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Oak Cliff was a town located in Dallas County, Texas (USA), that was annexed by the neighboring city of Dallas in 1903. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as "Dallas' older, established neighborhood". As such, it is often called "The Cliff." Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Dallas County is a county located in the state of Texas within the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area (colloquially referred to as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex). ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Ceremonies during the annexation of Hawaii. ... Dallas redirects here. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Oak Cliff has turn of the century and mid-20th century housing, many parks and remarkably close proximity to the central business district of downtown Dallas without the heavy vehicular traffic or higher cost of housing commonly associated with Dallas' northern neighborhoods. Pedestrians along Stone Street. ...

The current boundaries of Oak Cliff are roughly Interstate 30 and the Trinity River on the north, Interstate 35E on the east, Camp Wisdom Road on the south, and Cockrell Hill Road on the west. In practice nearly every neighborhood south of the Trinity River (excluding west Dallas) is called Oak Cliff, though much of it was never part of the original town. For example, the South Oak Cliff neighborhood (the primary African-American neighborhood in Dallas), which generally includes neighborhoods south of Illinois Avenue, was never part of the original town of Oak Cliff, just as the Arcadia Park area was once its own municipality. Interstate 30 (abbreviated I-30) is an interstate highway in the southern United States. ... The Trinity River is a river in the state of Texas in the United States. ... Interstate 35E (abbreviated I-35E), an interstate highway, is the eastern half of Interstate 35 where it splits to serve different cities in Texas. ... West Dallas is a district in Dallas, Texas, USA. Transportation Trains Light rail DART: Future Purple Line and Future Orange Line Categories: | ...

Downtown Dallas as seen from Lake Cliff.

Skyline as seen from Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff. ... Skyline as seen from Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff. ... Pedestrians along Stone Street. ... Downtown Dallas as seen from Lake Cliff. ...

History

The suburb of Oak Cliff originated on December 15, 1886, when John S. Armstrong and Thomas L. Marsalis bought a farm of 320 acres on the west side of the Trinity River for $8,000. The farm was cut up into twenty-acre blocks, and the plat of the new suburb made. Armstrong and Marsalis began to develop the land into an elite residential area, which by the end of 1887 had proved to be a tremendous success with sales surpassing $60,000. However, after a disagreement between the partners Marsalis secured complete control over Oak Cliff's development. Armstrong would go on to create his own elite residential development on the north side of Dallas, known as Highland Park. This article is about the Christian Trinity. ...

According to the first plat filed, the original township of Oak Cliff extended as far north as First Street, now Colorado Boulevard, just north of Lake Cliff, then known as Spring Lake, and as far south as a paviliion just south of Thirteenth Street, or about where the main entrance to Marsalis Park now is. It was bounded on the east by Miller Street, now Cliff Street, and on the west by Beckley Avenue. Jefferson Avenue was the route of a steam railroad, and the principal north and south thoroughfare was Marsalis Avenue, then called Grand Street.

On November 1, 1887, $23,000 worth of lots were sold in the newly opened Marsalis Addition (Oak Cliff) before noon and on the following day, ninety-one lots were sold for $38,113. Figures published later in November gave the new suburb a population of 500. Marsalis developed the Oak Cliff Elevated Railway to provide the first transportation link to his new development , using a small shuttle train pulled by a "dummy" engine. The transportation system was modeled on one in the city of New York and was heralded as "the first elevated railway in the South." In reality, the railroad operated at ground level almost its entire course down Jefferson Boulevard and towards Lake Cliff; it became only slightly elevated as it crossed the Trinity River. This steam railway was continued for many years for commuters and pleasure seekers. Marsalis began two other development projects with the intent to promote Oak Cliff as a vacation resort. One was Oak Cliff Park, now called Marsalis Park and Zoo, a 150-acre park that included a two-mile-long lake and a 2,000-seat pavilion in which dances and operas were held. Another was the Park Hotel, modeled after the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, which included several mineral baths fed by artesian wells.^[1]

