Exploring Dallas & Fort Worth

DALLAS

Downtown and the West End

No, Downtown Dallas is not dead. Suffice to say that it has seen better days and, its partisans hope, will see them again now that the light-rail line is operational and downtown housing is spreading. While there’s little after-dark street life on the blocks between Deep Ellum and the West End, the Central Business District does have its attractions.

A good place to start is the Farmer’s Market (1), 1010 S. Pearl Expwy., where vendors offer fresh produce and specialty items, and cooking classes and festivals are held throughout the year. Then head over to Dallas City Hall (2), 1500 Manila, aka Pei Palace after world-famed architect I.M. Pei, who designed it. Across the plaza-a frequent festival site-is the J. Erik Jonsson Library (3), 1515 Young, named after one of the city’s most beloved mayors. Heading west on Young Street from City Hall, you’ll come upon a sprawling herd of 70 longhorn steers being tended by cowboys. Pioneer Plaza (4), aka the Herd on the Street, sparked debate during its 1993-94 construction; the beef was over authenticity, with skeptics protesting that Dallas had never been a major site for cattle drives, and boosters replying that, doggone it, visitors expect to see cattle in Dallas. So there they are.

Further west, just across Houston Street from The Dallas Morning News (5), 1508 Young, is Union Station (6), 400 S. Houston, built in 1916, the doorway to Dallas back when rail was king. An underground tunnel connects the station with the Hyatt Regency Dallas Reunion Hotel (7), 300 Reunion Blvd. Take in the view from the revolving “ball” atop Reunion Tower, where you can enjoy drinks and dining in the round at Antares.

After a bite and a look over the city, walk north on Houston Street to Dealey Plaza (8), Houston and Elm streets, named for George Bannerman Dealey, founder of The News. If you’re at all interested in the city’s greatest tragedy, visit the Sixth Floor Museum (9), 411 Elm, a tasteful, somber exhibit that details the life and death of John F. Kennedy while presenting what might be called the official, Warren Commission view. A more lurid (some would say paranoid) treatment of Nov. 22, 1963, and of other historical whodunits can be found nearby at The Conspiracy Museum (10), 110 S. Market, whose name says it all.

Stand at the corner of Elm and Market streets and you’re looking at land that has held four distinct identities since founder John Neely Bryan bartered for it with the Caddo Indians 150 years ago. First, the riverside settlement that became Dallas grew around the trading post Bryan built; Old Red Courthouse (11), the turreted 1892 courthouse visible a block south at Main and Houston streets, stands on land he donated.

Walk two blocks north to Ross Avenue, and you’re at the very heart of the boom area of warehouses and factories erected near the turn of the century, after intersecting railroads made Dallas a distribution center. You’re also in the heart of the third incarnation-the West End’s descent into decay as railroad transportation declined after World War II.

And now, you’re in the center of the West End’s renaissance. Designated as a historic district in 1975, the West End has become a showpiece, a dining, shopping, and entertainment center drawing tourists from all over the world, as well as North Texas residents. Clubs, museums, and an aquarium are here. The 10-story Marketplace (12), 603 Munger, houses antiques, souvenir, and novelty shops, food vendors, and a 10-screen movie theater. Events regularly fill the streets with revelers; in winter, an outdoor ice rink defies Texas’ schizoid weather changes, and horse-drawn carriages offer sightseeing rides year-round.

When colorful fun and people-watching give way to hunger, the district’s 30-odd restaurants come into play, running an international gamut from irreverent joints like Dick’s Last Resort (13), 1701 N. Market, to nationally known steakhouses. Some notable examples: 311 Lombardis (14), 311 N. Market, authentic modern Italian cuisine; Mama’s Daughters Diner (15), 211 N. Record, genuine Texas-style cooking; Mi Cocina (16), 1800 N. Market, exuberant Tex-Mex with a healthful accent; Morton’s of Chicago (17), 501 Elm, for superb steaks and stellar side dishes; Newport’s (18), 703 McKinney, serving fresh seafood in an ancient brewery; The Palm (19), 701 Ross, for world-renowned steaks and monster lobsters; Planet Hollywood (20), 603 Munger. celebrity-owned purveyor of California cuisine: Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse (21), 302 N. Market (in the tunnel that links some downtown buildings), for justly famed barbecue: and Spaghetti Warehouse (22), 1815 N. Market, the West End’s first restaurant and still a family Italian dining favorite.

