Lakewood Heights, Dallas Explained

Lakewood Heights
Settlement Type:Neighborhood
Coordinates:32.821°N -96.758°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States of America
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Texas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Dallas County
Subdivision Type3:City
Subdivision Name3:Dallas
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Total Sq Mi:240
Population As Of:2021
Population Total:2,500
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:CST
Utc Offset1:-6:00
Timezone1 Dst:CDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:-5:00

Lakewood Heights is a residential neighborhood in Dallas, Texas (USA), bounded by Abrams Road to the east, Monticello Avenue to the north (not McCommas, as incorrectly shown on Google Maps), Skillman Street to the west, and Richmond Avenue to the south.[1] It located in East Dallas. Lakewood Heights is approximately one-half mile (0.8 km) wide (east-west) and three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) long (north-south). It covers approximately or slightly less than . It is adjacent to several East Dallas neighborhoods, including Lakewood, Lower Greenville, and Wilshire Heights.[2]

History

The area now comprising Lakewood Heights is part of three land grants made in the 1850s by the State of Texas to, respectively, Amon McCommas (Abstract 911); John McCommas, the son of Amon and Mary Brumfield McCommas (Abstract 943); and Allen Beard (Abstract 66).[3] Amon McCommas, his wife Mary Brumfield McCommas, and their nine children settled on this land in 1844.[4] McCommas Boulevard, just north of Lakewood Heights, is named for the McCommas family.[5] Beard's Branch, a creek draining into White Rock Lake east of Lakewood Heights, may have been named for Allen Beard.

The first platted portion of current-day Lakewood Heights, comprising one and one-half blocks then known as "Llano Place," ran from the north side of Llano Street to the north side of Vickery (then known as "Price") between Norris and Clements. This area was platted in 1913.[6] The next portion, abutting Llano Place on the south and running from the south side of Llano Street to Richmond Avenue between present-day Skillman (then named "Railman") and present-day Abrams (then, "Old Greenville Road") was platted[7] in 1914[8] [9] and was annexed to the City of Dallas in 1923.[10] Development was substantially completed by 1940,[8] although a few streets date from 1949-50. Building lot sizes typically are 50- wide and 140- deep.[11] As a neighborhood, Lakewood Heights predates neighboring Lakewood, as shown by aerial photographs of the area taken in 1923.[12] A 1919 street map shows that the first streets platted were those between Llano Avenue on the north and Richmond on the south.[13]

Demographics

Lakewood Heights comprises portions of Dallas County census tracts 2.01 and 11.02 [14] in the 2020 U.S. federal census. According to D Magazine (citing Nielsen SiteReports and samplings based on most recent U.S. census estimates),[15] in 2021, the approximate population of Lakewood Heights was 2,500 people; the neighborhood contained approximately 1,125 households; the average household size was 2.21 persons; 65.3% of homes were owner-occupied; and the median value of owner-occupied homes was $408,067.

Education

Lakewood Heights is in the Dallas Independent School District attendance zones for:[16] Geneva Heights Elementary School (most),[17] Mockingbird Elementary School (some),[18] J.L. Long Middle School (all),[19] and Woodrow Wilson High School (all).[20]

Government

It is part of Dallas City Council District 14.[21]

Parks and recreation

Tietze Park, a public park owned and operated by the city of Dallas, is located on the western edge of Lakewood Heights on Skillman Avenue between Llano and Vanderbilt Streets. The park was acquired in 1924 by the City of Dallas. It is named after W.R. Tietze, who was Dallas' Superintendent of Parks from 1896-1933. The park contains a sandstone picnic pavilion dating from 1934, a community swimming pool, lighted baseball field, tennis court, basketball court, serpentine walking/jogging paths, other recreation and picnic areas,[22] and more than 75 red oak, live oak, and cedar trees, and a few “kneeling” bois d'arc trees, which are said to predate the park by 50 years or more.[23] The Friends of Tietze Park Foundation is a registered nonprofit organization whose mission is the improvement, preservation and continued beautification of Tietze Park.[24] In 2009, Preservation Dallas[25] recognized the Friends of Tietze Park Foundation with a preservation achievement medal for the Best Rehabilitation of a Historic Landscape or Park.[26]

Richard Sheffield, a resident, in an article in D Magazine, wrote that the park "has been a neighborhood staple for years and has provided countless hours of entertainment to local residents."[27]

Neighborhood Association

The Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association,[28] a voluntary association of neighborhood residents, sponsors several events through the year, including a Halloween pumpkin-decorating party, an Easter Egg Hunt, a free-admission day at the neighborhood swimming pool, and a concert and cookout on the national Neighborhood Night Out.