In 1890 Oak Cliff incorporated with a population of 2,470 and secured a post office which operated until 1896. The community had four grocery stores, two meat markets, a hardware store, and a feed store. Businesses included the Texas Paper Mills Company (later Fleming and Sons), the Oak Cliff Planing Mill, the Oak Cliff Artesian Well Company, Patton's Medicinal Laboratories, and the Oak Cliff Ice and Refrigeration Company. A number of new elite residential areas developed by the Dallas Land and Loan Company had pushed the community's boundaries westward to Willomet Street. Oak Cliff's first mayor was Hugh Ewing. In 1891 the community's first newspaper, the Oak Cliff Sunday Weekly, was published by F. N. Oliver. Over the next three years Oak Cliff's development continued, but during the depression of 1893 the need for vacation resorts such as Oak Cliff decreased, and the community's growth stagnated, forcing Marsalis into bankruptcy. Consequently, the Park Hotel was converted into the Oak Cliff College for Young Ladies. Another educational institution, the Patton Seminary, was established two years later by Dr. Edward G. Patton. By 1900 Oak Cliff was no longer an elite residential and vacation community. Many of the lots once owned by the Dallas Land and Loan Company were subdivided by the Dallas and Oak Cliff Real Estate Company and sold to the middle and working classes, a trend which lasted well into the early 1900s. The census of 1900 reported Oak Cliff's population as 3,640. Oak Cliff was annexed by Dallas in 1903, after numerous attempts beginning in 1900. The proposal had met with little success until the community's depressed economy produced a vote for annexation by eighteen votes.

In 1902, an interurban electric streetcar line controlled by the North Texas Traction Company, was constructed passing through Oak Cliff, and connected Dallas to Fort Worth. This line discontinued service in the late 1930's. Smaller residential streetcar service ran throughout Oak Cliff's neighborhoods, spanning over 20 miles. Known as a streetcar suburb, Oak Cliff's characteristic twists and turns are largely due to the area's topography, and the paths and turnabouts created by the streetcar service. Residential streetcar service ended in January, 1956. A streetcar suburb is a community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. ...

In April of 1908, the Trinity River flooded its banks, rising to a height of 37.8 feet by April 21. A temporary recession occurred, but rains continued in to May, finally raising the river's height to 51.3 feet. The only bridge remaining that connected Oak Cliff with Dallas after the flood was the Zang Boulevard Turnpike, an earthen fill with a single steel span across the river channel slightly to the north of the present Houston Street Viaduct. About this time G. B. Dealey, publisher of the Morning News, returned from a trip to to Kansas City with the idea of securing for Dallas an intracity causeway similar to the one there. From his proposal sprung the Houston Street Viaduct (originally named the Oak Cliff Viaduct), begun October 24, 1910, and opened to traffic February 22, 1912, acclaimed as the longest concrete bridge in the world. This latter designation was later disputed as a publicity stunt.

In 1909, a disastrous fire occurred in Oak Cliff, consuming fourteen blocks of residences, including the Briggs Sanitorium. Briggs Sanitorium is a former sanitorium (also listed as Briggs Sanitarium) developed in 1896 by Dr. J.R. Briggs, and located at the corner of Jefferson and Tyler streets, in Oak Cliff, Texas. ...

On April 2, 1957, a deadly tornado ripped through Oak Cliff, killing 10 people and causing more than $1 million dollars in damages.

Since the phenomenon of "white flight" occurred in the district after the local schools were desegregated following a bitter court battle in the early 1970s, much of Oak Cliff (especially South Oak Cliff) became a mainly minority, low-income area after most of the mainly white middle class moved out of the area to the nearby suburbs. As a result, Oak Cliff now has more low-income housing and more citizens living below the poverty line than several other districts of Dallas. In years past, the area struggled with high crime and a high rate of gang activity in its schools, but improved community policing and neighborhood revitalization have helped to alleviate those problems. White flight is a term for the demographic trend where working- and middle-class white people move away from increasingly racial-minority inner-city neighborhoods to white suburbs and exurbs. ...