Northeast up Ross Avenue at Harwood is Dallas’ Arts District, with its two linchpins, the Dallas Museum of Art (23), 1717 N. Harwood, and the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (24), 2301 Flora. The DMA houses one of the best collections of pre-Columbian art in the country, and since the museum moved to its Edward Larrabee Barnes-designed home in 1984. large donor gifts have resulted in major additions: The Wendy Reves collection of decorative arts opened in a new wing in 1985, designed as a replica of the Reves’ French villa, and the Museum of the Americas opened in 1993 in the Hamon Building, with exhibits that tell the story of Western civilizations.

The Meyerson Symphony Center, also known as “The Mort,” had its start in a $17-million gift by H. Ross Perot, himself something of a Dallas icon, with the stipulations that the symphony center be designed by I.M. Pei and be named after Perot’s top lieutenant at Electronic Data Systems, Mort Meyerson. The Meyerson opened in 1989, winning acclaim for its design and its acoustics, It also features one of the largest mechanical-action organs ever built for a concert hall, the Herman W. Lay Family Fisk Organ,

No swing through downtown would be complete without a visit to the original Neiman Marcus (25), 1618 Main at Ervay. Much of Dallas’ early reputation as a stylish, cosmopolitan city was owed to The Store and to the influence of chairman emeritus Stanley Marcus, a civic treasure now enjoying his ninth decade. In addition to designer fare (Donna Karan and Richard Tyler women’s wear; Oxxford and Brioni men’s wear), the flagship store is home to the Neiman Marcus Museum (fifth floor) and the original ladies-who-lunch institution, the Zodiac Restaurant. After spending more than you meant to in Neiman’s, you may want to stroll out of the Commerce Street door and walk three blocks west to the Adolphus Hotel (26), 1321 Commerce, one of the grand hotels of Texas. If you’re ready to pamper yourself, the Adolphus is home to the posh French Room, a perennial name in the pantheon of fine Dallas restaurants. After leaving the Adolphus. stand at the southwest corner of Commerce and Field and look up to the northeast. There you’ll see the flying red horse, Pegasus, once the most recognizable symbol of downtown Dallas, now overshadowed by the skyscrapers surrounding it.

Deep Ellum

At the end of the 19th century, when the boll weevil tore through the central Texas cotton fields, thousands of displaced African-American field workers streamed into the big cities and established vibrant communities. In Dallas, they settled around the intersection of Elm Street and Central Avenue, an area so rich in music that at the time it seemed as vital as Chicago would decades later.

Leadbelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson no longer walk the streets of Deep Ellum, and by the 1950s Central Avenue yielded to North Central Expressway, splitting Deep Ellum psychologically from downtown. After a late ’80s resurgence, the neighborhood today is almost completely given over to clubs, cafes, and arty retail shops.

The standard for dining in Deep Ellum has long been the Deep Ellum Cafe (1), 2706 Elm, where the offerings manage to combine simplicity, originality, and tastiness with elegance. Monica’s Aca y Alla (2), 2914 Main, is a fun space, with a whimsical decor and a refreshing approach to old standards like steaks. Speaking of standards, no food holds a dearer place in the hearts of Dallasites than (Tex-) Mexican, and Sol’s Taco Lounge (3), 2626 Commerce, may be the best place to get it.

Sambuca (4), 2618 Elm, is Deep Ellum’s jazz spot, featuring the best in local acts; good, but pricey, Italian food; and the 7-foot, 6-inch, 380-pound doorman, Calvin Lane. The restaurant-bar duo, Green Room/Dark Room (5) 2715 Elm, is hot these days, especially the rooftop seating area. If you’re looking for some late-night legs, light food and caffeine can be had either at the Insomnia Coffee Bar (6), 2640 Elm, or Cafe Brazil (7), 2815 Elm. Beautiful young hipsters-real and imagined-line up outside popular danceteria The 2826 Club (8), 2826 Elm, but if you like your music a bit grittier, tip your hat to Deep Ellum’s roots with a visit to Blue Cat Blues (9), 2617 Commerce.

