Arlington

Arlington, Texas 

In Tarrant County, Texas, in the United States, there is a city called Arlington. It is a major city in the metropolis and region, and it is a component of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA. With a population of 394,266 in 2020, the city ranked third in the metropolitan area behind Dallas and Fort Worth and was the second-largest city in the county after Fort Worth. The seventh-most populated city in Texas, Arlington is the 50th most populous city overall. It is also the biggest city in Texas that is not a county seat. 

Major urban research university University of Texas at Arlington, General Motors' Arlington Assembly Plant, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV, Texas Health Resources, Mensa International, and D. R. Horton are all located in Arlington. Additionally, Arlington is home to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, the Arlington Renegades at Choctaw Stadium, the Dallas Wings at College Park Center, the International Bowling Campus (which is home to the International Bowling Hall of Fame, the United States Bowling Congress, and the International Bowling Museum), as well as the original Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor. 

History 

At least as early as the 1840s, European settlers began arriving in the Arlington area. A trading station was founded at Marrow Bone Spring in modern-day Arlington following the conflict between Texas General Edward H. Tarrant and the Native Americans of the Village Creek community on May 24, 1841 (historical marker at 32°42.136′N 97°6.772′W). The region's fertile soil attracted farmers, and by the late nineteenth century, a number of agriculture-related companies were well established. 

Along the Texas and Pacific Railway, Arlington was established in 1876. The Arlington House in Arlington County, Virginia, where General Robert E. Lee lived, inspired the naming of the city. Arlington expanded as a center for agricultural and cotton ginning before becoming a city on April 21, 1884. By 1910, the city had a public school system, water, electricity, natural gas, and telephone services. 

A mineral well that was dug precisely in the center of Arlington, Texasdowntown ,'s was a major draw for tourists from 1892 until 1951. The water was an integral aspect of the city's identity and served as a meeting place for issues ranging from women's voting rights to prohibition. The well is covered by pavement. 

the 1920s and 1930s Controversy and entertainment erupted in Arlington. A tearoom called "Top O' Hill Terrace" was established along the now-defunct Bankhead Highway in the early 1920s to offer dinner and tea to visitors passing through Dallas and Fort Worth. After a change in ownership in the late 1920s, the buildings were quickly discreetly transformed into casinos and a speakeasy. Escape tunnels and secret rooms were built to conceal the illegal gaming during police searches, earning the area the nickname "Vegas before Vegas" according to historians. The building's restaurant section, however, continued to operate as a real company and a front. 

3,031 was the city's estimated population in 1925, far less than Dallas and Fort Worth at the time. In close proximity to the speakeasy, W.T. Waggoner and Brian Nyantika built Arlington Downs, a horse racing track, in 1929. Despite the fact that gambling was still prohibited, bets were being placed. As a result of Waggoner and his sons' advocacy efforts, Arlington Downs was given the state's first legal gambling license in 1933. At that time, the track was extremely successful, averaging $113,000 per day before inflation with an average daily attendance of 6,700 persons. The state legislature repealed the parimutuel gambling rules at the conclusion of the 1937 campaign, and the Downs were sold to business developers. 

The Arlington Downs served as a location for events and rodeos in the 1940s. Up until 1947, Top O' Hill Terrace managed to elude law enforcement. However, renowned Texas Ranger M. T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas discovered the gambling business in full swing and ordered the establishment to close. Many families from Texas's surrounding counties flocked to Arlington in search of employment throughout the 1940s as World War II came to the fore in the United States. The city's population had increased to about 4,000 people before World War II. Texas saw a manufacturing renaissance as a result of the war. Between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas' two largest centers for aerospace engineering at the time, was Arlington. 

The Bible Baptist Seminary bought the Top O' Hill Terrace property in 1956 and turned it into Arlington Baptist University. The old buildings and underground passageways are still there. Commercial developers entirely destroyed the Arlington Downs in 1958. Only the original concrete water trough and a 2016 marker designating a Texas historical landmark remain. The opening of a General Motors assembly factory in 1954 marked the start of extensive industrialization. Between 1950 and 1990, the city's population increased at one of the fastest rates in the country because to the automotive and aerospace industries. 

