The Lakewood Shopping Center structures haven’t changed much since the’40s and ‘50s, but its tenants have — except for the Lakewood Theater. (Interstate Theatre Collection photo from the collections of the Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library.)
The Lakewood Shopping Center has been one of our neighborhood’s defining commercial hubs since the 1930s, when its most stunning architectural element, the Art Deco facade of the Lakewood Theater, was erected along with the iconic Diener-Mills building.
It was the neighborhood gathering spot by most accounts, a place everyone went to see a Saturday matinee or take a hot date. But by the 1960s, the center was falling into disrepair. Lackluster business offerings meant most people just sped past the center, until 1973 when nearby Swiss Avenue earned its historic designation, breathing new life into the neighborhood and inspiring a wave of preservation efforts.
Back in 1991, when we were a brand new neighborhood publication, we covered the rise and fall of the center over its many decades. Then in 2015, we looked at the center as it stands today, and whether it has the potential to be a sort of “downtown Lakewood” with dining and shopping amenities that would draw visitors, along with the infrastructure needed to support that vision.