If real Texas music is to your liking, Thursday through Saturday nights at the Sons of Hermann Hall (10), 3414 Elm. can’t be beat. Trees (11), 2709 Elm, usually books major road shows, and Club Dada (12). 2720 Elm, features the best local acts, with an out-of-towner or two thrown in for good measure.

The closest place to stay while enjoying Deep Ellum is The Aristocrat Hotel (13), 1933 Main St. And don’t overlook the shops-you’ll find high-quality used cowboy boots at Blue Suede Shoes (14), 2815 Main, and antique furniture and gifts at Articles (15), 2556 Elm. Home Concepts (16), 2900 Main, has eclectic home furnishings-and, of course, futons, Get your Doc Martens, and other fashionably hip clothing and shoes, at Moda (17), 2644 Elm.

Knox-Henderson

This area has long been popular for its full day’s worth of park-and-wander opportunities, but recently a new trend has split this east-west area along its approximate middle, represented by North Central Expressway. To the east, along Henderson, there’s still the eclectic mix of galleries, antiques shops, bars, and restaurants. Some of these are old favorites, such as the venerable clothing shop Emeralds to Coconuts (1), 2730 N. Henderson.

For those interested in dining, the fare at the Yegua Creek Brewing Company (2), 2920 Henderson, is surprisingly welldone, especially the variations like the Texas wild game plate. The atmosphere, however, can get a bit boisterous. Quieter times can be had across the street at tony Savino Ristorante (3), 2929 Henderson, known for its Northern Italian dishes, and at Pinots (4), 2926 Henderson, which has won awards for its intimate, romantic atmosphere. A good bite-on-the-go can be had at Rock ’n’ Java (5), 2906 Henderson, which combines a coffeehouse vibe with a light menu.

As Henderson heads west, it crosses Central Expressway, and turns into Knox; the shopping scene changes as well. Upscale home furnishings take over; weekends see a flurry of young, DINK couples outfitting their nest with products from Knox’s big three: the garden/patio supplies i Smith & Hawken (6), 3300 Knox, Weir’s Furniture (7). 3219 Knox, and the Pottery Barn (8), 3220 Knox. Anchoring the area in matters of both cuisine and history are the Highland Park Cafeteria (9), 4611 Cole, and the Highland Park Pharmacy (10), 3229 Knox-neither of which are actually in Highland Park.

The Knox Street Antique Mall (11), 3319 Knox, brings continuity from the Henderson side. At Travis Walk (12), 4500 Travis, there is a rewarding clump of hip shops and eateries like the coffee house Cafe Society, Greek-Mediterranean Ziziki’s and French L’Ancestral. Across the street is the see-and-be-seen spot Sipango (13), 4513 Travis. There’s steakhouse-turned-brew pub the Hoffbrau (14), 3205 Knox, pasta favorite MoMo’s (15), 3312 Knox, and Adelmo’s (16), 4537 Cole, whose menu takes something from each country with Mediterranean shores.

Greenville Avenue

Greenville maintains its two disparate personalities-Lower and Upper- with the help of Mockingbird Lane, where Lower Greenville dead-ends, forcing a quick zig to the right and a zag to the left before transforming itself into Upper Greenville. The Village Apartments are still here, as is the Old Town Shopping Center (1) at Lovers Lane and Greenville, but like polyester and rnood rings, they’ve lost some of their reason for being. Mariano’s (2), 5500 Greenville, original home of the frozen mar-garita, remains, and residents can find comfort in the solid presence of the Half-Price Books flagship store (3), 5915 E. Northwest Hwy. But Old Town’s Tom Thumb grocery store, 20 years ago one of the city’s most prolific pick-up joints, moved into a bigger, newer location, leaving its old spot to a ’90s pick-up place, Borders Books & Music.