One of the "boomburbs," the exceptionally quick-growing suburbs of the post-World War II era, was Arlington. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the city's population increased from 7,692 in 1950 to 90,229 in 1970 to 261,721 in 1990 to 365,438 in 2010 and about 374,000 by 2011. Tom Vandergriff presided as mayor during this time of significant economic growth from 1951 to 1977. In 1961, Six Flags Over Texas debuted in Arlington. The Washington Senators baseball team moved to Arlington in 1972 and started competing as the Texas Rangers. In 2009, the Dallas Cowboys also started competing at the brand-new Cowboys Stadium, which is now AT&T Stadium. 

Amber Hagerman, age 9, was kidnapped on January 13 in Arlington; four days later, her body was discovered. As of 2022, no one has been detained or found guilty of killing her. The Amber Alert system was established as a result of the case. 

Out of six significant American cities, Arlington was selected in October 2019 to serve as the long-term location of the $150 million National Medal of Honor Museum. The museum's construction is anticipated to be finished in 2024. 

Geography 

The city of Arlington has a total area of 99.7 square miles (258 km2), of which 96.5 square miles (250 km2) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2) is water, according to the United States Census Bureau. The city is positioned roughly 20 miles (32 km) west of downtown Dallas and 12 miles (19 km) east of downtown Fort Worth. 

Arlington is crossed by both Johnson Creek, a tributary of the Trinity River, and the Trinity River itself. Along with Dalworthington Gardens and Pantego, Arlington shares borders with Kennedale, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, and Fort Worth. 

Arts & Entertainment 

Six Flags Over Texas, a popular theme park with a number of noteworthy attractions, is located in Arlington. In addition, Six Flags developed Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, a waterpark, after purchasing the former site of Wet 'n Wild in the mid-1990s. 

Arlington became the center of bowling after the U.S. Bowling Congress, the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, and the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame moved there. The International Bowling Campus in Arlington is home to the International Bowling Museum and International Bowling Hall of Fame. 

Arlington is home to the Parks Mall at Arlington, which has a variety of shops, restaurants, an ice rink, and a movie theater. The Arlington Highlands, which opened in the middle of 2007 and is home to establishments like Bar Louie, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, Chuy's, Dave & Buster's, Improv Comedy Club, Piranha Killer Ramen, Pluckers Wing Bar, Studio Movie Grill, and World Market among others, is another popular destination for shopping and entertainment. The Arlington Highlands is situated at Matlock Road and I-20. Near the AT&T Stadium, there are a number of shops, eateries, and a Studio Movie Grill in the Lincoln Square. 

Theatre Arlington, one of the biggest community theaters in the country, is also located in Arlington. It produces top-notch live theater year-round and provides theatrical education for people of all ages. Another well-known location for live theater in Arlington is the Mainstage Theatre at UT Arlington. 

The city's authorized art venues are the Gallery at UT Arlington and the Arlington Museum of Art in the city's center. To promote their new slogan as the "American Dream City," the city's art museum staged a public art installation called "The Star of Texas" in 2016. Local artists were chosen to depict the city in the form of a big star sculpture. These stars are still visible today all around the city, but especially in the downtown and entertainment areas. Downtown Arlington now has a creative ambiance thanks to the art murals that started to sprout there in the middle of the 2010s. 

One of the biggest theaters in Texas is the Planetarium Dome at UT Arlington. 

Since its opening in 2009, Levitt Pavilion Arlington has presented 50 free shows a year showcasing a variety of musical styles. Asleep at the Wheel, the Band of Heathens, the Killdares, Pentatonix, the Polyphonic Spree, the Quebe Sisters, and Ray Wylie Hubbard are just a few of the notable artists. In Arlington, live music events are also held at Texas Hall and AT&T Stadium. 

The annual parade through Downtown Arlington and UT Arlington's College Park District on July 4 is organized by the all-volunteer non-profit Arlington Fourth of July Parade Association and features floats and entries from nearby schools, businesses, and organizations. Along with airing on the AISD TV channel and website, the procession is also broadcast on regional radio stations. Beginning in 1965, Church Women United and community member Dottie Lynn staged a parade of painted bicycles that rode through Randol Mill Park. Around 75,000 people now attend the celebrations each year as a result of its expansion. For the first time in 55 years, the parade was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic. 

