Main Street District, Dallas


The Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas runs along Main Street and is bounded by Lamar Street, Elm Street, the US 75/I-45 elevated highway and Commerce Street. The district is the spine of downtown Dallas, and connects many of the adjoining business and entertainment districts.

About

Main Street has historically been the center of the city of Dallas. Many of Dallas' major retailers, hotels and banks once located here, and the district includes the city's early skyscrapers. Subsequent development of downtown moved north and east to the City Center District in following years, leaving many of the historic buildings inefficient for modern offices.
The Main Street District was the first district of downtown Dallas to experience extensive urban revival. Many of the grand historic buildings that had been neglected have been restored and adapted for new use. Pegasus Plaza, an urban plaza bounded by the Magnolia Hotel, Iron Cactus Restaurant, Adolphus Tower and the Kirby Building, is a gathering place for visitors and residents at the heart of the district. The narrow tree-lined street is a major pedestrian route through downtown. The district contains many sidewalk restaurants, basement night clubs and retail stores. While several of the buildings have found new life, there are many still awaiting restoration. Main Street Garden Park is a new focal park of the district's east end.
Commerce and Elm Streets, major east-west thoroughfares, form the boundaries of the district and also contain many additional landmark structures.

Completed projects

AddressBuilding
801El Centro College
901Bank of America Plaza
1200The Metropolitan
1201One Main Place
1309Davis Building
14071407 Main
1412Center City Plaza
1415 ElmChase Bank Building
1415 MainGulf States Building
1509 MainKirby Building
1530 MainDallas National Bank Building
1607 MainPraetorian Building
1623 MainWilson Building
1700 MainMercantile National Bank Building
1717 MainComerica Bank Tower
1900 ElmTitche-Goettinger Building
1933 MainDallas Hotel Indigo
106 S HarwoodDallas Municipal Building
1810 CommerceMercantile Continental Building
1618 MainNeiman Marcus Building

Education

The district is zoned to schools in the Dallas Independent School District.
Residents of the district west of Central are zoned to City Park Elementary School, Billy Earl Dade Middle School, and Madison High School. Residents east of Central are zoned to Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary School, Alex W. Spence Middle School, and North Dallas High School.
In the fall of 2014, the University of North Texas System opened the UNT College of Law in the Titche-Goettinger Building at 1900 Elm St. / 1901 Main St. After the completion of a $70 million dollar renovation in 2019, the law school moved to the former Dallas city hall on South Harwood Street next to Main Street Garden Park. the Beaux Arts style structure opened in 1914 and once held Lee Harvey Oswald but had slowly deteriorated iover the decades. As of 2020, the UNT College of Law is the only public law school in the City of Dallas.