Dallas/Downtown

Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District of the city of Dallas. Traditionally defined as the area within the belt of freeways surrounding the centre, it is now deemed to have expanded to an area known as Uptown, north of the Woodall Rodgers Freeway thanks to the new walkable Klyde Warren Park, while in the east the center spills across US-75 into the Deep Ellum neighborhood.

Downtown includes most of Dallas' extant historic buildings, its modern skyscrapers, and the majority of its historic institutions. There are no official administrative subdivisions of Dallas, but a local organization, Downtown Dallas Inc., took it upon itself to redefine, develop and advocate the interests of Downtown.

Understand
Uptown is the young, affluent area bounded by I-35E to the west, US-75 to the east, Woodall Rodgers (and central Downtown) to the south, and Turtle Creek to the north.

Deep Ellum, named for its place on the far eastern ("Deep") end of Elm Street ("Ellum"), consists of a 5-to-10-block-long stretch along Elm, Main, and Commerce streets east of Central Expressway. It can be reached easily via Commerce or Main Streets, northern parts of Dallas via Central Expressway to Good-Latimer, or eastern parts of Dallas via I-30 to First Ave/Exposition Ave.

By train

 * DART serves Downtown Dallas with several light-rail and commuters lines running through downtown with lines running in all directions. The furthest commuter lines run to Denton and Fort Worth (with a stop just south of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Other lines go to Plano, Richardson, Garland, and south Dallas.
 * To get to Deep Ellum on DART, take the Green Line to Deep Ellum or Baylor Stations.
 * Street parking in Deep Ellum is free during weekday business hours, but the meters are active on nights and weekends, and there are several pay lots in the area.
 * The free-to-ride M-Line Trolley (streetcar) runs from the northern part of Downtown straight through the middle of Uptown, where it connects to DART's Uptown Station (Blue, Red and Orange Lines.)
 * Amtrak has a station on the west side of downtown and shares a station with DART's commuter rail lines and 2 of the light-rail lines.

By car
Several expressways meet in downtown Dallas, forming a loop around the neighborhood. I-35E (going south to north) and I-30 (going east to west cross I-45 (from Houston), US-75 (to Sherman and Tulsa), and Woodall Rodgers (connecting I-35E to US-75.)



See




AT&T Performing Arts Center
Traditional performing arts in Dallas are housed in a complex of purpose-built objects next to the Klyde Warren Park. Construction was financed by private donations over the 2000s, and design attracted architects of international fame, with every building an architectural point of interest in itself. The major performing arts companies moved to the new buildings, each bearing a name of its principal sponsor, while also leaving space for guest performances, which provides for busy and varied schedules.



Apart from the above, the square between the opera and symphony hall is sometimes used for outdoor performances and named Annette Strauss Square for the former mayor of Dallas who championed the arts.



American Airlines Center
The is a large arena that can seat more than 20,000 people, depending on the arrangement and event. It is most known as the home field for Dallas' basketball and hockey teams. The brick retro arena is just north of Downtown, adjacent to the Victory Park DART and TRE (Trinity Railway Express) rail stations, at address 2500 Victory Ave.



Buy
There are some good antique stores in the Knox-Henderson area.



Eat
There are tons of restaurants, or a couple dozen anyway, including Dick's Last Resort, Hooters, and what was the original Spaghetti Warehouse. There are several popular local establishments as well. This area does not make the list of must-see places in Dallas but is a convenient place for dinner or a drink if you are already in the area.

Central Downtown/West End
The area around West End (North Market Street) and further east along Main Street are the best places to start looking. On Sundays check out the food vans parked long the road by Klyde Warren Park.





Uptown/McKinney
It must be said that a bona fide "foodie" would be remiss to skip the fabulous restaurants that line McKinney Avenue and environs -- if there's one arena in which Dallas merits its own pretentions to "world-class" status, it's in its varied, creative restaurants, where quasi-celebrity chefs hold forth with true flair. Just to the north of McKinney is the Knox-Henderson area. It is similar but more laid-back. The west side of highway is Knox Street. This is just on the edge of Highland Park, and it features a plethora of home-decorating boutiques as well as eateries and watering holes. Cross the freeway and Knox becomes Henderson -- bastion of hip but laid-back eateries, check out Fireside Pies for one.





Uptown




Deep Ellum