External links

32.821°N -96.758°W

Notes and References

  1. http://lakewoodheights.org Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association
  2. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/dallas-neighborhood-map Dallas Neighborhoods Map (#176)
  3. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4033d.la000946/?r=0.462,0.478,0.152,0.076,0 Sam Street's Map of Dallas County, 1900
  4. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20932/m1/1056/?q=Mccommas Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas, p. 960
  5. http://www.therestorationmovement.com/_states/texas/mccommas.htm History of the Restoration Movement
  6. https://dallaslibrary2.org/dallashistory/murphyandbolanz/Block6/bb6p263.php Dallas Public Library-Murphy & Bolanz Block Books-Dallas County 1880-1920 - Block Book 6, Page 263
  7. https://dallaslibrary2.org/dallashistory/murphyandbolanz/Block6/bb6p227.php Dallas Public Library-Murphy & Bolanz Block Books-Dallas County 1880-1920 - Block Book 6, Page 227
  8. http://www.preservationdallas.org/neighborhoods/lakewood-heights Preservation Dallas
  9. https://flashbackdallas.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/1914_lakewood-heights-ad_050314.jpg Flashback: Dallas, 'Ghost Rails of the Belmont Streetcar Line' (note: 'North' is on the right side of this image, and the street car is traveling on present-day Matilda Ave.)
  10. Dallas Morning News, March 15, 1923, page 13
  11. http://dcadmaps.dallascad.org/website/dcad Dallas Central Appraisal District Maps
  12. http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/gcd/id/1694/rec/2 Photo: East Dallas-1923-Degolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (Looking generally east: White Rock Lake at top; Swiss Avenue running from right center diagonally to bottom right corner; present-day Abrams Road running from middle of left edge to center of image; and Lakewood Heights west of Abrams (i.e., below Abrams in the image). Note the two massive water tanks, a/k/a standpipes, on Abrams at present-day Goliad.
  13. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth190699/m1/1/zoom/?q=dallas&resolution=1&lat=7661.958365907209&lon=5944.944170427802 1919 Map and Guide of Dallas & Suburbs (On the map, Perkins Ave is now Velasco; Gorman: Palo Pinto; Sinex: Lakeshore; Aqueduct: Goliad; Lakewood: Belmont; Withers: Skillman; Jane: Alderson.)
  14. https://data.census.gov/map?g=1400000US48113000201,48113001102&layer=VT_2021_140_00_PY_D1&mode=selection&loc=32.8269,-96.7622,z12.9496 2020 Census Tract Map
  15. http://neighborhoods.dmagazine.com/dallas/east-dallas/lakewood-heights/ D Magazine neighborhood guide for Lakewood Heights
  16. Web site: Lakewood Heights. D Magazine. 2020-05-06. - Check the boundary map attached and compare it to the DISD boundary maps.
  17. Web site: 2019-20 Geneva Heights Elementary Attendance Zone Grades PK-5. Dallas Independent School District. 2019-10-21.
  18. Web site: 2019-20 Mockingbird Elementary Attendance Zone Grades PK-5. Dallas Independent School District. 2019-10-21.
  19. Web site: 2019-20 J.L. Long Middle Attendance Zone Grades 6-8. Dallas Independent School District. 2019-10-21.
  20. Web site: 2019-20 Woodrow Wilson High Attendance Zone Grades 9-12. Dallas Independent School District. 2019-10-21.
  21. http://dallascityhall.com/government/citycouncil/district14/Pages/default.aspx/ Dallas City Council District Maps
  22. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tietze-park-dallas/ Photos of Tietze Park on Yelp
  23. http://tietzepark.weebly.com/park-history.html/ Friends of Tietze Park Foundation
  24. http://tietzepark.weebly.com/park-history.html/ Ibid.
  25. http://www.preservationdallas.org/ Preservation Dallas
  26. http://tietzepark.weebly.com Friends of Tietze Park Foundation
  27. Web site: Why I Love Lakewood Heights . . 2015-09-04. 2020-05-06.
  28. http://www.lakewoodheights.org/ Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association