Dallas, Texas

Dallas is a city located near the center of Dallas County, which is in North Central Texas[?]. Dallas is a large part of the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,188,580. The Dallas-Fort Worth consolidated metropolitan area (locally known as the Metroplex) had a population of 5,222,000.

Dallas is home to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association, the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League, and the Dallas Burn of Major League Soccer. The Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team plays in suburban Arlington.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 997.1 km² (385.0 mi²). 887.2 km² (342.5 mi²) of it is land and 110.0 km² (42.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 11.03% water.

Demographics As of the census of 2000, there are 1,188,580 people, 451,833 households, and 266,581 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,339.7/km² (3,469.9/mi²). There are 484,117 housing units at an average density of 545.7/km² (1,413.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 50.83% White, 25.91% 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 are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 451,833 households out of which 30.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% are married couples living together, 14.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% are non-families. 32.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.58 and the average family size is 3.37.

In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 100.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $37,628, and the median income for a family is $40,921. Males have a median income of $31,149 versus $28,235 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,183. 17.8% of the population and 14.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 25.1% are under the age of 18 and 13.1% are 65 or older.

The City of Dallas homepage is located at:
http://www.dallascityhall.com/

Surrounding cities:

• Fort Worth
• Arlington
• Plano
• Irving
• Garland
• Mesquite
• Grand Prairie
• Farmers Branch
• Carrollton
• Lewisville
• Denton
• Richardson
• Addison
• University Park
• Highland Park
• Cockrell Hill
• Grapevine
• Coppell
• Flower Mound
• Colleyville
• Hurst
• Euless
• Bedford
• Keller
• Cedar Hill
• Duncanville
• De Soto
• Lancaster
• Balch Springs
• McKinney
• Frisco
• Allen
• The Colony
• Sunnyvale
• Rockwall
• Sachse
• Rowlett
• Forney
• Wylie
• Lucas
• Wilmer
• Hutchins
• Seagoville

Major freeways/tollways that serve the Dallas-Fort Worth area:

• I-30 – Tom Landry Highway (W) / R.L. Thornton Freeway (E) / East-West Freeway (Fort Worth); Interstate highway passing through Dallas, Arlington, and Fort Worth, begins from I-20 just west of Fort Worth
• I-20; Interstate highway passing through suburban Fort Worth and Arlington and sparsely populated south Dallas
• I-45 – Julius Schepps Freeway; Interstate highway passing through sparsely populated southest Dallas, terminating at U.S. 75 in downtown Dallas, the small section between U.S. 75 and I-30 along the eastern edge of downtown Dallas was once called I-345
• I-35E – Stemmons Freeway (N) / R.L. Thornton Freeway (S); Interstate highway passing through Dallas and Denton, eventually meets I-35W in Denton and Hillsboro, Texas
• I-35W – North/South Freeway; Interstate highway passing through Fort Worth, eventually meets I-35E in Denton and Hillsboro, Texas
• I-635 – Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway; Interstate half-loop around Dallas
• I-820 – Jim Wright Freeway (N.W. Fort Worth); Interstate loop around Fort Worth
• U.S. 75 – North Central Expressway; north-south freeway starting in Downtown Dallas, passes through Plano
• U.S. 67 – Marvin D. Love Freeway / S.G. Alexander Freeway; freeway passing through southwest Dallas
• U.S. 80; freeway passing through Mesquite, begins from I-30 in east Dallas
• U.S. 287 – Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway; freeway passing through southeast Fort Worth
• U.S. 175 – S.M. Wright Freeway / C.F. Hawn Freeway; freeway passing through sparsely populated southeast Dallas
• Texas 183 – Airport Freeway / John W. Carpenter Freeway / Southwest Blvd. (Fort Worth); freeway passing through Irving and the "Mid-Cities", a 3-mile section of Texas 183 in southwest Fort Worth is a freeway
• Texas 121 – Airport Freeway; freeway passing through Grapevine and northeast Fort Worth
• Texas 114 – John W. Carpenter Freeway; freeway passing through the Las Colinas business district in Irving
• Texas 190 (toll) – George Bush Turnpike; tollway passing through northern Dallas suburbs, currentely terminating in Garland, will eventually connect to Texas 161 in the west
• Texas 161; freeway/tollway passing between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Irving, will eventually connect to Texas 190 on the north
• Texas 360 – Angus G. Wynne Freeway / Watson Road; freeway passing relatively along the border of Arlington and Grand Prairie
• Texas 97 (toll) – International Parkway; tollway passing through Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, connects to Texas 114/121 and Texas 183
• Loop 12 – Walton Walker Boulevard (W); freeway passing through west Dallas and Irving, connecting to Spur 408 in the south, passes by Texas Stadium
• Spur 408 – Patriot Parkway; freeway passing through semi-rural southwest Dallas, connecting to Loop 12 on the north, terminates at I-20 in the south
• Spur 482 – Storey Lane; spur freeway connecting Texas 183/114 to Loop 12 (Northwest Highway), passes by Texas Stadium
• Spur 280; spur freeway connecting U.S. 287 to downtown Fort Worth
• Spur 366 – Woodall Rogers Freeway; freeway passing along the northern boundary of downtown Dallas, connects I-35 to U.S. 75/I-45
• Dallas North Tollway (toll); tollway passing along and through the wealthiest neighborhoods and shopping/dining areas in Dallas, terminates in Frisco as Dallas Parkway

