Oak Lawn is a unique, upscale, urban Dallas neighborhood. Moving here from the East coast in 1981, I was convinced it was the "only" urban neighborhood. Even then, you could walk to restaurants. bars, shops, churches, the gym, parks, beautiful Turtle Creek and adjacent Highland Park Village. Now, you can do all that and get easily on and off The Katy Trail, too. There are hi-rises, apartments, duplexes, condos, single family homes in neighborhoods like Perry Heights and Maple Springs, town houses and more. The architectural design is as diverse as the people who live in this wonderful community. Oak Lawn is one of the first neighborhoods in Dallas to have a “plan” to grow. A group got together and formed the Oak Lawn committee back in the late 1970’s and they have followed their plan and the development that we now see, is a result of their hard work. The district is generally bounded by Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Central Expressway, the City of Highland Park, Inwood Road, and Harry Hines Boulevard.
Considered one of Dallas’ first suburbs, Oaklawn was named for a dominant oak tree that sat in the midst of the area’s thousand acres. From 1870-1890, Oaklawn gained affluence as a neighborhood, but it was quickly overshadowed when the 1920’s boom created prestigious Turtle Creek. It is home to Love Field.
Uptown, which is technically a part of Oaklawn has emerged as the hip place to be. This McKinney Avenue area is located north of Downtown and is easily accessible to Downtown via the McKinney Avenue trolley line. The neighborhood dates back 125 years and was once called Freedomtown because it emerged as a freed slave settlement. It is currently best known for its upscale restaurants, shopping, condos and apartments. The West Village is located here with shopping, restaurants, condos and The Magnolia, a great movie theater, all located in one large city block. The Katy Trail, walking and biking trail, formerly the Katy Train line, runs through this area and is a great recreational treat.
Suzanne Altobello
Wayne Garcia GMAC Real Estate
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