Hello Harwood

How to further explore Dallas' hidden-gem Harwood District

If you’ve been out and about in Dallas, whether dining, shopping, or just exploring, chances are you’re pretty familiar with at least a few aspects of the HARWOOD District.

Perhaps you’ve grabbed a gourmet coffee at Magnolias: Sous Le Pont or toasted the weekend at Happiest Hour. Or maybe you’ve admired one of the largest samurai armor collections in the world, displayed above one of Dallas’ prettiest patios. Possibly you’ve seen the elegantly sculpted gardens on at least a dozen of your friends’ Instagram feeds.

But there’s always more to discover at HARWOOD, which encompasses retail, residential, and office towers within 18 city blocks, nestled between Uptown and downtown Dallas. Read on to learn five things you may not have known about your favorite hot spots.

1. It has a meal for every mood
Seven distinct restaurants can be found in the HARWOOD District, and their vibes are as varied as their menus. Happiest Hour, with its massive patio and jaw-dropping skyline views, is the place to go when you want to party. The city’s most stylish are drawn to the wine selection at Saint Ann Restaurant & Bar, while those craving a cozy French meal head next door to Mercat Bistro. Magnolias: Sous Le Pont is an elegant coffee bar where your latte comes accompanied by delectable breakfast items, fresh salads, and sandwiches. Dolce Riviera’s coastal upscale Italian fare is balanced by The Grove’s laid-back, backyard-gathering feel. And while Marie Gabrielle has long been enchanting as an event venue, you can now bask in its beauty while enjoying delicious breakfast and lunch menus.

2. History and art are all around
If you dine at Saint Ann, you’ll likely notice the Virgin de Guadalupe monument standing outside. It’s a tile mural that was preserved when Harwood International purchased the brick building, what was originally Dallas’ first school for Hispanic children. On the second floor you’ll find the Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum: The Samurai Collection, which houses the largest collection of samurai armor and objects outside of Japan and has seen over 10,000 visitors. The collection can be viewed six days a week, and admission is free.

3. There’s green in the gray
Hidden right in the middle of Dallas’ concrete jungle is 9.5 acres of serene greenery. These pocket parks aren’t just a few flowers and shrubs, though — think sculpted formal gardens worthy of formal photo shoots. And the famous Katy Trail goes right by the HARWOOD District, looping in to 30 linear acres of walking and biking trails.

4. Internationally acclaimed living options abound
The Azure opened in 2007, but the celeb favorite is about to be joined by an even more impressive condo sibling: Bleu Ciel. The 33-story tower is set to redefine the Dallas skyline when it’s completed, and buyers from near and far are already clamoring to secure their condos.

5. Professional appeal is always improving
There are already six Class AA luxury office buildings in the HARWOOD District, with two more on tap. One of those will be the new Rolex building, designed in collaboration with Dallas-based HDF and Tokyo-based Kengo Kuma & Associates. World-renowned landscape architect Sadafumi Uchiyama is including a Japanese-inspired tiered garden featuring rampart stone walls at the base of the building, with reflecting pools and cascading waterfalls spilling over the sides. The is complemented by the No. 10 building, which will have 17,214 square feet of green roof terraces. The idea is to explore the relationship between interior space and the outdoors: disrupting the conventional "box" office floors with outdoor terraces, for example, or adding a 12,000-square-foot garden and fitness pavilion on the 10th floor. A pedestrian passageway on the ground floor will transform into La Rue Perdue, full of shops and restaurants with outdoor dining.

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Want to win dinner in the HARWOOD District? We thought so. Share your adventures in HARWOOD with #InTheHerd on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and we may pick you! Winners will be selected at random on a monthly basis. The more photos you snap, the more likely you are to win. Go here to learn more.

Grab a gourmet coffee at Magnolias: Sous Le Pont.

Photo courtesy of HARWOOD District

Grab a gourmet coffee at Magnolias: Sous Le Pont.

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

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