Many of the singles who partied at the Village in the 70s and ’80s migrated south, where they bought cottages on the M Streets- McCommas, Morningside, etc.-and began calling themselves urban pioneers. And the dilapidated storefronts that housed Lower Greenville’s antiques shops and tattoo parlors found themselves gentrified by the influx of still-popular restaurants and stores-Whole Foods Market and the revamped Bluebonnet Cafe (4) at 2218, The Grape (5) at2808ftheir mushroom soup is a classic), Terilli’s (6) at 2815, Mick’s (7) at 2825, Blue Goose Cantina (8) at 2905, St. Martin’s (9) at 3020. and San Francisco Rose (10) at 3024 (which patriotically changes its name to Dallas Rose each year in honor of the Cowboys-’49ers matchup). Daddy Jack’s (11) at 1916 serves up heaping portions of seafood; Ali Baba Cafe (12) at 1905 dishes up Mediterranean fare; including its signature eggplant dip; Teppo (13) at 2104 specializes in Japanese.

The Ole Moon and Other Tales (14) at 3016 offers greeting cards and an unusual assortment of gifts, many fashioned by local artisans, and HD’s Clothing Co. (15) splits its fashionable offerings between women’s wear at 3014 and men’s wear at 3018.

Greenville’s reputation for lively nightspots has waned a bit-but the street still knows how to have a good time. The nearly 20-year-old Poor David’s Pub (16) at 1924 remains the only folk music club in town. The comfortable Greenville Bar & Grill (17) at 2821 claims to be the oldest bar in town, and we don’t doubt it. Amid the brewpub glut. Stan’s Blue Note (18) at 2908 is still an old-fashioned beer joint. Granada Movie Grill (19) at 3524 plays second-run movies in a bar-restaurant-like setting. Dance club Red Jacket (20) at 3606 is the latest incarnation of the 1950s club Jack Ruby made famous. The music mixes “martini” jazz, disco, and Retro ’80s.

A movement afoot to rename Lower Greenville “Somo,” (“South of Mockingbird”) has us wondering-can “Nomo” be far behind? Oak Lawn/McKinney Avenue/Quadrangle

Picture the friends from “Friends” living in Dallas and here they’d be: residing in the pricey high-rises on and around McKinney Avenue, working out at the Spa at The Crescent (1), 400 Crescent Court, and eating Cloud Cakes at Dream Cafe in the Quadrangle (2), 2800 Routh, on Sunday mornings. If demographers tracked the nesting pattern of this seemingly blessed segment of the population (the Beautiful People, natch}, we feel certain they would find the city’s largest BP cluster living and playing alongthe urban landscape between downtown Dallas and the Park Cities. This is as Upper East Side as Dallas gets. Witness the art galleries, such as Gerald Peters (3), 2913 Fairmount; Florence (4), 2500 Cedar Springs; Altermann & Morris (5), 2727 Routh; and the cutting-edge specialty shops such as Stanley Korshak at the Crescent. Also of note is the dense concentration of see-and-be-seen restaurants, like Star Canyon (6), 3102 Oak Lawn, and Fog City Diner (7), 2401 Mc-Kinney; perennial nightspots, like the 8.0 Bar in the Quadrangle; health-conscious eateries like Natura Cafe (8), 2909 McKinney; and luxury hotels like the Hotel Crescent Court at the Crescent and The Mansion on Turtle Creek (9), 2821 Turtle Creek.

Same song, different verse: Cross over to Oak Lawn for Dallas’ answer to the Upper West Side. Oak Lawn Avenue sets the tone for its namesake neighborhood, arguably the city’s most eclectic, and home to a large gay population. Here, old and new come together with virtual abandon and hedonism reigns. Two places to conspicuously consume are Marty’s (10), 3316 Oak Lawn, an old-line gourmet palace with an elegant wine selection and a discerning staff, and the bustling, trendy Eatzi’s(11), 34030ak Lawn, which takes takeout to its zenith. These sit within blocks of old-style hardware stores and 7-Elevens, The stately Melrose Hotel (12), 3015 Oak Lawn, holds court at the corner of Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs, while the Stoneieigh Hotel (13), 2927 Maple, exudes elegance and attracts a more bohemian and show-biz clientele.

