
Between tonier Highland Park to the north and flashier Uptown to the south, Oak Lawn has long been the center of Dallas’ gay community. The neighborhood bars and clubs still draw big crowds each weekend, as does the annual Dallas Pride parade down Cedar Springs Road. But there are plenty of quieter streets of charming old duplexes, plus luxury living along Turtle Creek.
“There’s something about the abundance of greenery and the fusion of high-end luxuries and lowbrow dives that drew me to the neighborhood and has kept me here,” says Catherine Downes, D Magazine‘s assistant dining editor.
Even with signals and flashing lights added after a couple of pedestrian fatalities, drivers can often pose a danger to anyone trying to cross Cedar Springs Road on foot, especially on a busy night when the sidewalks overflow with people.
Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. Caroline Rose Hunt’s purchase of a historic home in 1979 eventually turned into 18 luxury resorts around the world, the only five-star hotel in Texas, and the creation of Southwestern cuisine.
In Lee Park stands Arlington Hall, modeled after the home of General Robert E. Lee in Virginia. It’s popular spot for weddings — if you can afford it. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo got married there.
Running — or just strolling — along Turtle Creek makes for a lovely afternoon.
Some streets boast grand old homes — though many others are populated by aging duplexes, four-plexes, eight-plexes, and the like.
Residents value the understated charm of their neighborhood, so unlike the flashiness of Uptown or the Park Cities.
The hard-to-miss Cosmic Cafe on Oak Lawn Avenue traffics in vegetarian fare.
Diversity is celebrated.
The Round-Up on Cedar Springs Road is one of the best places to go dancing in the city.
Nonprofits banded together to build the Legacy of Love Monument on the traffic triangle at the intersection of Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue — a celebration of Oak Lawn’s embrace of tolerance.
The 2016 population of Oak Lawn is estimated to be 31,933. That’s a change of +7.9% in the last five years. Over the next five years, the population is projected to change by +6.2%.
The number of households is 16,917, a change of +9.3% in the last five years. In the next five years, the number of households is projected to change +7.0%.
The average household size is 1.88.
The median household income is $59,680 and, of the entire population age 16 and over, 22.8% aren’t in the labor force. 22.5% of families live below the poverty line.
Among those employed, 13.2% are blue-collar workers, 68.0% are white-collar workers, and 18.8% are occupied as service industry or farm workers.
The average commute time for workers who live in this area is 22.0 minutes. The average number of vehicles per household is 1.4.
11.1% of Oak Lawn homes are detached, single-family houses. The median owner-occupied home value is $307,773
38.1% of the homes are owner-occupied. The average length of residence among residents in owner-occupied homes is 12.2 years, while the average renter has been in the same home 6.5 years.
The median year the area’s housing units were built is 1983.
Oak Lawn includes portions of these police beats: 523,541, 542, 544, 543, 545, 546
Throughout those beats during 2014, there were:
Aggravated Assaults (non-family violence) | 50 |
Aggravated Assaults (family violence) | 15 |
Business Burglaries | 82 |
Home Burglaries | 144 |
Motor-Vehicle Burglaries | 521 |
Auto Thefts | 153 |
Business Robberies | 18 |
Robberies of Individuals | 68 |
Shoplifting Incidents | 86 |
Other Thefts | 283 |
Murders | 3 |
Rapes | 4 |
Dallas ISD Ben Milam Elementary | 79 |
Dallas ISD Esperanza Medrano Elementary | 72 |
Dallas ISD Maple Lawn Elementary | 65 |
Dallas ISD North Dallas High School | 57 |
Dallas ISD Onesimo Hernandez Elementary | 47 |
Dallas ISD Sam Houston Elementary | 82 |
Dallas ISD Thomas J. Rusk Middle School | 47 |