Oak Cliff (the original area) has been experiencing some revitalization in recent years with upper-middle-class professionals (many of whom work in downtown Dallas and other north Dallas neighborhoods) finding Oak Cliff an affordable and convenient alternative to other Dallas neighborhoods such as the "M Streets", Lakewood and the Greenville Avenue corridor, which have become more expensive since the 1990s. Pedestrians along Stone Street. ... North Dallas is a group of neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, USA. It can also include three island cities of Dallas. ... Greenland Hills (also known as the M Streets is a neighborhood in east Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Lakewood is a neighborhood in East Dallas, Texas United States. ...

In the early 2000s, SBC Communications (now AT&T) built a regional call center in the sparse western portion of the community, resulting in many major retailers locating along Interstate 30. This article is about the first decade of the 21st century. ... SBC Communications NYSE: SBC is an American telecommunications company based in San Antonio, Texas. ... This article is about the current AT&T. For the 1885-2005 company, see American Telephone & Telegraph. ... Interstate 30 (abbreviated I-30) is an interstate highway in the southern United States. ...

Neighborhoods

Arcadia Park is a neighborhood in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Looking north along Bishop Street. ... Cockrell Hill is a city located in Dallas County, Texas. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Elmwood is a picturesque North Oak Cliff neighborhood of charming homes and expansive parks. ... Highland Hills is a neighborhood within the general region of South Dallas. ... A common scene in the Kessler Heights neighborhood. ... Kessler Plaza is a neighborhood located in the northern Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Kings Highway is the oldest conservation district in Dallas, and the second oldest in Texas, and is located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Kidd Springs is a neighborhood in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Downtown Dallas as seen from Lake Cliff. ... L.O. Daniel is a neighborhood in northern Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas (USA). ... The Redbird community of Dallas is a group of neighborhoods located in the southern Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Stevens Park is a neighborhood in northern Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas (USA), named for its developer, John P. Stevens. ... Winnetka Heights is one of the oldest and largest historical districts in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Wynnewood North is neighborhood in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas (USA) created in the 1950s for middle and upper income families. ...

Transportation

Trains

Light rail

• DART: Red Line
  • Dallas Zoo Station
  • Tyler/Vernon Station
  • Hampton Station
  • Westmoreland Station

• DART: Blue Line
  • Morrell Station
  • Illinois Station
  • Kiest Station
  • VA Medical Center Station
  • Ledbetter Station

A DART Bus operating in downtown Dallas The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority (or DART) is the transit agency in Dallas, Texas that operates buses, light rail (including an underground station), commuter rail, and HOV lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs. ... The Red Line is a light rail line in the system of mass transit in Dallas operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. ... Dallas Zoo Station is a DART light rail station located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas (USA) at Ewing Avenue and Clarendon Drive. ... Tyler/Vernon Station is a DART light rail station located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas (USA) at Tyler Street and Vernon Avenue. ... Passengers waiting at the station Hampton Station is a DART light rail station located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas (USA) at Hampton Road and Wright Street. ... Westmoreland Station is a DART light rail station located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas (USA) at Illinois Avenue and Westmoreland Road. ... A DART Bus operating in downtown Dallas The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority (or DART) is the transit agency in Dallas, Texas that operates buses, light rail (including an underground station), commuter rail, and HOV lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs. ... The Blue Line is a light rail line in the system of mass transit in Dallas operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. ... Morrell Station is a DART light rail station located in Dallas, Texas at Morrell and Woodbine Avenues in southern Dallas. ... Illinois Station is a DART light rail station located in Dallas, Texas on Denley Drive, north of Illinois Avenue in southern Dallas. ... Kiest Station is a DART light rail station located in Dallas, Texas on Kiest Boulevard and Lancaster Road in southern Dallas. ... VA Medical Center Station is a DART light rail station located in Dallas, Texas on Lancaster Road and Mentor Avenue in southern Dallas. ... Ledbetter Station is a DART light rail station located in Dallas, Texas on Lancaster Road, south of Ledbetter Drive in southern Dallas. ...

