Deep Ellum is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, home to a diverse array of arts venues, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, businesses, and urban residential units near downtown in East Dallas. Its name is based on a corruption of the area's principal thoroughfare, Elm Street. Older alternative uses include Deep Elm and Deep Elem.

The neighborhood lies directly east of the elevated I-45/US 75 (unsigned I-345) freeway and extends to Exposition Avenue, connected to downtown by, from north to south, Pacific, Elm, Main, Commerce, and Canton streets. The neighborhood is north of Exposition Park and south of Bryan Place.

After earning independence as a free nation from Mexico in 1836, Texas remained autonomous for nearly a decade, when the United States officially annexed the nation in December 1845. After slavery was abolished nationwide, many freed slaves from Texas and nearby states arrived in Dallas and together congregated as a freedman's town along the northeastern edge of town. The eventual arrival of a railroad junction in the early 1870s spurred a local economy around the shipping line industry, which led to more families settling in the future Deep Ellum, consisting of a stretch of Elm Street near the railroad junction just outside of town, and about one mile from Freedman's Town. Together, the two areas would become one of the largest African-American communities in the South. The neighborhood traces its beginnings to the meeting point of the Houston and Texas Central railroad track, and the later Texas and Pacific line, and by 1873, the two lines were connected. The railroad junction's historical pre-eminence can still be seen in the surrounding neighborhood, sometimes also called Central Track, the name of which is derived from the rail line. These areas and the connecting downtown segment of Elm St. across the dividing, dry Trinity River bed, together, likely retain the most distinct history in Dallas.

When the first train came into Dallas in 1872, 500 African-Americans were already living there. Throughout the 1870s, the new railroad provided various positions and opportunities for residents nearby, which thrived as the African-American cultural and residential center since the 1870s. Even some theaters and entertainment areas were constructed for neighborhoods in the 1890s.

During the period of the Great Depression in the 1930s, African Americans received assistance from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which positively influenced the area. Although African-American neighborhoods pulled together during these hard times, some negative reports derailed their efforts by exposing African Americans' terrible living conditions. These reports possibly led to higher crime rates and increased prostitution. In 1940, the government started to revise the law to update the city appearance following the national city beautification movement. At the same time, some changes in zoning and rebuilding the "slum" started from 1943 to 1945.

In 1912, the concept of "highways" first entered the American consciousness. Based on support from the government of Dallas, new highways were designed at a rapid rate. In the early 1940s, the railway was torn out with strong reproach from the residents, causing problems for them. However, the highways' negative influence on those neighborhoods was not reported, and it was a significant reason for the low quality of living for black people. This successfully boosted business in Deep Ellum, but did not last too long. A new highway known as the Central Expressway was started in 1947 and completed by 1949. It departed from Elm town to downtown Dallas and decreased the African-American population. After two decades of debating between the city bureau and residents, most blocks from Deep Elm were removed by the requirement of the city's plan. In 1968, the freeway construction commenced, and most residents were asked to move to other places. As Prior. M (2005) said, "historical communities in Deep Ellum were leveled to the ground because excessive speculation during the period of rising interest rates had caused the 'bubble' of the real estate boom to explode of the 1970s and the 'bust' of the 1980s."

By the mid-1980s, artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs moved into the previously abandoned shops and warehouses and began to revitalize the area. Deep Ellum, with its colorful history and unique culture, experienced significant revitalization by 2020. An influx of more affluent residents and major corporations in Deep Ellum reshaped the area's demographics and culture, though some aspects of the neighborhood's historic identity have been preserved

Robert S. Munger built his first cotton-gin factory, the Continental Gin Company, in a series of brick warehouses along Elm Street and Trunk Avenue in Deep Ellum in 1888. As the business grew to become the largest manufacturer of cotton-processing equipment in the United States, Munger expanded the factory by adding additional structures along Trunk and Elm in 1912 and 1914. A Dallas Landmark District, the industrial complex was converted to loft apartments in 1997.