Oak Lawn, Dallas, Texas

Oak Lawn is a neighborhood in Dallas, Texas (USA), defined in Dallas City Ordinance 21859 as Planned Development District No. 193, the Oak Lawn Special Purpose District. It is located immediately north of downtown. The district is generally bounded by Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Central Expressway, the City of Highland Park, Inwood Road, and Harry Hines Boulevard. It is over 12 sqmi in area.

About
Oak Lawn is one of the wealthier parts of Dallas, with many professionals and urban types living in upscale townhouses, condos, apartments, and duplexes. Along the Uptown portion on McKinney Avenue and along Turtle Creek Boulevard, there are many new high-rise condominiums and apartments. It is also a very diverse neighborhood with well established areas of older, single family homes.

Oak Lawn is known for its good restaurants, as well as its many bars and clubs. Running through the center of Oak Lawn from downtown to Love Field is Cedar Springs Road, which has housed the center of the Dallas gay community for over 35 years at the intersection of Cedar Springs Road and Throckmorton Street.

Neighborhoods

 * Cityplace
 * International Center
 * Knox Park
 * LoMac
 * Love Field neighborhood
 * State Thomas
 * Turtle Creek.

Public schools
Oak Lawn's public schools are part of the Dallas Independent School District.

Oak Lawn is zoned to:
 * Sam Houston Elementary School
 * T. J. Rusk Middle School
 * North Dallas High School

The William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted is located near McKinney Avenue and Oak Grove Avenue and North Dallas High School is located in the Cityplace neighborhood at McKinney Avenue and West Haskell Avenue.

Private schools
Holy Trinity Catholic School has served the neighborhood since 1914 and is located at the corner of Oak Lawn Avenue and Gilbert Avenue. Providing early education for three year olds through eighth grade, Holy Trinity is the oldest continually operating Catholic school in North Texas.

Transportation
Central Expressway (US 75) flanks the community on the east. Spur 366, known locally as Woodall Rodgers Freeway, runs along the southern border of the community. The Lomac and Uptown portions of Oak Lawn are served by the free M-Line, provided by the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority and Dallas Area Rapid Transit. The and  light-rail lines stop at Cityplace Station, right outside Oak Lawn. Just outside Oak Lawn to the southwest is Victory Station in Victory Park, which is served by the, both red and blue lines during special events, and eventually the future and  light rail lines.
 * DART: and

Culture
Oak Lawn is known for being the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex's center for gay- and lesbian-themed entertainment. The area boasts a host of Dallas' most renowned gay bars and nightclubs, including Station 4 (formerly The Village Station), The Brick, Woody's (formerly Moby Dick's), J.R.'s, Sue Ellen's (recently opened in the now-defunct Throckmorton Mining Company's old location), Havana, The Round-Up Saloon, Mickey's, Illusions, Pekers (formerly The Side 2 Bar and Phases), Zippers, Crews Inn, Pub Pegasus, The Hidden Door, The Tin Room, Rush, and The Hideaway, most of which are located along, or close to, Cedar Springs Road. Oak Lawn is contiguous with the Dallas Design District, and so much of the area conveys a very "artsy" and upscale feeling. The sight of Rainbow flags hanging in front of businesses and homes is not uncommon here.

Architecture
Measuring by structural height, the tallest buildings in Oak Lawn are as follows:
 * 1) Cityplace Center 560 ft
 * 2) W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences 439 ft
 * 3) The Mondrian