Is Dallas A Beautiful City?

[MidtownCoog]

And is Los Colinas in Dallas?

Westchase and the EC are in Houston.

[banking214]

And is Los Colinas in Dallas?

Westchase and the EC are in Houston.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I consider anything within a 20 minute drive of the CBD a part of any city.

Houston has suburbs and areas it annexes. Dallas is just a bunch of cities surrounded by other cities.

[HOUCAJUN]

In my opinion, that's your problem.

[kzseattle]

I visited Dallas alot growing up, but haven't visited it that much since i moved here. i really didn't notice or care about the things i reported in my post until i became a member of this forum.... whether it's good or bad, i don't know. I've noticed that when people describe Dallas as pretty or cleaner , they are usually refering to areas way north and out of the city limits like Plano,frisco, etc.... plano is nice, but so is the Woodlands and kingwood.Look, Houston is far from perfect, but even my

[HOUCAJUN]

You're right. If people based Houston's beauty by the way the woodlands and kingwood looks. we are beautiful.

[RaiderDude]

I agree with you Kzseattle. If only people would venture off the freeways and see what Houston is all about.

[brijonmang]

good point kz...i agree...many outsiders dont look beyond the gritty parts of town, i dont know why but its a double standard so to speak...you hear nothing but good for cities like LA Chicago NY etc...yet for the "lower echelon" cities such as Houston, Dallas, Detroit etc...you hear about crime levels traffic problems pollution and just hate from ignorant people in general...thats what ticks me off...

(by lower echelon I mean that Houston Dallas and Detroit are smaller, less world-renown cities...we all know that they are actually world-class)

[brijonmang]

ok ok...maybe not "world-class" but these cities do reserve a lot more respect from those who do not live in them

[Gary]

I would say that Las Colinas is very similiar to Westchase District or Energy Corridor.  The Galleria area is basically the same as Houston's, sans the Transco as I still call it.  You also have other clusters of buildings just like you will find in any other major city.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Did I understand it correctly when you said that Dallas's Galleria (buildings) was just like Houstons? If so you would be incorrect. Houston's is far larger in every way. If I misunderstood, I apologize.

One thing I love is getting on 288 from 610 going North, the view is awesome. You see Uptown, Greenway plaza, Med Center and downtown all together. As much as I've traveled I know of no other skyline view in the country that rivals it save New York or Chicago. It just looks huge. I've never understood why nobody has done a panoramic view of that shot.

Dallas is a cool city but I have noticed that they are not taking the same care of the freeways as they did when I first started visiting (about 8 years). I am deffinately impressed with Midtown Big D, they have done alot with it over the last few years. Being so close to Downtown also has some big advantages and if they do it right they could have a pretty cool place, you know one big downtown.

I understand an interstate rivalry and I hear as many Dallasites pushing Dallas as much as the Houston people push Houston. Being an outsider I think both cities are cool and have a lot to be proud of. That being said I personally prefer Houston as a city because of it's big city feel.

[slfunk]

I am deffinately impressed with Midtown Big D, they have done alot with it over the last few years. Being so close to Downtown also has some big advantages and if they do it right they could have a pretty cool place, you know one big downtown.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just a side note. The midtown you are thinking of is actually uptown. Dallas does not have an area called midtown. The areas that surround downtown are Uptown, Victory, Deep Ellum and the Trinty River.

[kzseattle]

____. Let's face it, the "nice" parts i think Houston has is uptown, medical center, woodlands, & NASA

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, my list of "nice" parts of Houston area is a bit larger. It include neighborhoods along Memorial and Briar Forest/San Felipe, Uptown, most of the western half of inner loop (which include River Oaks, Montrose, West U, Rice U area, Heights etc), Sugarland, Woodlands, Kingwood and Clear Lake. And these are only those areas that I have seen. Still, they make up a very large land mass together. The western half of inner loop alone is about 50 square miles, if I am not mistaken (assuming inner loop

[yall_are_nutty]

the biggest difference between dallas and houston is cultural......