Highways

• Interstate 30
• Interstate 35E
• U.S. Route 67

Image File history File links I-30. ... Interstate 30 (abbreviated I-30) is an interstate highway in the southern United States. ... Image File history File links I-35E.svg 750 mm by 600 mm (30 in by 24 in) Interstate shield, made to the specifications of the 2004 edition of Standard Highway Signs (sign M1-1). ... Interstate 35E (abbreviated I-35E), an interstate highway, is the eastern half of Interstate 35 where it splits to serve different cities in Texas. ... Image File history File links US_67. ... U.S. Route 67 extends from the highways northern terminus in Sabula, Iowa at the intersection with U.S. Route 52 to its southern terminus in Presidio, Texas, at the Rio Grande - the United States–Mexico border. ...

Oak Cliff's founding and annexation

The community on the south bank of the Trinity River was called Hord's Ridge by its original residents in 1845. In 1887, a pair of land speculators bought all the land of the community with the intent of developing an elite residential and vacation community. The town incorporated in 1890, with a population of 2,470. According to the 1900 census, the town had a total population of 3,640. The Trinity River is a river in the state of Texas in the United States. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Speculation involves the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, collectibles, real estate, derivatives or any valuable financial instrument to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income via methods such as dividends or interest. ... In local government, incorporation occurs when municipalities such as cities, towns, townships, villages, and boroughs become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ...

The investors quickly built the town's amenities and infrastructure, but the Panic of 1893 erased the prosperity the town had been designed to exploit. As the market for vacation communities disappeared, one of the investors was forced into bankruptcy, and the town's large, exclusive lots were divided into parcels for sale to middle- and working class buyers. The Panic of 1893 was a serious decline in the economy of the United States that began in 1893 and was precipitated in part by a run on the gold supply. ... Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration—see text) in the United Kingdom. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ...

Oak Cliff's annexation by neighboring Dallas came in 1903, after three years of unsuccessful attempts by annexation backers. The final vote was 201 to 183 in favor. This article is about the political process. ...

Demographics

Prior to neighborhood desegregation, Oak Cliff was a predominantly white. Many neighborhoods in the Oak Cliff area, especially the most southern portions, were targeted for desegregation. As was typical of desegregation in the South, many all-white neighborhoods transitioned to African-American neighborhoods due to both black and white migration: blacks moving to neighborhoods that they perceived as better and a whites moving from neighborhoods that they perceived as worsening. The neighborhood transitions is not a simple matter of black and white, as the Latino community (mainly Hispanic-Americans of Mexican descent) in Dallas has grown rapidly . Many Hispanics have moved into Oak Cliff neighborhoods. As such, Oak Cliff is one of the most diverse areas of Dallas.

Education

W. H. Adamson High School

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 1718 KB){{User:Drumguy8800/Picture|[[W. H. Adamson High School] in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA)|April 29|2006}} File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 1718 KB){{User:Drumguy8800/Picture|[[W. H. Adamson High School] in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA)|April 29|2006}} File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this...

Public (DISD)

Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts W. H. Adamson High School The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). ...

High schools

Schools within the traditional boundaries of Oak Cliff:

• W.H. Adamson High School - AAAA - northern
• Sunset High School Home of Chris Soto - AAAAA
• Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center

Schools considered to be in Oak Cliff, but in areas not part of the original city: W.H. Adamson High School, formerly Oak Cliff High School is a secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. ... Sunset High School is a public secondary school (grades 9-12) in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. ... United States President George W. Bush and United States First Lady Laura Bush visiting a Biology laboratory at SEM in 2006 The (TMC) is a single building campus that houses six semi-independent magnet high schools in the Dallas Independent School District. ...

