Irving, Texas

Irving (pronounced 'er-ving') is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated by the U.S. Census Bureau and colloquially referred to as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Irving contains the Las Colinas area, which was one of the first master-planned developments in the United States and once the largest mixed-use development in the Southwest with a land area of more than 12,000 acres (49 km²). Las Colinas includes the Mustangs at Las Colinas, which is the largest equestrian sculpture in the world. A 40 acre tract in Las Colinas is home to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, completed in January 2011.

The Dallas Cowboys played at the now-demolished Texas Stadium in Irving from 1971 to 2008. The city plans to build an extensive mixed-use project that spans State Highway 114 on the site. The lead developer is Forest City Enterprises, which is rehabilitating the old Mercantile complex in downtown Dallas into a Rockefeller Center-style mixed-use project.

Part of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which serves the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, is inside the city limits of Irving.

History
Irving was founded in 1903 by J.O. "Otto" Schulze and Otis Brown. It is believed that literary author Washington Irving was a favorite of Netta Barcus Brown, and consequently the name of the townsite, Irving, was chosen. Irving originally began in 1889 as an area called Gorbit, and in 1894 the name changed to Kit. Irving was incorporated April 14, 1914, with Otis Brown as the first mayor.

By the late nineteenth century the Irving area was the site of churches, two cotton gins, a blacksmith shop and a general store. The Irving district public school system dates back to the 1909 establishment of Kit and Lively schools. Population growth was slow and sometimes halting, with only 357 residents in 1925, but a significant increase began in the 1930s.

By the early 1960s the city had a population of approximately 45,000. A number of manufacturing plants operated in Irving, along with transportation, retail and financial businesses. The University of Dallas in Irving opened in 1956, and Texas Stadium was completed in 1971 as the home field of the Dallas Cowboys. Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed in Irving on August 2, 1985.

Irving's population reached 155,037 in 1990 and the 2010 Census counted 216,290 residents. Former Irving City Council member Mayor Herbert Gears was elected to a three-year term in June, 2005 and re-elected in May, 2008 defeating Roland Jeter and Rigo Reza.

Joseph Rice recorded the history of Irving in his 1989 book, Irving: A Texas Odyssey (Northridge, California: Windsor Publications ISBN 978-0897813006). Rice explored Irving's past and culture in his treatment of the city.

Geography
Irving is located at °N, °W (32.847128, -96.966255).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 67.7 square miles (175.3 km²), of which, 67.2 square miles (174.1 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²) of it (0.65%) is water.

Climate
Irving is considered to be part of the humid subtropical region.
 * On average, the warmest month is July.
 * The highest recorded temperature was 112°F in 1980.
 * The average coolest month is January.
 * The lowest recorded temperature was 1°F in 1989.
 * May is the average wettest month.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 191,615 people, 76,241 households, and 46,202 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,850.2 people per square mile (1,100.4/km²). There were 80,293 housing units at an average density of 1,194.3 per square mile (461.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.2% White, 10.2% African American, 0.7% Native American, 8.24% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 13.4% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.2% of the population.

There were 76,241 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 39.4% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,956, and the median income for a family was $50,172. Males had a median income of $35,852 versus $30,420 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,419. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

In 1980 Irving was 93% non-Hispanic white. In 2009, by contrast, Hispanics were more numerous than non-Hispanic whites.

Government and infrastructure
Prior to the November 2008 elections, Irving banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in stores, making it the largest in population dry suburb in North Texas. In 2004 the pro-alcohol measure failed with 63% of voters opposing the measure. In 2006, 52% voted against the measure. On the third attempt, with heavy monetary backing by retailers, voters narrowly voted in favor of the measure in 2008. People in favor of changing Irving's liquor laws saw the interest in the 2008 United States Presidential Election as a catalyst for changing the laws in their favor.

In 2009 Irving had a city council that was entirely at-large. While Irving has a large population of racial minorities, the entire city council and the mayor's office, was entirely non-Hispanic White. Manny Benavidez, a resident of Irving, filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court in November 2007, saying that the voting system was not in compliance with the 1965 Voting Rights Act. On July 15, 2009, a federal judge ruled that Irving is required to create a new electoral system so that racial minority representatives may be voted into office. In 2010 elections, which included one at-large seat and two district-seats, three new council members were elected, replacing two incumbents and adding a newly created seat. Among the three new council members were two minority council members.

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $344.9 million in Revenues, $301.4 million in expenditures, $1,222 million in total assets, $490 million in total liabilities, and $339.9 million in cash and investments.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

Federal representation
The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Irving. The Irving Main Post Office is located at 2701 West Irving Boulevard.

Other post offices in the city include Downtown Irving, Carl Range, Central Irving, Las Colinas, and Valley Ranch.

Economy
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Several large businesses have headquarters in Irving, including Archon Group, Chuck E. Cheese's, Commercial Metals, ExxonMobil, Gruma,, Hostess Brands, Kimberly-Clark, La Quinta Inns and Suites, Michaels Stores, Omni Hotels, Southern Star Concrete, Inc., Xero Hour, Zale Corporation, Fluor Corporation, NCH Corporation,, Schnee-Morehead Inc, and LXI Enterprise Storage.. Freedom Airlines, a regional airline and Mesa Air Group subsidiary, is headquartered in Irving. The city is also home to the national headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America.

Subsidiaries of foreign companies
Mexicana de Aviación operates an office in Suite 200 at 5215 North O'Connor Boulevard. China Airlines operates the Dallas Mini Office in Suite 205 at 4425 West Airport Freeway.

The headquarters of Nokia America and NEC America are located in Irving. The American headquarters of Research In Motion (manufacturer of the BlackBerry Smartphone) is located in Irving.

Public schools
Most of Irving is served by the Irving Independent School District (IISD). Other portions are served by the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD), and Coppell Independent School District (CISD).

The major high schools serving the Irving area are:
 * Irving High School (IISD)
 * MacArthur High School (IISD)
 * Nimitz High School (IISD)
 * Jack E. Singley Academy (IISD) formerly The Academy of Irving ISD
 * Ranchview High School (CFBISD)

The North Hills Preparatory, an Uplift Education public charter school, is also located in Irving.

Winfree Academy Public Charter School is also located in Irving.

Private schools
Irving is home to Cistercian Preparatory School, a university-preparatory school for boys, grades 5 through 12. Irving is also home to The Highlands School, a university-preparatory school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Two Catholic Pre-K through 8th grade schools, St. Luke's and Holy Family of Nazareth, are also located in Irving. Irving also is home to the Islamic School of Irving (ISI)(Pre-K to 12)

Colleges and universities
The city is the site of the University of Dallas and North Lake College, a campus of the Dallas County Community College District. Both University of Phoenix and DeVry University have a campus in Irving, as well.

Sports
Irving was the home of Texas Stadium, the former home stadium of the Dallas Cowboys. The stadium was demolished on April 11, 2010. Irving Independent School District (IISD) high schools play football and other sports at Irving Schools Stadium. Irving sponsors a citywide high-school age ice hockey team, the Irving Wolfpack of the D/FW Junior Varsity GOLD league. Also, in the spring, the Four Seasons Resort in Las Colinas hosts the HP Byron Nelson Championship, an annual PGA Tour event.

Transportation
Irving is traversed by numerous highways. The Airport Freeway, SH 183, runs east-west in the center of the city, while LBJ Freeway or I-635 crosses the northern edge of the city in the same direction. John Carpenter Freeway, SH 114, and the President George Bush Turnpike create an X running northwest-to-southeast and southwest-to-northeast respectively. The Las Colinas area is centered near the intersection of 114 and the Bush turnpike.

Irving is one of 13 member-cities of the Dallas region's transit agency, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Currently, Irving is served by numerous bus routes and has two stops along the Trinity Railway Express route. In addition, DART is constructing the through Irving and Las Colinas to DFW Airport. This will connect northern Irving with Dallas through rail in addition to existing bus routes.

The Las Colinas Urban Center is served by the Las Colinas APT System, a people mover connecting businesses and entertainment areas.

Notable current and former residents

 * Larry D. Alexander,Artist/Writer
 * Frank Beard, drummer for musical group ZZ Top
 * Jim Beaver, actor/writer
 * Peter MacNicol, actor
 * Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
 * James Dickens, politician
 * Brian Bosworth, professional football player
 * Kerry Wood, professional baseball player
 * Akin Ayodele, professional football player
 * Tyson Thompson, professional football player
 * Demarcus Faggins, professional football player
 * Carrie Barton, Olympic synchronized swimmer
 * Michael Huff, professional football player
 * Gentleman Chris Adams, English-born pro wrestler
 * Jeremy Wariner, 400m Olympic sprinter
 * David Garza, musician
 * Christopher Evan Welch, actor
 * Les Lancaster, Professional baseball
 * Gwyn Shea, former Texas secretary of state (2002–2003) and a member of the Texas House of Representatives (1983–1993)