this has changed somewhat as much of dallas is now inhabited by people not from this area, but the old culture still lingers. small towney, shallow, materialistic, extreme self consciousness and inferiority complex, bible belty, small mindedness, social legalism, etc. etc.. picture someone in a small town high school getting up and worrying every morning about exactly what they'll wear or say or how they'll act and false image they need to project in order to be in the "in" crowd.. that is dallas.

now, the vast majority of you who read this are young, hip folks and you're probably totally unaware of this culture...... that's good. maybe it will die out someday. there are countless articles describing this in various ways. if you're older and you've lived in Dallas for a long time (10-20 years) and then lived elsewhere, you probably know what I'm talking about.

also, those of you from dallas who think this is some houston problem with bashing dallas. LOLOL. you have not lived in dallas long enough or you are too young. that's great that the younger set doesn't have the knee jerk sneer at Houston that prevailed for decades. (lots of reasons for this, too boring to go into) mind you, older rich Dallasites tend to love Houston as most rich people i've met tend to. (they all have fond memories from the 70s).

[Metro Matt]

I would say that Las Colinas is very similiar to Westchase District or Energy Corridor.  The Galleria area is basically the same as Houston's, sans the Transco as I still call it.  You also have other clusters of buildings just like you will find in any other major city.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Dallas Galleria skyline doesn't even begin to compare with Houston's Uptown/Galleria skyline. Is this a joke or something?

Dallas Galleria skyline:

3 Galleria Tower - 354 ft

1 Galleria Tower - 331 ft

2 Galleria Tower - 325 ft

The Westin - 22 floors

Houston Uptown/Galleria skyline:

Williams Tower - 901 ft (21 ft shorter than Dallas' tallest skyscraper)

San Felipe Plaza - 625 ft

Marathon Oil Tower - 562 ft

Four Leaf Towers I - 444 ft

Four Leaf Towers II - 444 ft

Aon Tower - 420 ft

Mercer West Tower - 400 ft

1200 Post Oak - 359 ft

BHP Tower - 351 ft

Wells Fargo Tower - 351 ft

Dominion Post Oak - 351 ft

The Mark - 349 ft

Galleria I - 333 ft

Montebelo - 331 ft

The list goes on with many more 200-300 footers in the vicinity...

[SpaceAge]

I have been to Dallas many times including twice within the last nine months. Overall, it seems like the typical city of its size. It has a few nice areas, lots of dull areas and plenty of very depressed areas.

As for the nice areas, the SMU/ Highland Park area has to be tops. I was surprised that HP contains a much wider cross section of housing prices- even West University "tear down types"- compared to River Oaks which is 90% very high end. North of HP seems nice too. Seems like there is not as much tearing down and replacing with McMansions there when compared to Houston.

We went to the Uptown area. Seemed very cramped and compacted. The worst part of this area was a new part called West Village. It is nothing but a huge 8 or 9 level parking garage surrounded by a ring of faux styled, mixed use three to five story buildings with retail and restaurants on the ground floors and offices and residential above. The circulation for pedestrians and vehicles was poor at best. Tiny streets packed with cars barely moving and narrow sidewalks with dangerous interaction with the parking garage. Architecture was junk. We ate at a Noodle place. Very trendy interior but was dusty and greasy. Food was good but TINY portions. People were FAKE and sissy. I wanted to go into some of the stores but my friend said we had to get out of that artificial area immediately after we ate.

We then discovered the Lakewood area. It is beautiful and real! I thought things east of N. Central Expressway were not too good but I was wrong. Is that considered a good area? It looked like a place I would love to live. It seems to be a late 1940's suburban development with curving lanes and all original housing- no McMansions. Does the zoning there help prevent McMansions?

Another thing that makes Dallas look nice is some of the shopping centers don't have giant parking lots out front. The stores have entrances on two sides with smaller parking areas on each side. Even the Target is like that- complete with check-out lanes on both sides of the store. Is that part of the zoning rules?

