in Plano. FUNimation is headquartered in North Richland Hills. Educational Products, Inc. is headquartered in Carrollton. Sabre Holdings, the owner of the Sabre System, is headquartered in Southlake. Halliburton Energy Services was once based in Dallas, but moved to Houston in 2003.

Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other United States city and metro VisitDallas.com - Shopping in Dallas. (PDF) Retrieved 29 March 2006.. There are several malls scattered around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

The city of Dallas is also home to 12 billionaires, concentrated in the Preston Hollow area of north Dallas. This designation places Dallas in 8th place (a tie with Chicago, Illinois and Paris, France) among cities in the world with the most billionaires.

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Law and government

The current mayor of Dallas is Laura Miller. The city is split into 14 different council districts with council members appointed to the city council for each district. The city operates as a mayor-council government. 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 2005-2006 fiscal year, the city's total budget (the sum of operating and capital budgets) was US$2,218,345,070 City of Dallas FY05-06 Adopted Budget Overview. (PDF) Retrieved 9 May 2006.. 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, $1,912,845,956 in 2003-2004 City of Dallas FY03-04 Adopted Budget Overview. (PDF) Retrieved 9 May 2006., and $2,049,685,734 in 2004-2005 .

Crime

From 1998 until 2004 (the most recent year with available statistics), the city of Dallas has had the highest overall crime rate for the nine United States cities with over 1 million people infoplease.com. The nine cities are, in order from greatest to least populous, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio, and Dallas.. Violent crime in Dallas was also ranked #1 during the same time period. Murders peaked at 500 in 1991. It then fluctuated from 227 in 2000 to 240 in 2001, 196 in 2002, 223 in 2003, 275 in 2004 AnalyzeDallas.org. Violent Crime Statistics for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Retrieved 9 February 2006., and finally 198 in 2005, the lowest in recent years.

Culture

Pedestrians in downtown

The people of Dallas, Dallasites, are stereotypically proud, cosmopolitan, and sophisticated. The city itself has historically been white but has diversified over the past century. The city is a major destination for Mexican immigrants seeking opportunity in the United States while staying close to their home in Mexico. For the most part, the southwest area of the city is predominantly Hispanic, the southern and southeastern area of the city is predominantly black, the northern part of the city is predominantly white and the northwestern portion of the city is Hispanic and Asian. These definitions are of course quite generalized, and the city boasts a high degree of diversity in all of its neighborhoods.

On average, Dallasites eat out about four times every week, which is the third highest rate in the country; Dallas has twice as many restaurants per capita as New York City. Dallasites are very fond of their local sports teams especially "America's Team," the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys—five time Super Bowl champions—are well loved by locals, even during losing seasons, and even if another local team is a leader in its sport. Sports calendars and other memorabilia are very common, and on Sundays people tend to watch sports games on television.

Arts

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District

Dallas is the epicenter of the North Texas region's art scene. Some areas known especially for the local art and culture include:

The Arts District of 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 Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University, and nearby The Dallas Contemporary. Venues currently under construction or planned include the Winspear Opera House and the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. 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 20 April 2006..

Deep Ellum originally became popular during the 1920s and 1930s as the prime jazz and blues hotspot in the south. 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. 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.

The Cedars is home to a growing population of studio artists and an expanding host of entertainment venues as well. 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. Current attractions include Gilley's Dallas and Poor David's Pub. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban recently purchased land in the area near Cedars Station, and locals speculate that he is planning an entertainment complex The Dallas Morning News - 6 September 2005. Mark Cuban snaps up tracts near downtown by Steve Brown. Retrieved 20 April 2006..

The Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff is home to a growing number of studio artists living in converted warehouses. Walls of buildings along alleyways and streets are painted with murals and the surrounding district is home to many eclectic restaurants and shops.

Media

A portion of the downtown skyline

Dallas has numerous local newspapers, magazines, television stations and radio stations that serve the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex as a whole, which is one of the largest media markets in the United States.

Newspapers

Dallas has one daily newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, which was founded in 1885 by A. H. Belo and is Belo Corp's flagship newspaper. The Dallas Times Herald, started in 1888, was the Morning News's major competitor until Belo purchased the paper on 8 December 1991 and closed the paper down the next day. Other daily papers that operate currently are Al DÃa, a Spanish-language paper, and Quick, a free, summary-style version of The News, both published by Belo.

