May 22, 2004 
Banking On It - Lakewood gets some flavor  

What does Lakewood taste like? White Rock Lake on the rocks with a twist? Boiled Gaston Avenue? Jalapeno-encrusted country club golf balls?

If authenticity is the goal, Lakewood should taste like its foremother--a dairy cow. Let's take a trip back, before Oswald put Dallas on the map. In the 19th century, Dallas' eastern boundary was Fitzhugh Street. All acreage beyond that was farmland and country roads. White Rock Lake was a dairy farm. Right around the time the railroads arrived and more folks scattered to areas east of Fitzhugh, the town of East Dallas was born; complete with its very own mayor, city council and water, sewage and road systems (historical documents make no mention of a city manager or a hockey team).

But this bucolic fun came to a screeching halt in 1890 when Dallas city fathers voted to annex East Dallas to increase the population and tax base of the city. Hey, can't we try this with Plano? White Rock Lake followed in 1910, a country club in 1912, and after Dines and Kraft Realtors scattered bungalows on a hilly, wooded tract between Abrams and White Rock Lake to complement the cavernous homes along Swiss Avenue, the name Lakewood was coined.

Presumably, Professional Bank is tapping into these pastoral roots. The full-service bank, launched by 47 area families, just completed a $600,000 restoration of its historic home at Abrams Road and Prospect Avenue to bring old-fashioned personalized, community banking to the Lakewood/East Dallas area. It's celebrating with an old-fashioned parking-lot fair dubbed "Taste of Lakewood" on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. at 2101 Abrams. Rumble in a bounce house, grab munchies from local restaurants and grind to live music. No word on any dairy cow tastings.

Call 214-269-2114 -- Mark Stuertz

dallasobserver.com | originally published: May 20, 2004