The West End Historic District of

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, is a historic district that includes a area in northwest downtown, generally north of Commerce, east of

I-35E Interstate 35E may refer to: *Interstate 35E (Texas), a long branch route serving Dallas, Texas *Interstate 35E (Minnesota), a long branch route serving St. Paul, Minnesota See also * Interstate 35W (disambiguation) Interstate 35W may refer to: * ...

, west of Lamar and south of the Woodall Rodgers Freeway. It is south of Victory Park, west of the

Arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

City Center A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

, and Main Street districts, and north of the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

and Reunion districts. A portion of the district is listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as Westend Historic District. A smaller area is also a Dallas Landmark District. The far western part of the district belongs to the Dealey Plaza Historic District, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

around structures and memorials associated with the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

History

The area that would become the West End originally consisted simply of a trading post, established by John Neely Bryan. In July 1872, the Houston & Texas Central Railroad arrived in downtown, attracting manufacturing companies whose warehouses would come to define the architecture of the West End. The district reached nationwide prominence in the 1960s, when President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was assassinated in a Presidential motorcade traveling through Dealey Plaza. While the assassination brought the attention to the West End, the district's economy still struggled, with many businesses leaving the city center for suburban locations. As development changed downtown Dallas and older buildings were demolished, local developer Preston Carter Jr. began the revitalization of the West End in June 1976 in an effort to preserve its history. Old warehouses and other brick buildings were converted to restaurants and shops. In November 1978, the West End Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, over seven million people visit the West End annually, making it one of the city's leading tourist attractions. In recent years the area has suffered a decline. The West End Marketplace, a massive mall/entertainment complex, closed its doors on June 30, 2006. Due to the recent development of Victory Park, the main marketplace was redeveloped into an apartment and business complex.

Attractions

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial is a monument to United States President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas ( USA) erected in 1970, and designed by noted architect Philip Johnson. Design T ...

Old Red Museum Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

Dallas World Aquarium The Dallas World Aquarium is a for-profit aquarium and zoo located in the West End Historic District of Dallas, Texas, USA. It aids conservation and education by housing many animals that are threatened or endangered as part of a cooperative b ...

* Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education & Tolerance *The Sixth Floor Museum, located in the

Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point during the assassination of United Sta ...

, the building from which

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

shot President

according to the conclusions of four government investigations. File:West End Marketplace.jpg, A giant dinosaur greets visitors to the West End Market Place (Picture circa 2002. No longer there) File:DART's West End Station in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas.jpg, Looking west along Pacific Street at West End Station

Transportation

Light rail

DART , , , * West End Station

Education

The district is zoned to schools in the

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas ( USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the ...

. Residents of the district south of Pacific are zoned to

City Park Elementary School A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, Billy Earl Dade Middle School, and James Madison High School. Residents north of Pacific are zoned to Hope Medrano Elementary School, Thomas J. Rusk Middle School, and North Dallas High School.Dallas ISD
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City Park
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Dade
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Madison
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North Dallas
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References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Texas Dallas Landmarks Economy of Dallas National Register of Historic Places in Dallas Warehouse districts of the United States Romanesque Revival architecture in Texas Chicago school architecture in Texas Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas