The town survey of 1844 by J. P. Dumas placed the one-half-square-mile plat (about 54 blocks) roughly parallel to the Trinity River, about 15 degrees off the cardinal points. Later expansion to the north and south increased that angle to about 45 degrees, creating numerous inconvenient triangular sites, especially along Pacific Avenue. The Texas and Pacific Railway built along Pacific, which became concentrated with warehouses and factories, some of which remain in the West End Historic District (DS5). Today, downtown is constrained by elevated freeways on three sides and the Trinity River on the fourth. It is the focus of an expanding hub-and-spoke urban rail system, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the largest in the state (The Oglesby Group designed the transit stops).
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