• Franklin D. Roosevelt High School - AAA - eastern
• South Oak Cliff High School - AAAA - southern
• A. Maceo Smith High School - AAAA - southeastern
• David W. Carter High School - AAAAA
• Justin F. Kimball High School - AAAA
• Moisés E. Molina High School - AAAAA

South Oak Cliff High School (colloquially referred to as SOC, pronounced sock) is a public secondary school located in Dallas, Texas (USA). ... A. Maceo Smith is a four-year public high school serving grades 9-12 in Dallas, Texas. ... David Wendel Carter High School (commonly reffered to as Dallas Carter) is a public school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Justin F. Kimball High School is a public secondary school in southwest Dallas, Texas (USA). ... Moisés E. Molina High School is a secondary school located at 2355 Duncanville Road in Dallas, Texas, United States with a ZIP code of 75211. ...

Private

Life Charter School Oak Cliff- AA

High schools

• Bishop Dunne Catholic School - TAPPS
• Tyler Street Christian Academy - TAPPS

Bishop Dunne Catholic School logo Bishop Dunne Catholic School is a private Middle/High School located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas (USA). ...

Milestones

• Town of Oak Cliff annexed by Dallas in 1903.
• The Southland Ice Company began selling eggs and milk from their store at 12th and Edgefield in 1927. The first convenience store would eventually become known as 7-Eleven. (This 7-Eleven had a historical landmark, however it went out of business in the late 1990s.)
• Blues singer and guitarist T-Bone Walker lived in Oak Cliff in his youth and made his first recordings in 1929 under the name "Oak Cliff T-Bone".
• Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the criminal duo known more informally as Bonnie and Clyde, met in Oak Cliff in the 1930s. Barrow is buried in an Oak Cliff cemetery.
• Dennis Rodman attended South Oak Cliff High School in 1970s.
• Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was born in Oak Cliff in 1954. The lyrics of his song "Tick Tock" are engraved in the bricks of DART's Hampton Station. Pop singer Edie Brickell (married to Paul Simon) is also from the area.
• Lee Harvey Oswald was captured at the Texas Theater on Jefferson Avenue after allegedly assassinating U. S. President John F. Kennedy and killing Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit on November 22, 1963. Oswald was also an Oak Cliff resident at the time.
• Yvonne Craig (the Original Batgirl) attended both W. H. Adamson and Sunset High School.

Dallas redirects here. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see 7-Eleven (disambiguation). ... Aaron Thibeaux Walker or T-Bone Walker or Oak Cliff T-Bone (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the most important pioneers of electric guitar. ... This article is about the outlaws. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the World Depression. ... Stephen Stevie Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A DART Bus operating in downtown Dallas The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority (or DART) is the transit agency in Dallas, Texas that operates buses, light rail (including an underground station), commuter rail, and HOV lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs. ... Edie Brickell (born March 10, 1966 in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter. ... Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was, according to two United States government investigations, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... President Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and Texas Governor John Connally in the presidential limousine just moments before his assassination The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... J.D. Tippit J. D. Tippit (September 18, 1924 – November 22, 1963) was a police officer with the Dallas, Texas Police Department who, according to witnesses, was slain by Lee Harvey Oswald after Tippit stopped Oswald following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ...

References

• Oak Cliff from the Handbook of Texas Online
• A Brief History of Oak Cliff at oakcliff.com

The infamous Howard Hughes originally owned the Texas Theater located on the Historical Jefferson Street. The Handbook of Texas (ISBN 0-87611-151-7) is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published jointly by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) and the General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin. ...

External links

• Old Oak Cliff Conservation League
• Friends of Oak Cliff Parks
• OakCliff.com
• [1] Handbook of Texas Online article
• Beautiful Lake Cliff, clean, cool, delightful: the Southwest's greatest playground; it's in Dallas published 1906, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Winnetka Heights Gazette: Online community for the neighborhoods of Old Oak Cliff.
• CliffDweller: New magazine written by and for the Oak Cliff community.
• People Newspapers: New newspaper for Oak Cliff.
• Oak Cliff Transit Authority: Oak Cliff private community organization whose mission is to return the areas streetcars.