McKinney Avenue Trolleys

Streetcar lines grew and prospered in Dallas from 1872 until

the 1920s. Automobile competition siphoned many of their

riders away, but ridership soared again during World War II .

After the war, the trolleys entered an era of gradual attrition, and

they were abandoned by 1956. Amazingly, in 1989, the nonprofit

McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA ) returned restored

vintage trolley cars to the city in the Uptown neighborhood near

downtown. MATA evolved from a tourist attraction into a true

transit company and became the M-Line. Since then, the area

has experienced rapid growth and is now home to midrise office

buildings and upscale apartments.