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Irving (pronounced 'er-ving') is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 191,615; the 2006 estimate was 201,927, as listed on the city's official website. 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, including the Mustangs at Las Colinas, which is the largest equestrian sculpture in the world. Several large businesses have headquarters in Irving, including Chuck E. Cheese's, ExxonMobil, Gruma, Kimberly-Clark, Michaels Stores, National Care Network, Omni Hotels, Southern Star Concrete, Inc., Xero Hour, Zale Corporation and LXI Enterprise Storage. The city is also home to the national headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America. The Dallas Cowboys play at Texas Stadium in Irving until a new stadium is finished in Arlington, Texas, in 2009. The city plans to demolish the old stadium to build an extensive mixed-use project that spans Texas State Highway 114. 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 park of the Dallas Cowboys. Irving's population reached 155,037 in 1990 and is currently (2006) estimated at 201,927. Former Irving City Council member Mayor Herbert Gears was elected to a three-year term in June, 2005. 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. Research Tips
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