 
 | Bishop Arts District is a picturesque part of Oak Cliff. Oak Cliff was incorporated as a free standing city in 1890, and even though it was annexed to Dallas in 1903, its physical separation by the Trinity River always gave it a unique identity apart from Dallas. Oak Cliff spawned the likes of Batgirl and Stevie Rae Vaughn. It was the home of Lee Harvey Oswald and the Texas Theatre on Jefferson Blvd. where he was apprehended. It was during that time that segregation was forcefully ended and themiddle-class hauolis and many established businesses and chain stores fled the town. In the late 70s and 80s, houses and business leases were so cheap that a few brave entrepreneurs pioneered their way back in to Oak Cliff to find a strangely rich cultural shift had happened. The re-settling of the town was also spurred on by the skyrocketing fuel prices of that era...people wanting to shorten the commute to their jobs. In the 90s, a few artists and entrepreneurs opened up places in the Bishop Arts section of Oak Cliff, investing their own money, talent, and creativity in an effort to survive and renovate the old brick buildings on Bishop Street between Davis St. and 8th. The BA District continues to expand around the old trolley route. Big things are in the plans for the area and brave souls are investing their favorite dollars joining the little corps of one-of-a-kind, family-owned specialty shops, art galleries, and cafes and restaurants in the face of this so-called "greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression". We think history will look back on 2009 as the Great Deception.  |