The Cedars, Dallas, Texas

The Cedars is a district in south Dallas Texas (USA). It is adjacent to and south of downtown and Interstate 30, east of Austin Street, north of Corinth Street, and west of Harwood Street.HistoryThe Cedars was originally developed in the 1870s with moderately-priced homes, but by the late 19th century the neighborhood had become one of the premier destinations in Dallas, with stately Victorian homes belonging to wealthy businessmen, lawyers, and politicians dotting the streets. The Cedars was also the home of Dallas' Jewish community, and the neighborhood included the Shaareth Israel synagogue. (Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus fame was born in the Cedars.) By the early 20th century, however, light industry and growing population pressures had begun to take the bloom off the neighborhood's rose, and most of the city's wealthiest began to move further north to neighborhoods northeast of downtown. Even as industry, such as the Sears-Roebuck warehouse that now is home of the South Side on Lamarlofts, moved in, fine homes continued to be built, especially for well-to-do members of the Jewish community. But by the 1920s, the massive Victorians of the late 19th century were gone, the synagogue was demolished, and most people moved on. In the 1960s, virtually all of the remaining homes were destroyed by the city for highway projects. Today, only a scant handful of homes (perhaps as few as six) from the neighborhood's original residents survive, none in restored condition.