One unfortunate result of zoning is the long stretches of monotonous streets. Seems like you drive and drive into boredom there as lots of mediocre places look all the same. Area south and east of White Rock Lake was mostly very depressed.

IH-45 turns into the North Central Expressway in Dallas. It looks like they spent billions on upgrading it but it already looks very outdated. It must have been designed in the 1980's and it took so long to complete, it now seems old. It seems to give the area an out-dated feel. I really HATED being down in there too. It is all below grade with tall walls at the edge of the roadway. You cannot see any of the landmarks and it is very claustrophobic. I am glad they decided not to do that to IH-10 in Houston even though the proposal drawings of that look horrible too.

Last summer when I visited Dallas, the mayor was shown on the local news inviting everyone downtown to his festival to bring life back to downtown. They showed the event on the next morning news. It looked very small town and low budget. The downtown there is in much worse shape than Houston. It still seems to have a 1970's feel to it. They need to re-do all their pedestrian areas like Houston has.

The Dallas parks system has been allowed to fall apart over the last 20 years due to the city's budget crisis and recession. It has only been about two years since the city has been able to update its 20 or 30 year old parks master plan. They have some big plans but have a long way to go. Houston's parks seem to be in slightly better shape.

I like to visit estate sales and thrift stores in other cities You can see the real people and their homes. The people in Dallas seem to be, I hate to admit, possibly a bit friendlier overall than here. It may be that they are desperate to be liked while all the new people moving to Houston seem to be making it a lot less friendly. The aliens in Dallas seem to be better educated and more polite. The second-hand shopping in Dallas is better than Houston. Dallas has greater quantities of better quality items.

There are not enough outstanding areas or natural features in Dallas to consider it a beautiful city however it seems generally adequate. The winters in Dallas are far browner than in Houston.

[slfunk]

the biggest difference between dallas and houston is cultural......

this has changed somewhat as much of dallas is now inhabited by people not from this area, but the old culture still lingers.

[rantanamo]

We went to the Uptown area. Seemed very cramped and compacted. The worst part of this area was a new part called West Village. It is nothing but a huge 8 or 9 level parking garage surrounded by a ring of faux styled, mixed use three to five story buildings with retail and restaurants on the ground floors and offices and residential above. The circulation for pedestrians and vehicles was poor at best. Tiny streets packed with cars barely moving and narrow sidewalks with dangerous interaction with the parking garage. Architecture was junk. We ate at a Noodle place. Very trendy interior but was dusty and greasy. Food was good but TINY portions. People were FAKE and sissy. I wanted to go into some of the stores but my friend said we had to get out of that artificial area immediately after we ate.

bahdabahbaba...I'm lovin' it.

fair critcism of the West Village, though the parking garage is nowhere near that. As for the cramped and compacted, thank you!! The last part was hilarious, as if that's something exclusive to Dallas.

[utdal]

The Dallas Galleria skyline doesn't even begin to compare with Houston's Uptown/Galleria skyline.

[rantanamo]

Addison Airport restricts everything around it as well. That's why Platinum Corridor Highrises are shorter. Thank goodness the stuff isn't tall though. There's already enough of a glut up there. That office space needs to be downtown or Uptown, not lining the Dallas North Tollway

[Heights2Bastrop]

I can

[713 To 214]

also, those of you from dallas who think this is some houston problem with bashing dallas. LOLOL.  you have not lived in dallas long enough or you are too young.  that's great that the younger set doesn't have the knee jerk sneer at Houston that prevailed for decades. (lots of reasons for this, too boring to go into)  mind you, older rich Dallasites tend to love Houston as most rich people i've met tend to.  (they all have fond memories from the 70s).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you "Father Time" for your anthology of thoughts on this issue. I found it quite entertaining.

[SpaceAge]

It seems the Uptown area of Dallas, similar to what the Midtown area of Houston is becoming, is a location for developers to pass-off poorly designed and constructed apartment complexes at ever increasing, unpleasant densities. Developers are making a lot of money and leaving the area with junk.

