Tyler, TX

Tyler, Texas, is home to the largest rose garden in the United States, and the city is sometimes referred to as the "Rose Capital of America."

The city was named after President John Tyler, who lobbied for Texas's annexation in the 1840s. Though small compared to other Texas cities, Tyler is one of the largest cities in east Texas. With around 84,000 residents spread out over 49 square miles of land, Tyler is approximately 90 miles from Dallas, Texas, and Shreveport, Louisiana.

The seat of Smith County, Tyler serves the surrounding region as a medical and retail center. The city is also trying to bill itself as a destination for active retirees. Because of its access to hospitals, warm weather, light recreation options, and low cost of living, the over-55 demographic is moving to Tyler.

Tyler is about 60 percent white, 26 percent black, and 18 percent Latino. The city's median household income is slightly less than the state's median income. About 21 percent of the city's residents live below the poverty level.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Tyler has 36,489 housing units, but only about 58 percent of those are owner occupied. Older housing is concentrated in the city's center, with newer developments toward the city's edges.

Tyler has a picturesque, historic downtown with brick streets and antebellum and Victorian homes. A main street program is helping to revitalize the downtown district by bringing in shops, restaurants, and mixed-use developments.

GETTING AROUND

A municipal bus service, Tyler Transit, serves the city. The city is also trying to build up a network of bike trails and routes for transportation and recreation.

Getting in or out of Tyler requires a car or a ticket on the Greyhound Lines bus service, which makes a stop in downtown Tyler. The Tyler Pounds Regional Airport has connector flights to the airport in Dallas.

EDUCATION

• University of Texas at Tyler: Established in 1971, UT-Tyler serves about 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 90 academic programs. It has a basic liberal arts college and four professional colleges: education/psychology, engineering, business and technology, and nursing. The 200-acre campus is situated near two lakes and has a parklike feel. The UT-Tyler Patriots have an NCAA athletics program that competes in the American Southwest Conference. UT-Tyler offers two extension campuses in nearby Palestine and Longview.
• Tyler Junior College: This two-year community college is one of the biggest in Texas. It serves about 32,000 full-time, part-time, and continuing education students every year. TJC, as it's known, offers 50 academic programs for an associate's degree or a proficiency certificate.
• Texas College: A historically black college that was established in 1894 by a group of Christian Methodist Episcopal ministers, Texas College is a private four-year college that offers 16 baccalaureate degree programs in such fields as art, business, education, math, and social work. Texas College also offers an associate's degree in early childhood education.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Tyler and the rest of Smith County grow about 20 percent of the country's commercially sold roses. Nevertheless, the major employers in the area are the medical, educational and manufacturing businesses.

Two major hospitals in Tyler, East Texas Medical Center and Trinity Mother Frances, employ more than 7,000 people. More than 4,000 work for one of the city's three major educational employers, the Tyler Independent School District, Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler.

An air-conditioning company, Trane Company, has its headquarters in Tyler and employs nearly 2,000 workers.

BEST BETS

• Tyler Municipal Rose Garden and Rose Garden Center: This 14-acre rose park is the largest rose garden in the country. The garden includes 500 varieties of roses and more than 38,000 plants. Every October the city hosts the Texas Rose Festival here.
• Caldwell Zoo: This zoo opened in 1953 and features hundreds of animals from around the world. It's also a designated breeding facility and breeds black-footed penguins.
• Camp Ford: Camp Ford was a Confederate-run prison camp during the Civil War. It was the largest such camp west of the Mississippi River. The camp opened during the war in 1863 and closed in May 1865. At the height of the war, about 5,000 Union soldiers were detained at Camp Ford. The site is now a public park.
• Bonner-Whitaker-McClendon House: This Victorian house was built in 1878 by a prominent Tyler couple. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Texas State Historical Landmark.
• Charnwood Academy: This structure is a prime example of antebellum architecture. It was once the home of the first Texas rose queen and today serves as a bed and breakfast.
• Tyler Museum of Art: The Tyler Museum of Art has a permanent collection of more than 500 pieces, including paintings, photographs, sculpture, and prints, many by Texas artists.

LOCAL MEDIA

The main newspaper for Tyler is the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

Magazines include:

• BSCENE Magazine
• La Opinion
• Pulse Tyler
• Tyler Today Magazine
• VITA Latina

Television stations serving Tyler include:

• KETK NBC 56
• KFXK Fox 51
• KLTV ABC 7
• KYTK CBS 19

Radio stations serving Tyler include:

• KOOI
• KNUE/KISX/KTYL/KKTX
• KDOK/KTBB/KEES
• KLJT/KFRO/KDVE/KXAL/KEBE
• KKUS Radio