In its youth, Fort Worth was a rough-and-tumble frontier town, dusty and lawless, home to the brave and the brawling, the soldier, the frontiersman, the outlaw. Today, Fort Worth, one of the largest cities in Texas, is home to a proudly revitalized urban center, a renowned cultural arts district, and beautiful preserved Western-heritage attractions.

Originally settled in 1849 as an army outpost at the Trinity River, Camp Worth was one of eight forts assigned to protect settlers from Indian attacks. Progress helped the growing settlement survive long after other such towns had blown away with the dust of departing pioneers.

The cattle industry was king for a generation of people working the Fort Worth leg of the historic Chisholm Trail. Cowboys worked and played in the Stockyards district, driving cattle on Exchange Avenue to slaughterhouses and meat packing plants that were headquartered in the city. Many cattle continued the journey on the Chisholm Trail to its ending point in Kansas.

No visit to Fort Worth is complete without visiting the famed Stockyards National Historic District. It looks much the same today as it did 100 years ago. In fact, the entire avenue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Catch the Fort Worth Herd, the world's only daily cattle drives, on their twice-daily drive down Exchange Avenue. The authentically restored Tarantula Train carries visitors daily into Stockyards Station, the former hog and sheep pens turned festival marketplace. Rodeo action and wild west shows take place year-round in the Cowtown Coliseum, home of the world's original indoor rodeo held in 1918.

"Texas-sized" takes on a whole new meaning at Billy Bob's Texas, the "World's Largest Honky-Tonk." This hotspot, named country music's "Club of the Year" seven times, can hold up to 6,000 people and plays host to country music's hottest names. Live bull riding thrills visitors each weekend with an up-close perspective on the wildest rodeo event at Billy Bob's indoor arena. The White Elephant Saloon is an authentic Old West watering hole offering live Country & Western music 360 nights per year. The entire historic district is recognized as much for family entertainment and shopping as for saloons and boot-scootin'.

Downtown Fort Worth is a success story few cities can boast. Glittering skyscrapers form a ring around Sundance Square, Fort Worth's heralded shopping and entertainment district that is now restored to its original Victorian beauty, filled with restaurants, live theaters, shops, museums and galleries. This 20-block area is also site of the $67 million Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, which opened in May 1998. Called the "last great performance hall built in the 20th century," it is the first permanent home for the city's symphony, opera, ballet, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and productions of Casa Maņana Theatre. In 1999 it was selected one of the world's top 10 opera houses, one of only three in the United States.

Across the country, Sundance Square has emerged as the model of a beautifully revitalized urban area. By day it is a teeming business district, and by night a broad array of entertainment options abound. Now with two AMC movie complexes, live theaters, music clubs, a host of restaurants and cafes, hotels, and retail development in a state of continual growth, the streets bustle with activity.

Also located in Sundance Square is the Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art, a small museum that showcases 60 paintings and bronzes by Western greats Remington and Russell. The Caravan of Dreams entertainment complex has become one of the nation's premier live music clubs, attracting top-name performers like Harry Connick Jr., Lyle Lovett and Wynton Marsalis. It also sports a rooftop grotto bar and cactus garden amidst a neon-jeweled geodesic dome.

The Fort Worth Water Gardens and the Fort Worth Convention Center, currently undergoing a $70 million expansion project, occupy what was once Hell's Half Acre, a brothel- and saloon-packed district where cowhands had their last bit of fun before heading out on the Chisholm Trail. It also was the first stop on the way home, and the first chance to spend wages burning holes in cowboys' pockets. Many notorious outlaws, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, lay low in Hell's Half Acre while the law was looking for them.

Fort Worth offers a wealth of cultural institutions, some noted internationally as the finest in America. It is easy to see why Fort Worth is considered the "Museum Capital of the Southwest." The Louis Kahn-designed Kimbell Art Museum — recognized as "America's best small museum" - and the Amon Carter Museum, renowned for its collection of Western and American masterpieces, have garnered worldwide attention for their collections and special exhibitions. In 2001, the Carter reopens its doors with a new facility offering 28,000 square feet of gallery space in which to showcase its collection and traveling exhibitions.

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas' oldest museum (founded in 1892,) displays 20th-century masterpieces and regularly schedules special exhibits showcasing the world's acclaimed modern artists. A major new museum building, open in 2002, is under construction for the Modern, designed by architect Tadao Ando.

Also located in the Cultural District, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History offers hands-on exhibits that delight children and adults alike, ranging from paleontology to computer science. The popular Omni Theater and a planetarium are located here too.

Within walking distance of Fort Worth's celebrated museums are Casa Maņana Theatre and the Will Rogers Memorial Center, with 200 days per year of equestrian and cattle events. The Will Rogers Memorial Center hosts the oldest stock show and rodeo in the country - the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, held annually in January and February. The beautiful 114-acre Botanic Garden and Japanese Garden are located nearby as well.

The Fort Worth Zoo, consistently ranked one of America's best zoos by a number of different sources, is world-renowned for its collection and for the natural habitat exhibits that replicate animals' homes in the wild. More than 5,000 native and exotic animals are on view in the tree-shaded setting of the zoo. Texas Wild!, a major exhibit showcasing the distinct regions in the state, complete with indigenous animals and terrain, opens in 2001.

Another favorite find in Fort Worth is the Cattle Raisers Museum, located between downtown and the Cultural District. It portrays the history of ranching in Texas and the Southwest through interactive displays, dioramas and exhibits.

Perhaps one of the finest aspects of cultural life in Fort Worth is the celebrated Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Every four years the world's greatest pianists gather in the city to vie for the coveted medals and engagements that launch classical music careers. Music aficionados around the globe recognize the Cliburn as one of the foremost piano competitions worldwide. The Cliburn Competition comes to Bass Hall May 25-June 10, 2001.

A new era dawned in Fort Worth in 1997 when the flash of a checkered flag signaled the inaugural race at Texas Motor Speedway, the second largest sports facility in America. Located only 15 minutes from downtown, the 1.5-mile track at the super speedway hosts all major forms of American automobile racing. Motorsports racing is the fastest growing sport in the country.

Fort Worth, a city of half a million people, is home to some of the country's major corporations and manufacturers, such as American Airlines, Tandy Corp., Pier 1 Imports, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and Bell Helicopter Textron. Fort Worth is consistently ranked as one of the top places in the nation to work, live and do business by national magazines such as Fortune, Money and Newsweek.

A chief asset of Fort Worth is the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). It is one of the world's busiest airports, with approximately 1,100 flight arrivals daily and offers service to 160 destinations around the world. Fort Worth's central geographic locale means it can be reached from either U.S. coast within three hours.

Along with these designations, Fort Worth has twice been awarded the prestigious All-American City award by the National Civic League, in 1964 and 1993. The National League of Cities presented Fort Worth the James C. Howland Award for Urban Enrichment in 1995 for the city's innovative redevelopment programs that demonstrate good planning and imagination. Evidence of Fort Worth's "Cowtown" heritage is everywhere — from the carvings of Longhorn steers on bridge pillars and public buildings to the three-story mural of the Chisholm Trail brought to life in the heart of downtown. And while Fort Worth maintains its historical ties as the city "Where the West Begins," it also gains a reputation for urban sophistication and a celebrated connection to the fine and performing arts. It all shows that in Fort Worth cowboys and culture can peacefully coexist.

Main Street Arts Festival Downtown Fort Worth

 At first glance, a Caravaggio in Cowtown appears to be a contradiction in a city historically associated with its Western heritage. However, Fort Worth has emerged as one of the country's foremost centers of fine art, including museums that rank among the best in America, with announced expansions and new structures that will further enhance its reputation in the art world. The livestock trade that raised Fort Worth from the Trinity River banks has endowed a unique Cultural District called the "Museum Capital of the Southwest."

The Cultural District's reputation is far-reaching, with the Kimbell Art Museum's art and architecture receiving worldwide acclaim. The Kimbell has developed as one of the world's finest small museums since it opened in 1972 and is considered "America's best small museum." The collection includes masterpieces of Asian, European, Mesoamerican and African art, and its treasures occupy an acclaimed classic modern building designed and built under the supervision of famed architect Louis Kahn. In its first year of eligibility (1998), it was awarded the American Institute of Architects' prestigious Twenty-Five-Year Award, conferred each year on a building project that exemplifies design of enduring significance.

