Dallas-Fort Worth residents share extreme pride in their cities' restoration efforts to preserve the numerous historical landmarks that the area has to offer. They additionally boast the five Super Bowl Championship wins by the Dallas Cowboys, and, and their show-off landmark, Southfork Ranch, famous for housing the Ewing family of the television series "Dallas" fame. Most importantly, the cities' residents know how to have fun, from their legendary honky-tonks and bronco-bustin' western fun of world-famous rodeos to the glamorous nightlife and fascinating museums of a modern city.

Although separated by only a hyphen in their names, Dallas and Fort Worth, for the most part, lead separate lives. Dallas is a modern business metropolis, while Fort Worth continues to embrace its historical gun-fighting and cattle-driving roots. However, don't be fooled by Fort Worth's exterior. That man passing you on the street, dressed in dusty cowboy style attire, may well be a corporate mogul.

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

DFW is not only rich in history, but also rich in the culture that has developed there over time. Dallas was named the "Most Fun" city by Verizon in 2005. If you have your family on your mind as well as your studies, you will find the Dallas/Fort Worth area has attractions for every age group.

Some of the more notable examples of this cultural flair follow here:

Conspiracy Museum
As mentioned in our history section, the city has a number of sites dedicated to the JFK assassination, and this is one that provides a major difference from the Sixth Floor Museum. Rather than proposing various conspiracies, this museum believes definitely that the assassination was part of THE conspiracy to control the Oval Office. The museum is a private exhibition funded by a retired architect who claims that the same people who killed Kennedy were also responsible for the deaths of Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and the people aboard Korean Airlines Flight 007, which was shot down in 1983. The museum also considers several other assassinations, including those of three other American presidents, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley. Possibly not to be recommended for those who are already paranoid, this museum is a intriguing look at ways to string together suspicious events and paint a most unexpected picture.

Deep Ellum
Just east of downtown, this renovated warehouse district is named for the sound of "deep elm" pronounced with a Southern drawl. It was the first black neighborhood in Dallas and has evolved into the center of Dallas's live music scene. In the 1920s and 1930s, Deep Ellum was home to many blues artists including Leadbelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson who first became known there. Today, this district is recognized for its vibrant variety of music including rock, jazz alternative, Latin and country.

Dallas Arts District
Dallas-and the entire state of Texas-is well-known for wanting everything to be "bigger" or at the very least "better." The Dallas Arts District provides a fine example: it is a 60-acre section north of downtown dedicated to the fine and performing arts. Countless museums, theaters, galleries and other cultural treasures draw the spotlight to this area, which is home to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the Trammel Crow Center Pavilion, and the Dallas Theater Center. This inspired arts district has showed again that Dallas is not willing to be considered inferior in any arena!

Dallas Museum of Art (DMA)
The arts district is anchored by its major museum, the DMA. The museum features five sections: the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and Contemporary Art. In addition to its permanent collections, the museum is hailed for hosting major traveling arts shows in its J.E.R. Chilton Galleries and supporting regional artists and installations in its Barrel Vault and Quadrant galleries. The museum also contributes to the cultural scene by providing a full-service art research library with computerized collections database, a 450-seat Auditorium, educational programs and a drop-in art program for children.

Nasher Sculpture Center
The latest and one of the most impressive features in the Dallas arts district is a rotating display. Named after the Dallas philanthropist who contributed the pieces, the Nasher collection includes works by Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder and Richard Serra. Renzo Piano, the architect who created the building for the center, also deserves recognition as an amazing artist. The collection will rotate, both indoors and outdoors.