They are able to sell these by marketing the concept as new and hip. These areas would become valued and cherished if they were built to higher standards but as they are, they will have to be rebuilt in 20 years, if they even last that long.

Hopefully, these quasi-urban Texas environments will evolve into something of value. The concept has the potential to become pleasing and is needed due to changing fuel availability. Presently, these areas leave a lot to be desired. The public must refuse to settle for this junk and demand more.

[Gary]

Just a side note.  The midtown you are thinking of is actually uptown.  Dallas does not have an area called midtown.  The areas that surround downtown are Uptown, Victory, Deep Ellum and the Trinty River.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry, your right. It was a late night.

[713 To 214]

It seems the Uptown area of Dallas, similar to what the Midtown area of Houston is becoming, is a location for developers to pass-off poorly designed and constructed apartment complexes at ever increasing, unpleasant densities.  Developers are making a lot of money and leaving the area with junk.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am curious. What is the source of information that you relied on to draw the conclusion that these apartment complexes (and condos) are "poorly designed and constructed?"

[banking214]

The Dallas Galleria skyline doesn't even begin to compare with Houston's Uptown/Galleria skyline.  Is this a joke or something?

Dallas Galleria skyline:

3 Galleria Tower - 354 ft

1 Galleria Tower - 331 ft

2 Galleria Tower - 325 ft

The Westin - 22 floors

Houston Uptown/Galleria skyline:

Williams Tower - 901 ft (21 ft shorter than Dallas' tallest skyscraper)

San Felipe Plaza - 625 ft

Marathon Oil Tower - 562 ft

Four Leaf Towers I - 444 ft

Four Leaf Towers II - 444 ft

Aon Tower - 420 ft

Mercer West Tower - 400 ft

1200 Post Oak - 359 ft

BHP Tower - 351 ft

Wells Fargo Tower - 351 ft

Dominion Post Oak - 351 ft

The Mark - 349 ft

Galleria I - 333 ft

Montebelo - 331 ft

The list goes on with many more 200-300 footers in the vicinity...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess you did not read my post clearly. I did state that Dallas has nothing like Transco Tower in its Galleria area. There are many buildings around the Galleria area of Dallas that people from outside Dallas don't pay much attention to.

[banking214]

I have been to Dallas many times including twice within the last nine months.  Overall, it seems like the typical city of its size.  It has a few nice areas, lots of dull areas and plenty of very depressed areas.

As for the nice areas, the SMU/ Highland Park area has to be tops.  I was surprised that HP contains a much wider cross section of housing prices- even West University "tear down types"- compared to River Oaks which is 90% very high end.  North of HP seems nice too.  Seems like there is not as much tearing down and replacing with McMansions there when compared to Houston.

We went to the Uptown area.  Seemed very cramped and compacted.  The worst part of this area was a new part called West Village.  It is nothing but a huge 8 or 9 level parking garage surrounded by a ring of faux styled, mixed use three to five story buildings with retail and restaurants on the ground floors and offices and residential above.  The circulation for pedestrians and vehicles was poor at best.  Tiny streets packed with cars barely moving and narrow sidewalks with dangerous interaction with the parking garage.  Architecture was junk.  We ate at a Noodle place.  Very trendy interior but was dusty and greasy.  Food was good but TINY portions.  People were FAKE and sissy.  I wanted to go into some of the stores but my friend said we had to get out of that artificial area immediately after we ate.

We then discovered the Lakewood area.  It is beautiful and real!  I thought things east of N. Central Expressway were not too good but I was wrong.  Is that considered a good area?  It looked like a place I would love to live. It seems to be a late 1940's suburban development with curving lanes and all original housing- no McMansions.  Does the zoning there help prevent McMansions?

Another thing that makes Dallas look nice is some of the shopping centers don't have giant parking lots out front.  The stores have entrances on two sides with smaller parking areas on each side.  Even the Target is like that- complete with check-out lanes on both sides of the store.  Is that part of the zoning rules?

