Swiss Avenue
Picture Rodeo Drive running right through the middle of Compton. Perhaps the comparison is a hit extreme, but not by mulch. Swiss Avenue’s Highland Park-type mansions, built in the early 1900s, are truly an urban oasis. The neighborhood boasts an active historical society which ensures the integrity of its architecture. Look for lawns that could serve as the 18th green at Augusta and gorgeous English herb gardens. In addition to a strong neighborhood association, there are also hired security patrols.
Highland
Highland PArk, Dallas’ Epcot ver-sion of Beverly Hills, is the only place where you cam wear the Hermes scarf you just bought, view the new Chanel line, and eat a Haagen Dazs ice cream cone, all at the same time. Shopping aside, Highland Park is Dallas’ most exclusive zip code. Often called “the bubble” because it’s protected by a thin membrane of wealth, family name, and tax base, this “05er” area features some of Dallas’ most expensive homes, its best public schools, and its own force of the coolest looking police cars.
University Park
If Highland Park had a less attrac tive, smarter, and more affordable twin brother, University Park would be him. The residents of this north-end cheaper side of “the bubble” make up for their some-what less prestigious zip code by sending their kids to Highland Park schools and living on streets named after universities like Amherst, Stanford, and Bryn Mawr. This gives the inhabitants a feeling that they have retained their integrity when they look longingly to the south toward their more attractive, opulent twin.
Uptown
A BUILDING BOOM AND A BRILLIANT MAR-keting campaign have convinced young professionals that urban living is once again “in” and that Uptown, formerly called the McKinney area, is the place to do it. The influx has caused Uptown to become one of the hottest and hippest areas in Dallas to live. With restaurants, grocery stores, and trendoid taverns like Fog City Diner and Arcodoro within walking distance, it has become a favorite area for fast-talking New York and Chicago transplants who can be seen sipping martinis while “checking out the scenery.”
Oak LawnThis area is a definite island in the stream of Dallas conservatism, and probably the only area of the city where one could walk the streets in drag during daylight without ridicule. It houses a very eclectic community made up of everything from florists to decorators to liberal Republican Highland Park wannabes. The residences in this area still have hardwood floors and an old world charm, which is increasingly difficult to find in a town where newer is always better.
White Rock
This neighborhood is really several neighborhoods in one. Lining the lake itself are palatial mansions whose residents have included such Big Name city dwellers as H. L. Hunt. Of course, the farther you get from the lake, the more reasonable the real estate gets. Surrounding neighborhoods are diverse: you’ll find dual income yuppies, stay-at-home moms, and out-doorsy types who simply love the lake. Families brag about the local schools, including Lakewood Elementary and Stonewall Jackson.
Lakewood
The architecture of Lakewood can really be split into two neighborhoods, divided by AbramsRoad.On the west side, large homes date back to the first half of the century, while the east side features newer homes from the ’50s and ’60s. Lakewood’s homes range in style from Tudor and Italian Renaissance to Mediterranean and Spanish. The Lakewood shopping center, perhaps best known for the again-closed Lakewood Theater and its tower, also includes such quality eateries as Scalini’s Pizza and Matt’s Rancho Martinez.
Turtle Creek
Those looking for high-rise living or just examples of undistinguished 1980s architecture usually find themselves on Turtle Creek. The corridor of luxury condominiums stretches from Fairmount, in the Uptown area, to within inches of Highland Park. With buildings named The Warrington, The Claridge, and The Mansion, you can expect to find snooty doormen and exorbitant prices. It is important to note that the popularity and prestige of living in this area has waned since they canceled “The Jeffersons.”
Hollywood Heights
Adjacent to Lakewood and with homes somewhat similar to those on the M streets, Hollywood Heights has a cozy, intimate feel. Predominantly small (mostly two-bedroom) older residences built in the 1940s and 1950s reflect the time when they were built, with features such as hardwood floors and ceiling fans. Bolstered by lots of young couples and creative types, this area has a strong neighborhood association to help residents deal with the crime in nearby areas.