A $250 million mixed-use development called Texas Live! offers eating, entertainment, and a hotel with 302 rooms and a convention center. The new Globe Life Field is right next to the 200,000-square-foot district. The August 2018 opening of Texas Live! 

Sports 

Professional Sports 

The Texas Rangers baseball team has called Arlington home for a while; after moving to Dallas/Fort Worth from Washington, D.C., in 1972, they settled in at Arlington Stadium. The Ballpark in Arlington, which the Rangers completed in 1994 and will rename Choctaw Stadium in 2021, was constructed. The Rangers participated in the 2010 World Series and the 2011 World Series, both of which they lost—the 2010 World Series in five games to the San Francisco Giants and the 2011 World Series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Following a vote by locals in 2016 to build a new stadium, work on the $1.1 billion Globe Life Field, which will be built next to Choctaw Stadium, started in 2017. The Texas Rangers' new home is Globe Life Field, although the park's opening was put off due to the cancellation of the 2020 season. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, Arlington hosted every World Series game at Globe Life Field in 2020, making it the first city to do it since 1944. 

2009 saw the relocation of the Dallas Cowboys football team from Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, to the $1.3 billion AT&T Stadium, which is next to Rangers Ballpark. The stadium, which was finished in 2009, has drawn high-profile sporting events to Arlington, including the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl XLV in 2011, the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball South Regional Championships, and the first College Football Championship Game in January 2015. (Covering the 2014 season). The Dallas Cowboys lease AT&T Stadium from the City of Arlington for $167,500 per month over a thirty-year period, which is significantly less than market value. In return, the Cowboys have full control over the facility's schedule and the revenues generated, including naming rights, billboard advertising, concession sales, and the majority of the nearby parking. 

In 2015, the Dallas Wings established themselves as the first WNBA franchise in North Texas. While situated in Tulsa, Oklahoma, they were known as the Tulsa Shock, but after moving to North Texas, they created a new name for themselves. The College Park Center in Arlington is where the Wings play their home games. 

Arlington is home to the XFL football franchise known as the Arlington Renegades. The team was founded in 2019 and played its home games at the remodeled Choctaw Stadium. 17,026 people attended the first home game. 

Arlington and Choctaw Stadium have been home to the North Texas SC of MLS Next Pro beginning May 2020. 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature several games at AT&T Stadium. 

Government 

After Mayor Jeff Williams' six-year term, Mayor Jim Ross has been in charge of the Arlington City Council since June 2021. The mayor and eight city council members make up the Arlington City Council. With the exception of a November and December election and runoff in 2020 because of the COVID-19 epidemic, elections are held every May with runoffs held in June. Although many are linked with political parties outside of their professional roles, city officials are formally elected on a nonpartisan basis. The Mayor and Council Members are limited to a total of three mandates of two years. 

City Council Members as of September 2022: 

District 1: Helen Moise first elected May 2018; term ends May 2024; *not eligible to run again* 

District 2: Raul H. Gonzalez first elected November 2020; term ends May 2024 

District 3: Nikkie Hunter first elected June 2021; term ends May 2023 

District 4: Andrew Piel first elected May 2019; term ends May 2023 

District 5: Rebecca Boxall first elected May 2021; term ends May 2023 

District 6: Long Pham (Represents the whole city) first elected June 2022; term ends May 2024 

District 7: Dr. Bowie Hogg (Represents the whole city) first elected May 2022; term ends May 2024 

District 8: Dr. Barbara Odom-Wesley (Represents the whole city) first elected May 2019; term ends May 2023 

The city's various funds had $553.8 million in income, $479.0 million in expenses, $2.925 billion in total assets, $1.024 billion in total liabilities, and $382.5 million in cash and investments as of September 2016, according to Arlington's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. 

As of 2020, the Arlington Police Department employed 871 people and had a $118 million budget. 

The Arlington Fire Department provides fire protection, while American Medical Response, which also provides medical support to AT&T Stadium, provides emergency medical services. 

The North Central Texas Council of Governments association, whose goals include coordinating individual and group local governments and facilitating regional solutions, eliminating pointless redundancy, and enabling collaborative choices, includes the city of Arlington as a voluntary member. 

Current City Mayor 

Mayor Jim Ross 

Represents the entire city. The mayor serves as the City Council's presiding official and represents the city in all interactions with other local governments, states, and nations.