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Oak Cliff

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Downtown Dallas as seen from Lake Cliff.

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" comparable to South Central Los Angeles, California and nearby Compton. As such, it is often called "The Cliff."

Since the phenomenon of "white flight" occurred in the district after the local schools were desegregated (after a bitter court battle) in the early 1970's, 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 and also has one of the smallest municipal budgets; the area has struggled with high crime and a high rate of gang activity in its schools. A gang fight at Justin F. Kimball High School on February 28, 2006 is but one recent example.

Oak Cliff also has some of the most beautiful 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.

The actual boundaries of Oak Cliff are roughly Interstate 30 and the Trinity River on the north, Interstate 35E on the east, Clarendon Road on the south, and Hampton Road on the west. However, 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 sector of Dallas, which shares much of the above boundaries, but includes neighborhoods south of Illinois Avenue) was never part of the original town of Oak Cliff, while predominantly Hispanic Arcadia Park was once its own municipality.

In the early 2000s, SBC Communications (now AT&T) built a regional call center in the sparse western portion of the community, resulting in a slew of major retailers which have set up shop along Interstate 30.

Oak Cliff (the original area) has been experiencing some revitalization in recent years with 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 1990's.

In order to access better housing and educational opportunties for their families, many middle class African Americans (who in past decades settled in South Oak Cliff) have in the most recent years begun to settle in some of the nearby southern Dallas County suburbs which have been traditionally White (as part of the recent nationwide trend of Black flight): these are towns such as DeSoto, Lancaster and Duncanville.

Contents

[edit] Neighborhoods

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Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Trains

[edit] Light rail

[edit] Highways

[edit] Early rise and fall

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 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.

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.

[edit] Demographics

While Oak Cliff was a predominantly African American neighborhood for decades (though this included areas not part of original Oak Cliff), the influx of Hispanics has changed that profile. In the 2000 census, Hispanics outnumbered African Americans as the largest minority in the Dallas area. While many Hispanics have moved into poorer neighborhoods like Oak Cliff, more affluent African Americans have migrated south to the suburbs of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Lancaster and DeSoto.

[edit] Education

Image:Xvisionx 29 April 2006 WH Adamson.jpg

[edit] Public (DISD)

[edit] High schools

Schools within the traditional boundaries of Oak Cliff:

Schools considered to be in Oak Cliff, but in areas not part of the original city:

[edit] Private

[edit] High schools

[edit] Milestones

[edit] References

The infamous Howard Hughes originally owned the Texas Theater located on the Historical Jefferson Street.

[edit] External links

Neighborhoods in Dallas

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Dallas

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