Fort Worth
Fort Worth, the 17th-largest city in the United States and one of “America’s Most Livable Communities.” Today, Fort Worth, Texas is a thriving center of culture and commerce. Visitors are often surprised by everything Fort Worth has to offer: the Historic Stockyards, remarkable museums, a dazzling downtown area, Texas Motor Speedway, spectacular annual events and a lot more.
Fort Worth still celebrates its colorful Western heritage that is deeply rooted in strong Southern influences. Fort Worth’s legendary “Western heritage” was made possible by settlers from the Old South looking for a new start. Fort Worth can be called a “gateway” to a cultural region, sometimes referred to as the “Western South.”
There are plenty of educational opportunities, progressive private schools, and excellent public schools. There are many universities within commuting distance as well as Fort Worth’s beautiful TCU campus. The Cultural District offers 3 world-class museums-The Amon Carter, Kimbell, and The Museum of Science & History which includes the Noble Planetarium and Omni Theatre. There are open parks, lush botanical gardens, the new world-class Bass Performance Hall, as well as plenty of horseback riding, hiking and bike trails. For the boating, swimming, or sailing enthusiast, there are multitudes of public lakes just a few minutes from any point in the Metroplex.
DISTRICTS
Downtown
Sundance Square - Fort Worth’s downtown has Sundance Square, named after the infamous Sundance Kid. Sundance Square is a 16 block entertainment center for the city. The Square has buildings with tall windows, as well as brick-paved streets and sidewalks, and landscaping that many consider to be very delightful. Many restaurants, nightclubs, boutiques, museums, live theatres, cineplex movie theaters, and art galleries are in the Square.
Fort Worth Water Gardens - A 4.3 acre/1.74 ha contemporary park, designed by architect Philip Johnson, that features three unique pools of water offering a calming and cooling oasis for downtown patrons. The gardens were used in the finale of the 1970s sci-fi film Logan’s Run. (In mid-2004 the Water Gardens had to be closed due to a drowning. It has reopened after preventive measures have been installed.)
Fort Worth Convention Center - Includes an 11,200 seat multi-purpose arena.
Bass Performance Hall - Bass Hall is the permanent home to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Cliburn Concerts.
Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District
The stockyards offer a taste of the old west and the Chisholm Trail at the site of the historic cattle drives and rail access. The District is filled with restaurants, clubs, gift shops and attractions such as daily longhorn cattle drives through the streets, historic reenactments, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and Billy Bob’s, the world’s largest country and western music venue.
Cultural district
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, founded in 1892, is the oldest art museum in Texas. Its permanent collection consists of some 2,600 works of post-war art. In 2002, the museum moved into a new home designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando.
The Kimbell Art Museum houses works from antiquity to the 20th century. Artists represented in its holdings include Caravaggio, Fra Angelico, Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, El Greco, and Rembrandt. The museum’s home was designed by American architect Louis Kahn.
The Amon Carter Museum focuses on 19th and 20th century American artists. It houses an extensive collection of works by Western artists Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, as well as an impressive collection of 30,000 exhibition-quality photographs. It also includes works by Alexander Calder, Thomas Cole, Stuart Davis, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Singer Sargent, and Alfred Stieglitz. American architect Philip Johnson designed the museum’s home, including its expansion.
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is the only museum in the world that is solely dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have demonstrated extraordinary courage and pioneer spirit in their trail blazing efforts.
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History - One of the largest Science and History Museums in the Southwest. It includes the Noble Planetarium and the Omni Theater.
Will Rogers Memorial Center - a multi-purpose entertainment complex and world-class equestrian center housed under 45 acres of roof spread over 85 acres in the heart of the Fort Worth Cultural District. Each year approximately 800,000 people attend the three week event known as the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, formerly called the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Parks district
Fort Worth Zoo - Ranked one of the top 10 best zoos in the United States.
Fort Worth Botanic Garden - The oldest botanic garden in Texas, with 21 specialty gardens and over 2,500 species of plants.
Visit www.fortworth.com
