Where Does the Name “Lovers Lane” Come From?
Our Lovers Lane Campisi’s location has been open for almost two decades now (in two different buildings across the street from one another), and we wanted to delve a bit further into history of our Park Cities – Bluffview home.
Many believe that Lovers Lane is so named because at its west end sits Dallas Love Field Airport. While that’s a solid, respectable guess, it turns out to be completely wrong.
Dallas Love Field was actually named for First Lieutenant Moss Lee Love of the 11th Cavalry. He was killed in a Type C Wright pusher bi-plane on September 4, 1913 in San Diego, California while practicing for his Military Aviator Test.
He never visited Dallas during his lifetime (he spent a couple years in Texas, City, just south of Houston), but he was the eighth aviation officer to ever be killed in U.S. Army history.
So, where does the name of the Lane originate?
According to Dallas folklore, the name was given by the wife of Colonel Henry Exall, a man from Viriginia who raised horses on his Lomo Alto Farm in the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Exall is also known for his involvement in the development of the city of Highland Park. He and his investing partners originally wanted to title the area “Philadelphia Place.” The Colonel is also responsible for the damming of Turtle Creek to create Exall Lake. Exall Lake used to be much larger than it is today, so much so that families would spend the entire day enjoying the shore, and possibly taking a ride on the steamboat that operated there. It’s difficult to imagine a steamboat on Exall Lake today, isn’t it?
Apparently, his wife (we searched for her name, but were unable to uncover it) identified the road as Lovers Lane because it was then a narrow dirt road, lined by hedges of bois d’arc trees. During the evenings, the dark setting was perfect for canoodling couples. Hence, Lovers Lane.
Dallas, compared to many American cities, is quite young, but our history is definitely equally as interesting.
For even more fun, here’s a photo of Lovers Lane, at what is now the Inwood Shopping Center, from 1947.
Photo Credit: Carol Shih