The M Streets
One of the city’s most popular neighborhoods, the M streets (Monticello, Mercedes, McCommas-you get the idea) are said to represent a cross-section of the many cultures of Dallas, with a blend of young professionals, DINKs (Double Income, No Kids), and seniors who have lived there for decades. The majority of the Tudor-style homes are relatively small hut feature such details as hardwood floors, high-gabled roofs, and arched windows. Close proximity to Central Expressway is key, and the ongoing construction somehow does not bombard this neighborhood with noise.
Deep Ellum
Once a warehouse district, Deep Ellum is now Dallas’ answer to Washington D.C.’s Georgetown or New York City’s Greenwich Village. Residents, many of them artists, occupy large and expensive lofts and must put up with the active nightlife until early morning hours. But Ellumites claim to enjoy the pace and appreciate the easy access to downtown.Lake Highlands
HighlandsIn the 1970s and 80s, Lake High-lands’ newly constructed custom homes attracted young families in search of the suburban dream (minus the white picket fences). The affluent area of northeast Dallas offers the advantage of a Dallas address while being in the highly touted Richardson school district.
Greenway Parks
The name says it all. Green way Parks is a thin strip of land-bordered by Mockingbird Lane, University Boulevard, Inwood Road, and the Tollway-where pristine houses (a la Highland Park) sit amid lush trees and shrubbery on lawns that resemble springtime meadows (a la the East Coast). Expansive greenbelts stretch between the backs of these homes, creating a my-backyard-is-bigger’than-all-outdoors feel
Preston Royal
Though about as far from the city’s outer limits as it is from downtown, Preston Royal still has a definite suburban feel. If anything, it is a suburb of adjacent Preston Hollow. The most popular car in front’ of the ranch-style homes with big yards is, of course, the Suburba.
Preston Hollow
The affluent and ambitious are attracted to Veston Hollow, former home of Gov. George Bush. In Old Preston Hollow, west of Preston Road, pricey mansions sit on more land than those in the Park Cities. ’ To the east of Preston and in the northern regions of the neighborhood, smaller single-level cottages built in the late 1940s and early 1950s are being replaced with large custom homes. Some of Dallas’ best public schools are in this neighborhood, including Preston Hollow Elementary and Hillcrest High.
Bluffview
If it weren’t for street names like Watauga and Catawba, it would be easy to forget that this area west of lnwood and south of Northwest Highway was once a Native American battleground. The setting is pastoral, with modest cottages and million-dollar estates set far back from the curvy roads- Properties are separated by creeks and ponds and towering elms instead of fences. Though residents can hear mild flyover noise from nearby Love Field, Bluffview is still considered a place to live the quiet life.
Kiest Park
In this varied neighborhood, home to both working-class and upper-middle-class families, churches are still more popular than bars. Among the diverse residents are many prominent African-Americans, who opt for the hilly terrain and spectacular views of Oak Cliff over a more prestigious northside zip code.
Stevens Park
Stevens Park is the Highland Park of Oak Cliff. Nestled among the shouldn’t-we-be-in-Austin hills are large Tudor homes and neoclassical plantation-looking estates. There are also a few flat, angular modernistic homes from the Art Deco era, a time when this neighborhood was arguably the most beautiful in Dallas.
Fair Park
Fair Park s most outstanding local attraction is, of course, the park itself, home to the Cotton Bowl, the annual state fair, several of the city’s best museums, Starplex, and the Music Hall. The neighborhood itself is in transition: many of its older homes are undergoing facelifts, and developers hope to increase the value of local housing with an influx of new apartments.
Pleasant Grove
Racially diverse and decidedly Residential, this expansive area south of I-30 and east of downtown is home to many of the city’s working class. While some parts of the neighborhood struggle with the challenges brought by urbanization, pockets of Pleasant Grove maintain their almost rural, small-town feel.
Be Tree
During the 1980s, many well-to-do transplants from the North settled in this development on Dallas’ northernmost edge, where sprawling custom homes offer exquisite living amid suburban surroundings. In Bent Tree, the brick houses are big, the professionally landscaped lawns are small, the money is new, and the health clubs are crowded.