Major traveling exhibitions are regularly seen at the Kimbell, including the "Impressionist Masterpieces from the Barnes Collection" shown in Fort Worth and only five other cities around the world (1994), the Kimbell-curated "Monet and the Mediterranean" exhibition (1997) and "Matisse and Picasso: A Gentle Rivalry" in 1999.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram publisher Amon Carter never set foot in a museum, but his collection of Western art - including a number of oils and bronze sculptures by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell - was the foundation of the assemblage on display at this museum of American masterpieces bearing his name. The Amon Carter Museum has also quietly built one of the nation's finest photography collections, including Southwest landscapes of Ansel Adams and the works of Laura Gilpin and Eliot Porter. On canvas, the traditional cowboy scenes of Russell and Remington are joined by Georgia O'Keeffe's contemporary paintings, and watercolors of New England by Winslow Homer. Philip Johnson, the museum's designer, unveiled plans in late 1998 to expand and renovate the Carter's current facility.

Formerly the Fort Worth Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (MAMFW) is Texas' oldest art museum, chartered in 1892. It is a showcase of contemporary paintings and sculpture. The museum's permanent collection includes the works of Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko and David Hockney. A new MAMFW, located across from the Kimbell, has been designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The Wall Street Journal called this new museum "one of the five most significant building projects in America as the millennium approaches." It is expected to open in 2002.

Children and adults alike enjoy the interactive exhibits at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, whose displays trace man's history on earth and illustrates the wonders of the universe. Exhibits encompass centuries-old relics, turn-of-the-century Texas dioramas, the mystery of extinct dinosaurs, fascinating computer technology and the workings of the human body, all in a fun hands-on setting. The popular Omni Theater, one of the largest theaters in the world that uses 70mm film format, projects films onto a domed screen 80 feet in diameter. Visitors are surrounded with sights and sounds that dazzle the senses! The museum is also home to the Noble Planetarium, where all age groups delve into the marvels of space.

The Will Rogers Memorial Center, named for Amon Carter's friend, humorist Will Rogers, is a focal point of the Cultural District. Considered one of the country's best equestrian and cattle complexes, the Will Rogers center hosts 200-plus horse and cattle shows each year. The city's most-attended annual event is held here, the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show (fondly known as the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo) drawing approximately 800,000 visitors over a 17-day period each January and February. It is the oldest stock show in America, first held in 1896.

Neighboring Casa Maņana Theatre is an 1,800-seat playhouse in the round. Built in 1958, this venue for popular Broadway musicals, touring companies, special performances and children's theater is covered by one of the nation's first geodesic domes. The site was originally home of the "Casa Maņana Review," a production staged by New York showman Billy Rose in 1936 to celebrate Texas' centennial.

Nearby is the Fort Worth Zoo, the oldest continuous zoo site in Texas. Ranked one of the best zoos in America, the Fort Worth Zoo is home to 5,000 native and exotic animals. Natural habitats prevail here, placing animals in exhibits that replicate their homes in the wild. Zoo visitors are often separated from gorillas, tigers and other animals by only a glass viewing window or waterfall, making a face-to-face encounter with a wild animal a safe delight.

Take a beautiful stroll through the 114-acre Fort Worth Botanic Garden and be surrounded by the 200 species of roses and other varieties of plants growing here. Within the Botanic Garden, the 7.5-acre Japanese Garden offers the tranquillity of the Orient with waterfalls and pools of koi surrounded by flowers, trees and shrubs. Constructed in 1933, the gardens grow more than 2,500 native and exotic species of plants.

The Cultural District surprises many visitors to Fort Worth. After immersing themselves in paintings, sculptures, science exhibits, theatre productions, and zoological and botanical gardens, many people emerge wondering whether they're really in Cowtown. But only in Fort Worth can you view masterpieces in the Kimbell Art Museum, and walk across the street to watch a horse show in the Will Rogers Memorial Center. This unique blend of cowboys and culture abounds in Fort Worth.