Kimbell Art Museum
And in case you were thinking that Fort Worth was only a Cowtown, this museum will change your mind. People actually fly to the Kimbell from Europe to see some of its famous shows. The building was designed by Louis I. Kahn and is considered a masterpiece of the century for its cutting-edge barrel-vault design and use of natural interior lighting. Despite being small compared to other museums, the Kimbell has an $8 million annual endowment giving it one of the top 10 buying powers in the country. The museum has lecture series and education and art workshops. It has an excellent collection ranging from prehistoric to 20th-century masterpieces with strengths in pre-Renaissance European art, European impressionist painting and Italian Renaissance work. It has also had some of the most important touring art shows stop there. For example, the combined exhibits titled "Impressionist Masterpieces from the Barnes Collection" and "Monet and the Mediterranean" drew nearly 340,000 visitors over three months. (For comparison take the DMA's yearly attendance of 400,000 visitors.)

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center & Perry R. Bass Performance Hall
Clearly two such sophisticated twin cities as Dallas and Fort Worth need twin concert halls. Both feature amazing acoustics, with the Meyerson known as one of the finest halls in America. The Meyerson was also designed by the famous architect I. M. Pei. The Bass Hall is a worthy competitor in terms of acoustics and architecture, and adds to that a fantastic location opening directly onto Sundance Square, a large entertainment area in downtown Fort Worth that is the place to be no matter the time or day of the week.

Fair Park
In 1936 Dallas hosted the Texas Centennial Exposition - the lasting reward being Fair Park. Still the site of the annual Texas State Fair, Fair Park is not only excellent for family parties and picnics but also features some wonderful museums. The Museum of Nature and Science is known as "an amusement park for your brain" with robotic dinosaurs, a medical gallery illustrating the human brain and a beating heart, a planetarium, and an IMAX theater. Another feature there, the African-American Museum, boasts one of the best folk-art art collections in the country. In general, the museum features many exhibits that follow the art and history of blacks from pre-slavery Africa through today.

Hall of State
Also located in Fair Park, the Hall of State is probably best described as a tribute to all things Texan. Home to the Dallas Historical Society, the hall contains murals, statues and artifacts that highlight the 450 years of Texas history. The Hall of Heroes honors six of Texas' forefathers, with bronze statues by sculptor Pompeo Coppini of William B. Travis, James Walker Fannin, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar and Thomas Jefferson Rusk. The Great Hall features the five-pointed Texas star that is 12 feet in diameter... reminding us again that Texas likes things bigger.

Dallas-Fort Worth Local Favorites

• The Fort Worth Zoo & Dallas Zoo - Recognized by many as one of the top zoos in the country, the Fort Worth Zoo is home to more than 5,000 exotic and native animals on view in natural habitat settings. However, it seems a tough choice between that and the Dallas Zoo, which is also excellent and one of the country's top animal research facilities with 95 acres of outdoor habitats. The Dallas Zoo features a children's zoo and exhibits focused on African animals, primates and tigers. On the other hand, the Fort Worth Zoo features Australian animals, Komodo dragons, Flamingo Bay and Raptor Canyon - a walk-through birds-of-prey aviary.
• Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament - Dallas - A reenactment of the age of chivalry and knighthood. Spectators enjoy horsemanship, edge-of-your-seat swordplay, falconry, sorcery and romance while savoring a delectable four-course meal.
• Billy Bob's Texas - Fort Worth - This is a nationally recognized, kid-friendly venue in the Stockyards section of Cowtown. The award-winning club has blended a vintage honky-tonk atmosphere with an urban cowboy feel for almost two decades. The club offers enough entertainment to satisfy any visitor with its pool tables, slot machines, video and arcade games, a gift shop and an intimate bar/lounge. To top off a Billy Bob experience, the club's bull-riding arena with live bulls is open on Fridays and Saturdays.

Dallas-Fort Worth's Regional Favorite Foods

• Cheese Grits
• Cornbread
• Texas Chili
• Tea Cakes
• Pecan Pie
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Barbecue-Style Cooking
• Hush Puppies
• Chicken Fried Steak
• German Potato Salad
• Quesadilla Casserole
• Chile con Queso
• Pot Roast
• Mexican Casserole

Sources:
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