This historical commercial area remained active for many decades, but when the automobile replaced the railroad, the West End experienced the same decline and period of dis-investment that many of the downtown’s across the country faced in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The West End then captured international attention in 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza, focusing worldwide attention on the district. In the 1970’s, the City of Dallas took the initiative to name the West End District an historical landmark, saving it from future demolition and ultimately spurring major reinvestment and adaptive re-use of the historic warehouse structures in the early 1980’s.

Today, the West End is a nationally recognized entertainment district and major tourism anchor for the City of Dallas, attracting an estimated seven million people annually. These turn-of-the century warehouse buildings now represent one of the nation’s earliest and best examples of adaptive reuse in a pedestrian setting, offering a unique mix of museums, historical sites, and entertainment. This self-guided tour is designed to give you an overview of the West End Historic District by highlighting the history behind the red bricks of our early buildings.

Dallas is the top visitor destination in Texas. Last year over 2 million people came to experience Dallas art, music, recreation, clubs, sport, and shopping. With more restaurants per capita than even New York City, Dallas offers something for everyone. Unique retail, outlet, and mall shopping, coupled with the Galleria and the worldwide, downtown headquarters for Neiman Marcus put shopping in Dallas on a whole other level.

And getting from one sizzling hot spot to the next is as easy as can be with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). DART operates 7 days a week to provide Dallas (as well as many outlying communities) with safe and dependable bus, trolley, and light rail service.

With four times more restaurants per person than New York City and more shopping centers per capita than any other major United States city, it is no surprise that Dallas is the number one visitor and leisure destination in the state of Texas. Dallas restaurants serve everything from famous Texas barbeque to savory seafood and the shopping includes everything from major metropolitan malls to small specialty shops.

A "Texas Basement" is an attic area, often accessible though a closet or hallway on the second level of a home. More often, Texans' use a portion of the garage for storage. Mechanical equipment is usually small enough to fit in a closet since most heating is either natural gas or electric....no boilers or oil tanks are necessary.

Dallas' central U.S. location is equally close to North America's four largest business centers: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico City.

Dallas is located in the Central Time Zone, one hour behind the East Coast and two hours ahead of the West, which extends the working day for companies doing business on both coasts.

There are more than 140,000 businesses in the Dallas area and more than 5,000 corporate headquarters.

Dallas has no personal or corporate income tax, and no state property or unitary tax.

In 1997, Dallas ranked second in the number of Forbes 500 companies with 12 of the nations largest private firms headquartered in the city of Dallas and a total of 16 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

In 1997, Dallas ranked sixth in the number of Fortune 500 companies with 9 of the largest public firms headquartered in the city of Dallas and a total of 15 in the D/FW area.

According to site selection, the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area ranked number one in new facilities and expansions in 1996.

Dallas was named as the nation's "hotbed for relocation" in 1997, according to the Employee relocation council.

The Dallas/Fort Worth area is ranked second in the percentage of employees among the fastest growing companies. According to Cognetics, more than 14 percent of the area's total employment from 1993 to 1997 has been with companies that have at least doubled in size since 1992.

Dallas ranked fourth nationally among U.S. markets with the most relocations by business and government workers, according to a 1996 report by PHH Relocation.

Texas is a right-to-work state with approximately 6.6 percent unionized workers, only four other states have less unionization.

Obtain more information from the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1201 Elm Street, Suite 2000, Dallas, TX 75270. (214) 746-6677; FAX (214) 746-6688.