One unfortunate result of zoning is the long stretches of monotonous streets.  Seems like you drive and drive into boredom there as lots of mediocre places look all the same.  Area south and east of White Rock Lake was mostly very depressed.

IH-45 turns into the North Central Expressway in Dallas.  It looks like they spent billions on upgrading it but it already looks very outdated.  It must have been designed in the 1980's and it took so long to complete, it now seems old.  It seems to give the area an out-dated feel.  I really HATED being down in there too.  It is all below grade with tall walls at the edge of the roadway.  You cannot see any of the landmarks and it is very claustrophobic.  I am glad they decided not to do that to IH-10 in Houston even though the proposal drawings of that look horrible too.

Last summer when I visited Dallas, the mayor was shown on the local news inviting everyone downtown to his festival to bring life back to downtown. They showed the event on the next morning news.  It looked very small town and low budget.  The downtown there is in much worse shape than Houston.  It still seems to have a 1970's feel to it.  They need to re-do all their pedestrian areas like Houston has.

The Dallas parks system has been allowed to fall apart over the last 20 years due to the city's budget crisis and recession.  It has only been about two years since the city has been able to update its 20 or 30 year old parks master plan.  They have some big plans but have a long way to go.  Houston's parks seem to be in slightly better shape.

I like to visit estate sales and thrift stores in other cities  You can see the real people and their homes. The people in Dallas seem to be, I hate to admit, possibly a bit friendlier overall than here.  It may be that they are desperate to be liked while all the new people moving to Houston seem to be making it a lot less friendly.  The aliens in Dallas seem to be better educated and more polite.  The second-hand shopping in Dallas is better than Houston.  Dallas has greater quantities of better quality items.

There are not enough outstanding areas or natural features in Dallas to consider it a beautiful city however it seems generally adequate.  The winters in Dallas are far browner than in Houston.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Uptown area of Dallas, while compact and congested is what gives it an urban feel. You think driving in compact areas like lower Westheimer are not the same. Yes, it can have an aura of pretention, you find this is ever major city. I would not say that the people are "fake", this is a generalization on your part. I grew up in Houston and spent my college years in Austin at every dive bar and coffee shop you could think of. I shop and eat in West Village atleat two times per week. In most cases I am in shorts, t shirt and flip flops.

Yes, Lakewood kicks it, I live in Hollywood Heights that is predominately smaller tudor style homes built in the 40's. I would not trade the friendly, neighborhood feel for a moment.

[Metro Matt]

The Galleria area is basically the same as Houston's, sans the Transco as I still call it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You said the Dallas Galleria area is basically the same as Houston's Galleria area, that is NOT true, that is what you stated in your previous post. Either I misunderstood you, or you're just flat out too ignorant to admit you were wrong.

[Metro Matt]

Dallas has many features Houston doesn

[slfunk]

Houston has palm trees, Dallas doesn't 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well actually we do, but they require special care at first, lots of nurturing, and far and few between. I think its one of the funniest looking things having lots of Live Oaks, Maples, Sweet Gums, Cotton Woods and then BAM there's a Palm tree looking out of place.

[banking214]

You said the Dallas Galleria area is basically the same as Houston's Galleria area, that is NOT true, that is what you stated in your previous post.  Either I misunderstood you, or you're just flat out too ignorant to admit you were wrong.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are way too serious. I have a few Valium if you need them.

There are plenty off office towers in and around the Galleria Dallas. You drive up the street and you have more buildings. Drive up Post Oak, more buildings. Same thing. Houston does have taller buildings in the general area, and as far as I am concerned, a better Galleria.

[Metro Matt]

Well actually we do, but they require special care at first, lots of nurturing, and far and few between.  I think its one of the funniest looking things having lots of Live Oaks, Maples, Sweet Gums, Cotton Woods and then BAM there's a Palm tree looking out of place.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, those palm trees don't exactly look at home planted in that black North Texas praire soil.