
The first thing you need to understand is that the neighborhood’s name is a misnomer. It sits predominantly east, rather than south, of downtown. The second thing to understand is that, despite the disrepair into which much of this historic corner of the city fell in recent decades, there are residents here passionately committed to forging a strong sense of community. And the untapped potential of the areas around the art deco playground that is Fair Park makes the possibilities for the neighborhood’s future brighter.
Fishing in nearby White Rock Creek is a favorite neighborhood pastime.
For three weeks of the year — during the State Fair — sprawling Fair Park is a premier Dallas playground. For much of the rest of the year it sits underutilized, contributing to the neighborhood’s troubles.
Largely overgrown and hidden at the end of Gault Street is the Beeman Memorial Cemetery, the city’s oldest graveyard. The Beemans, headed by John (1799-1856) and Emily (1806-1892), were one of Dallas’ pioneer families.
National Geographic Traveler magazine once wrote: “Fair Park is much more than an assemblage of buildings; it’s a district telling dozens of stories from dozens of cultures.”
Dallas’ first municipal coliseum, later the Women’s Museum, was built in 1910 and renovated in 1935.
Robert Lee Thornton served as president of the State Fair of Texas from 1945 to 1960.
Most of Fair Park was designed by architect Akin Dahl in the 1930s, using what was a new construction material at the time: concrete blocks.
The Leonhardt Lagoon was commissioned as a Federal WPA project and includes swan boat rides.
The 2016 population of South Dallas/Fair Park is estimated to be 26,898. That’s a change of +1.7% in the last five years. Over the next five years, the population is projected to change by +2.9%.
The number of households is 9,941, a change of +2.0% in the last five years. In the next five years, the number of households is projected to change +3.2%.
The average household size is 2.67.
The median household income is $23,647 and, of the entire population age 16 and over, 51.9% aren’t in the labor force. 33.8% of families live below the poverty line.
Among those employed, 34.9% are blue-collar workers, 41.9% are white-collar workers, and 23.2% are occupied as service industry or farm workers.
The average commute time for workers who live in this area is 34.0 minutes. The average number of vehicles per household is 1.2.
60.9% of South Dallas/Fair Park homes are detached, single-family houses. The median owner-occupied home value is $66,089
37.1% of the homes are owner-occupied. The average length of residence among residents in owner-occupied homes is 21.8 years, while the average renter has been in the same home 8.9 years.
The median year the area’s housing units were built is 1958.
South Dallas/Fair Park includes portions of these police beats: 311, 312, 313, 314, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 351, 151
Throughout those beats during 2014, there were:
Aggravated Assaults (non-family violence) | 244 |
Aggravated Assaults (family violence) | 135 |
Business Burglaries | 140 |
Home Burglaries | 359 |
Motor-Vehicle Burglaries | 315 |
Auto Thefts | 259 |
Business Robberies | 23 |
Robberies of Individuals | 219 |
Shoplifting Incidents | 32 |
Other Thefts | 397 |
Murders | 9 |
Rapes | 37 |
Dallas ISD Ann Richards Middle School | 62 |
Dallas ISD Ascher Silberstein Elementary | 78 |
Dallas ISD Billy Earl Dade Middle School | 53 |
Dallas ISD Eduardo Mata Elementary | 76 |
Dallas ISD Franklin D. Roosevelt High School | 56 |
Dallas ISD J.L. Long Middle School | 69 |
Dallas ISD J.P. Starks Elementary | 78 |
Dallas ISD James Madison High School | 51 |
Dallas ISD Joseph J. Rhoads Elementary Learning Center | 55 |
Dallas ISD Lincoln High School with Humanities and Communications Magnet | 64 |
Dallas ISD Martin Luther King Jr. Learning Center | 48 |
Dallas ISD Mount Auburn Elementary | 58 |
Dallas ISD Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School and Classical Academy | 45 |
Dallas ISD Oran M. Roberts Elementary | 63 |
Dallas ISD Skyline High School | 67 |
Dallas ISD Woodrow Wilson High School | 79 |