Other significant paper-publications include the Dallas Observer, an alternative weekly newspaper, and D Magazine, a monthly magazine about business, life, and entertainment in the Metroplex.

In terms of the larger metro area, Dallas/Fort Worth has a variety of newspaper media, with the Fort Worth Star Telegram also being a significant daily newspaper in the area, generally covering the Fort Worth/Tarrant County area, and other suburban areas generally to the west, and northwest of Dallas.

Television and radio stations

The Dallas area also has a station from every major television broadcasting network—KDFW 4 (FOX), KXAS 5 (NBC), WFAA 8 (ABC) (also owned by Belo), KTVT 11 (CBS), KERA 13 (PBS), KTXA-21 (UPN), KUVN 23 (UNI), KDAF 33 (The WB/The CW) and KXTX 39 (TMD).

The area is also home to numerous commercial and public radio stations. KERA Channel 13 is the most watched PBS station in the United States, and was the first PBS station to air Monty Python and other British comedies.

Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC), the largest company in the Spanish language radio station business, was based in Dallas. In 2003, HBC was acquired by Univision and became Univision Radio Inc. But the radio company remains headquartered in Dallas.

The City of Dallas operates WRR 101.1 FM, a classical music radio station broadcast from city offices in Fair Park Dallas's Fair Park Newsletter. Retrieved 9 May 2006.. It was licensed in 1948 and is the oldest commercially operated radio station in Texas and the second-oldest in the United States WRR Classical 101.1 FM: The First Radio Station In Texas, est. 1921 - About WRR. Retrieved 9 May 2006., after KDKA (AM) in Pittsburgh. Because of the city's centrally-located position and lack of nearby mountainous terrain, many high-strength antennas in the city have bands that can broadcast as far off as North Dakota and can be used as emergency broadcasting antennas when broadcasting is down in other major metropolitan areas in the United States.

Religion

There is a large Protestant influence on the Dallas community. Methodist and Baptist churches are prominent in many neighborhoods and anchor the city's two major private universities. The Catholic Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe in the Arts District oversees the second largest membership in the country. There is a vibrant Mormon community, which led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build the scenic Dallas Texas Temple in 1984. Many members of the Jewish faith have also contributed to the city for a long time. Dallas has a significant Muslim community and is also home to the Cathedral of Hope, the largest GLBT congregation in the world Cathedralofhope.com - History. Retrieved 17 April 2006.. Also, Dallas is a home for two eastern Orthodox Christian temples.

Events

The Cotton Bowl main entrance

Dallas is home to several significant events throughout the year. Perhaps the most notable is the annual State Fair of Texas held annually at Fair Park since 1886. The fair is a massive event for the state's 22 million people and brings an estimated US$350 million to the city's economy annually. The UT-OU game at the Cotton Bowl and other Cotton Bowl games also bring significant crowds to the city. Other festivals in the area include Cinco de Mayo festivities, extravagant Independence Day events, Saint Patrick's Day parades in Irish communities such as Lower Greenville, and Juneteenth festivities.

Architecture

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 Bank One Center. Several smaller structures are fashioned in the Gothic Revival and neoclassical 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.

Dallas skyline from the Trinity River floodplain

Education

Colleges and universities

Dallas Hall at Dedman College at Southern Methodist University

Dallas is a major center of education for much of the South Central United States. The city itself contains several universities, colleges, trade schools, and educational institutes. Several major Universities also lie in enclaves, satellite cities, and suburbs of the city, including: the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, the University of Dallas in Irving, Dallas Christian College in Farmers Branch, Devry University Dallas in Irving, the University of North Texas in Denton, the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington and the Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie.

Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private, coeducational university in University Park, an enclave of Dallas. It was founded in 1911 by the Southern Methodist Church SMU.edu - Facts About SMU History. Retrieved 9 May 2006. and now enrolls 6,500 undergraduates, 1,200 professional students in the law and theology departments, and 3,500 postgraduates SMU.edu - Facts About Demographics. Retrieved 9 May 2006..

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School is a prestigious medical school located in the Stemmons Corridor of Dallas. It is part of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, again one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. The school is highly selective, admitting around 200 students a year. The facility enrolls 3255 postgraduates and is home to four Nobel Laureates: three in physiology/medicine and one in chemistry.

Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private, coeducational university located in the Mountain Creek area of southwestern Dallas. Originally in Decatur, it moved to Dallas in 1965. The school currently enrolls almost 5,000 students.

Paul Quinn College is a private, historically Black college located in southeast Dallas. Originally 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, founder of ProLine Corporation, bought the campus of Bishop College and bequeathed it to Paul Quinn College in 1993. The school enrolls 3,000 undergraduate students.

Schools

Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (DISD) in the Arts District

The city of Dallas is mostly within the Dallas Independent School District, the twelfth-largest school district in the United States DallasISD.org - Inside DISD. Retrieved 1 May 2006.. The school district operates independently of the city and enrolls over 161,000 students . In 2006, one of the district's magnet schools, The School for the Talented and Gifted, was named the best school in the United States (in a list of both public and private schools) by Newsweek. Another one of DISD's schools, the Science and Engineering Magnet, came in at number eight in the same survey Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com. Retrieved 1 May 2006..

Dallas also extends into several other school districts including Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Duncanville, Garland, Highland Park, Mesquite, Plano, and Richardson. The Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District once served portions of southern Dallas, but it was shut down for the 2005-2006 year. WHISD students started attending other Dallas ISD schools during that time. Following the close, the Texas Education Agency consolidated WHISD into Dallas ISD.

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 Dallas County Schools - Dallas ISD. Retrieved 29 May 2006..

There are also several highly prestigious private schools in Dallas, most notably Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Bishop Lynch High School, Greenhill School, The Hockaday School, St. Mark's School of Texas, and Ursuline Academy of Dallas. Cistercian Preparatory School, attended by many Dallas residents, is in nearby Irving. Time magazine once called St. Mark's School of Texas the "best-equipped day school in the country."

Libraries

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 raising money led to a grant from philanthropist and steel baron Andrew Carnegie, which enabled the construction of the first branch in 1901 DallasLibrary.org - History. Retrieved 1 May 2006.. Today the library operates 22 branch locations throughout the city DallasLibrary.org. Retrieved 13 March 2006. including the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, the 8-story main branch in the Government District of downtown.

Infrastructure

Health and medicine

UT Southwestern Medical Center

The city of Dallas has many hospitals within its bounds and a number of medical research facilities. One major research center is UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Stemmons Corridor, along with its affiliate medical school, UT Southwestern Medical School. The system includes Parkland Memorial Hospital and Children's Medical Center Dallas. The city also has a VA hospital in south Dallas, the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Other hospitals include Baylor University Medical Center in east Dallas, Central Methodist Hospital in Oak Cliff, Charlton Methodist Hospital near Duncanville, Medical City Dallas Hospital in north Dallas, and the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Oak Lawn.

Protection

Policing in Dallas is provided by the Dallas Police Department which has 2,977 officers DallasCityHall.org - All About Dallas. Retrieved 4 May 2006.. The Dallas chief of police is David Kunkle DallasCityHall.org - Government. Retrieved 7 May 2006.. The central police station is located in the Cedars, a south Dallas neighborhood near downtown. Fire protection in the city is provided by Dallas Fire-Rescue, which has 1,670 firefighters and 55 working fire stations in the city limits Dallas Fire-Rescue - Station List - Note stations 40 and 50 do not exist, thus listing of 57-2 = 55. Retrieved 4 May 2006.. The Dallas Fire & Rescue chief is Eddie Burns, Sr. The department also operates the Dallas Firefighter's Museum at Dallas's oldest remaining fire station, built in 1907, along Parry Avenue near Fair Park.

Transportation

North Central Expressway (US 75) southbound towards downtown Dallas

The primary mode of local transportation in the city is the automobile. Efforts to diversify including the construction of light rail lines, biking and walking paths, wider sidewalks, and more efficient public transportation are currently major priorities of the city and its residents. The city is much like other United States cities developed primarily in the late 20th century—criss-crossed by a vast network of highways which has led to and contributes to Dallas being a very low-density city.