Some statistical and historical facts about Dallas (current to the year 2001):

• President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in a motorcade traveling south on Elm Street in Dealy Plaza. This event is memorialized by the nearby Kennedy Memorial and by the Sixth Floor Museum in the former school book depository at the corner of Elm and Houston.
• While working for Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby created the world's first integrated circuit at a Dallas laboratory in September 1958, sparking an electronics revolution that changed the world and created a global market now worth more than $1 trillion a year.
• Dallas maintains and operates 41 community and neighborhood recreation centers, 232 playgrounds, 173 basketball courts, 112 volleyball courts, 126 play slabs, 258 neighborhood tennis courts, 258 picnic areas, 69 miles of hiking and biking trails, six 18-hole golf courses, two driving ranges, a 100-acre zoo, 260 acres at Fair Park and 477 athletic fields.
• Dallas holds the highest municipal bond rating among large cities in the United States.
• KERA Channel 13 is the most watched PBS station in the United States.
• Fair Park is home to the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world.
• Fair Park also hosts the largest state fair in the country.
• The new runway and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport will decrease air congestion throughout the United States approximately 18 to 22 percent (circa 1999).
• The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School[?] is home to four Nobel Prize winners.
• Dallas has expanded its Convention Center facilities to over 2 million feet. The Center is now capable of accommodating up to 4 major conventions at one time and provides roof-top helicopter landing facilities.
• Dallas Area Rapid Transit[?] provides the only light rail service in the Southwest.
• Dallas offers cultural activities with the world-famous Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the Dallas Museum of Art, the IMAX Theater, the African American Museum, and more than 60 cultural activities practically every day.
• The arts in Dallas adds $500 million to the annual economy and the cultural budget per capita is $7.23.
• There are many more than 40,000 telecommunication employees in the "Telecom Corridor" housing such companies as Southwestern Bell[?], AT&T, Alcatel, DSC Communications[?], Ericsson, Fujitsu, MCI, Northern Telecom[?], Rockwell, and Sprint[?]. Central Dallas is supported by more than 100 miles of fiber optic cable.
• According to the Dallas Women's Covenant, there are more than 81,000 women-owned firms in metropolitan Dallas.
• While many cities across the country are encountering water shortages, the long-term water supply plan developed by Dallas water utilities has ensured that the citizens will have sufficient water supply well through 2050[?].
• The MasterCard[?]/Visa idea originated in Dallas when three shopping centers, Preston Forest, Preston Royal, and Preston Center combined to issue PrestoCards to be used at all the shopping centers. Eventually, the concept was purchased and expanded.
• Dallas naturally has the largest equestrian sculpture in the world: The Mustangs at Las Colinas.
• Dallas also has the largest Cowboy in the World: Big Tex at the State Fair, a 52-foot-tall inflatable cowboy.
• Also at the State Fair is the largest Ferris Wheel in the United States.
• Dallas houses the largest Urban Arts District in the United States.
• Dallas has more shopping centers[?] per capita and the Dallas-Fort Worth metro has more restaurants per capita than any United States city and metro.
• The Dallas Public Library includes the largest Children's library center in the United States.
• Dallas has the world's largest wholesale trade center: Dallas Market Center.
• Nieman Marcus[?] started on the corner of Elm and Murphy in downtown Dallas.
• Art collections such as the $20 million Hamon Building collection; the $38 million Reves collection at the Dallas Museum of Art; 400 pieces of Egyptian and Nubian art at the DMA; the African-American Museum of Art; the Museum of Africa, Asia, and The Pacific with rare collections of Indonesian art and textiles; the Museum of Contemporary Art; the Museum of the Americas; the Museum of Europe; the Meadows Museum of Art featuring fifteenth- through twentieth-century Spanish art.
• Called "...the most beautiful building west of Venice", the Adolphus Hotel became the first hotel ever to be fully air-conditioned (in 1940).
• The $81.5 million Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center designed by the famous architect I. M. Pei houses the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the last hand-made Fisk organ actually to be worked on by Mr. Fisk before he died (Opus 101). The Dallas City Hall was also designed by I. M. Pei.

Both photos courtesy of the web site of John Roberts – http://www.miduppertexas.com/dallas/dallas.htm.