Dallas

Dallas lies in a large prairie running through the center of the United States. It is fairly flat and is one of the largest cities in the world not located on a navigable river. The city was founded in the 1840s as a frontier trading post, in 1839, John Neely Bryan first visited the area to survey a trading spot serving Indians and settlers. Dallas incorporated as a city on February 2 1856.

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.

The war-related industries, such as North American Aviation, increased industrial employment in Dallas to more than 75,000 in 1944. Dallas businesses experienced a boom after World War II comparable to that following the coming of the railroads. In 1949, five new businesses opened each day and thirteen new manufacturing plants opened every month. In 1950 the population stood at 434,462.

Oil was discovered 100 miles east of Dallas and the city quickly became the financial center for the oil industry in Texas. In 1958 the integrated circuit was invented in Dallas by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments, and the area grew into an important high-technology manufacturing facility.
The opening of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 attracted numerous corporate headquarters to Dallas.

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During the 1950s and 1960s, Dallas became the nation’s third-largest technology center, with the growth of such companies as 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. During the 1990s, Dallas became known as the Silicon Prairie, second only to California’s Silicon Valley.
Today Dallas is renowned for its role in the petroleum industry, telecommunications, technology and banking,

Notable Facts

• The nation’s first convenience stores, the vast 7-Eleven chain, now in 18 countries, started here in 1922.
• Henry Garrett invented the first car radio in the early 1920s
• The first integrated circuit, which became the microchip, was invented by Jack Kilby in 1958 at Texas Instruments
• The frozen margarita was invented by Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez in 1971
• On November 22 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Elm Street while his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. In 1993 Dealey Plaza was declared a National Historic Landmark District, the city’s second after Fair Park.

Historic sites, museums and Places of Interest

Dallas Arboretum

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is one of the most beautiful display gardens in North America with sixty-six acres of peaceful woods and beautifully manicured lawns and flowers. Located at 8617 Garland Road, Dallas, TX 75218

Dallas World Aquarium

The Dallas Aquarium is both entertaining and educational. The aquarium has a diverse mix of the most unusual creatures

The Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park is located at 1801 N. Griffin Street, Dallas, Texas 75202. Admission is free for children under the age of three, $10.95 for children ages three to twelve and $18.95.00 for adults. The aquarium is opened daily 10am to 5:00pm.
For more Dallas World Aquarium information please call 214.720.2224

Pioneer Plaza

Pioneer Plaza is located by the Dallas Convention Center at the intersection of South Griffin and Young Street. Pioneer Plaza honors Dallas’ cowboy by celebrating the trails that brought settlers to Dallas. Pioneer Plaza features native landscaping with a flowing stream and waterfall with a re-creation of a cattle drive in the form of bronze statues of longhorns being driven by three horse riding cowboys.
Each sculpture was created by Robert Summers of Glen Rose, Texas. The sculptures are believed to be the largest bronze sculptures of their type in the world.

Dallas Arts District

The Dallas Arts District is a unique, 68-acre, 19-block neighborhood in the heart of the city. It’s the largest arts district in the United States of America. The Dallas Arts District is home to some of the best architecture in the world. Enhancing the downtown Dallas skyline are buildings by Pritzker Prize winners I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas and AIA “Gold Medal” recipient Edward Larrabee Barnes.

It also home to many performing and visual arts venues. Works of art are displayed in the district’s museums and galleries. The Dallas Art district features art, music, drama and dance performances including the Dallas Museum of Art and the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

Fountain Place

This unique skyscraper was designed by I.M. Pei and Partners who also designed One Dallas Center, Energy Plaza, and the Dallas City Hall. The building was once part of a three building development which included a twin tower and a hotel placed in a beautiful water park featuring many fountains. The second tower and the hotel were never constructed, but the fountains were completed.

Reunion Tower

Reunion Tower is a 560 tall observation tower that was constructed as a part of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The shaft of the tower is constructed from poured in place concrete and features four concrete cylinders. Three are placed on the outside in a triangular pattern and they house elevators that offer the passengers a view as they ride up or down.
Located at 300 Reunion Blvd.

Shopping

Galleria

The Galleria Dallas mall is modeled after the Houston Galleria, which opened in 1970. Both Galleria malls have an ice skating rink and a glass vaulted ceiling that is modeled after the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milano, Italy.

Shopper’s Alley

Shopper’s Alley within Harry Hines Boulevard to Royal Lane is in the heart of Koreatown, is one of the best locations in Dallas for shopping.

Climate

The driest month in Dallas-Fort Worth is January with 1.90 inches of precipitation, and with 5.15 inches May is the wettest month.

Geo

Latitude: 32.7833333 N
Longitude: -96.8 W
Elevation is 430 ft (131 m)
Average High Temperature (July): 95° F
Average Low Temperature (January): 54° F

Bio

Dallas‘s population according to the Census bureau estimate for 2008 is 1,279,910 and it is ranked as the 8th largest city in the United States.