The city of Dallas is at the confluence of a large number of major interstate highways—Interstates 20, 30, 35E, and 45 all run through the city. The city's freeway system, as it has no major geographical inhibitors surrounding it, is set up in the popular hub-and-spoke system, much like a wagon wheel. Starting from downtown Dallas, there is the main downtown freeway loop, Interstate 635/20 Lyndon B. Johnson loop, and ultimately the tolled President George Bush Turnpike. Inside these freeway loops are other partially-limited-access and parkway-style loops including Loop 12 and Belt Line Road. Another beltway around the city is planned upwards of 46.50 miles (70 km) from downtown in Collin County. Radiating out of downtown as the spokes of the system are Interstates 30, 35E, and 45, US 75, US 175, TX Spur 366, the tolled Dallas North Tollway, and further out TX 114, US 80 and US 67. Other major highways within the city that do not serve primarily as spokes include TX 183 and TX Spur 408. The recently completed interchange between Interstate 635 and Central Expressway called the High Five is one of the most impressive freeway interchanges in the United States.

Passengers at White Rock Station on DART's Blue Line

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the Dallas area public transportation authority, providing buses, rail, and HOV lanes. DART began operating the first light rail system in the Southwest United States in 1996 and continues to expand its coverage. Currently, two light rail lines are in service. The red line travels through Oak Cliff, downtown, Uptown, north Dallas, Richardson and Plano. The blue line goes through south Dallas, downtown, Uptown, north Dallas, and Garland. The red and blue lines are conjoined in between 8th & Corinth Station in Oak Cliff and Mockingbird Station in north Dallas. The two lines service Cityplace Station, the only subway station in the Southwest.

Fort Worth's smaller public transit system, The T, connects with Dallas's via a commuter rail line, the Trinity Railway Express, connecting downtown Dallas's Union Station with downtown Fort Worth's T&P Station and several points in between. The system of light rail transit, especially through downtown, has skyrocketed land values and has sparked a residential boom in downtown.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport serves most passengers flying in and out of the Metroplex

Dallas is served by two commercial airports: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (known as DFW International) and Dallas Love Field. In addition, Dallas Executive Airport (formerly Redbird Airport), is a general aviation airport located within the city limits, and Addison Airport is another general aviation airport located just outside the city limits in the suburb of Addison. Two more general aviation airports are located in the outer suburb of McKinney, and on the west side of the Metroplex, two general aviation airports are in Fort Worth.

DFW International Airport is located in the suburbs north of and equidistant to downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas. In terms of size, DFW is the largest airport in the state, the second largest in the United States, and third largest in the world. In terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest in the state, third busiest in the United States, and sixth busiest in the world. Love Field is located within the city limits of Dallas, 6 miles (10 km) northwest of downtown, and is headquarters to Southwest Airlines.

Utilities

Dallas is served by Dallas Water Utilities, which operates several waste treatment plants and pulls water from several area reservoirs. The city's electric system is maintained by TXU, who headquarters in the city. The city offers garbage pickup and recycling service weekly. Telephone networks are available from several companies and broadband Internet and cable television service is available for the majority of the city.

Sports

American Airlines Center in Victory Park

Dallas is home to the Dallas Desperados (Arena Football League), Dallas Mavericks (National Basketball Association), and Dallas Stars (National Hockey League). All three teams play at the American Airlines Center. The Major League Soccer team FC Dallas, formerly the Dallas Burn, used to play in the Cotton Bowl but moved to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco upon the stadium's opening in 2005. The college football game, aptly named the Cotton Bowl is still played there, however. The Dallas Sidekicks, a former team of the Major Indoor Soccer League, used to play in Reunion Arena. The Texas Tornado, two-time defending champions of the North American Hockey League, plays at the Deja Blue Arena in Frisco.

Nearby Irving is home to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League while Arlington is home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball.

Other teams in the Dallas area include the Dallas Harlequins of the USA Rugby Super League, and the Frisco RoughRiders of Minor League Baseball in Frisco. The Dallas Diamonds, a Women's Professional Football League Women's American football team, plays in North Richland Hills. McKinney is home to the Dallas Revolution, an Independent Women's Football League Women's American football team.

Recreation

The City of Dallas maintains and operates:
*406 parks on 21,000 acres (8,500 ha) of parkland.
*17 separate lakes within the city spanning 4,400 acres (1,780 ha).
*61.6 miles (99 km) of bike & jogging trails, including Katy Trail.
* 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, a 100 acre (0.4 km²) zoo, 260 acres (1 km²) at Fair Park and 477 athletic fields.

Dallas, Texas: Encyclopedia BETA

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