In the 1940s, downtown Lakewood was bursting with activity. Lakewood Theater entertained us, Doc Harrell’s drugstore served as the neighborhood’s home base, and the short-lived Lakewood Hotel across the street from the theater provided a neighborhood getaway. Further north on Abrams, Click’s Hamburgers waited for drive-up burger lovers. “Drive in Beer,” the sign beckoned. Otherwise, it didn’t look too different from a Sonic in 2018. Today, the Click’s address, 2111 Abrams, doesn’t exist, but it was somewhere in the area of Veritex Bank, which replaced the greasy spoon of Dan’s Lakewood Diner some years ago. Dallas once had a robust and well-used streetcar system that reached into our neighborhood. Following World War II, cars began to take over. And businesses like Click’s helped usher in the transition to a car-centric culture.  

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Photo by Danny Fulgencio.