Preston Center/ Highland Park Village/NorthPark

Travel north on Oak Lawn and without warning the avenue, like a recovering beatnik, will stub out its cigarette, tuck in its shirt, and begin moving with an easier, more confident gait as it becomes-with the subtlest veer to the left- Preston Road. This spine of the Golden Corridor, which begins in Highland Park and extends through North Dallas (and beyond), was once a Shawnee Indian trail. More than 150 years later, it is the artery off which elements of the very good life abound: lavish homes, the members-only Dallas Country Club (1), 4100 Beverly, and the 65-year-old grand dame of Dallas shopping, Highland Park Village (2), Mockingbird Lane and Preston Road. Dallas doesn’t usually do its malls this way, but the Village-built with its stores facing inward, and believed to be the second-oldest shopping center in the United States-is far from your typical Dallas mall. Shopping at the open-air center is more a social outing than a shopping trip. True, the Village has adopted a more egalitarian approach to its mix of retailers, but it’s still best known for its covey of designers who come together only in the most rarefied settings (i.e., Rodeo Drive, Worth Avenue, Fifth Avenue). Calvin Klein, Polo/ Ralph Lauren. Chanel, Hermes, and Escada lure the designer-conscious, while The Gap, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor attract the hoi polloi. After shopping, let your taste buds enjoy one of the Village’s restaurants-Cafe Pacific. Patrlzio. Mi Cocina, Cafe Highland Park, or Celebrity Restaurant and Bakery.

Two miles and an entirely different mood to the north is Preston Center (3), Northwest Highway and Preston Road, the city’s shopping complex that’s perhaps most oblivious to the ravages of time. Preston Center is like the aging matriarch who agrees to undergo a facelift-one feature at a time. The old Woolworth’s is now Larry North Total Fitness (4), 6038 Luther; the old Wyatt’s Cafeteria is now Windsor Antique Mall (5), 6126 Luther. Restaurants on the west side of Preston include Sam’s Cafe (6), 8411 Preston, Loma Luna (7), 8201 Preston, Mi Casa (8), 8305 Westchester. Cafe Expresso (9), 6135 Luther, and Szechwan Pavilion (10), 8409 Preston, as well as the venerable breakfast and lunch place, Vice Versa (11). 6065 Sherry.

The other half of Preston Center, east of Preston Road, wears its newfound youth most conspicuously. With its smattering of upscale boutiques-Ann Hartley (12), 4020 Villanova, Joan Vass (13), 8300 Preston, Tie-Coon Trading Co. (14), 4015 Villanova, Translations (15), 4014 Villanova, and Loretta Blum (16), 8412 Preston Center Plaza, among them-the matriarch’s better half had to have a new name: The Plaza at Preston Center. Here you’ll also find great places to dine like Eureka! (17), 4011 Villanova, MoMo’s (18), 8300 Preston Center Plaza, and Boxles Cafe (19), 4019 Villanova.

From Preston Center Plaza, travel east on Northwest Highway to North Central Expressway and discover another shopping mecca, NorthPark Center (20). NorthPark has never been just another mall; conceived by developer/art collector Ray Nasher, the nation’s first upscale covered mall opened its doors in 1965 at a time when Dallas had yet to become the mall-o-rama it is today. In pre-ooom Dallas, Nasher was considered a visionary for combining in a retail center award-winning design, convenience, and environmental beauty.

There’s always been much more than shopping going on at NorthPark. On any given day, you’ll see tennis-shoe-clad matrons on their daily walk (a one-way jaunt from JCPenney at one end of the horseshoe-shaped mall to Lord & Taylor at the other is half a mile); a good portion of Nasher’s impressive collection of 20th-century art (Frank Stellas, Henry Moores. Roy Lichtensteins and Andy Warhols are rotated regularly); the most inventive window-dressing in town (at Barneys New York); and the most popular Neiman Marcus in the chain. There’s also great shopping for kids at FAO Schwarz, Left Brain/Right Brain, and the Imaginarium. Already home to Dillard’s, NorthPark is expanding with a new Foley’s, bringing the total square footage to 1.965 million, and ballooning this most genteel of Dallas malls to uber-mall status. Say it ain’t so, Ray!

ADDISON AREA



This dining and shopping paradise was founded in 1846, when settlers attached the name Peters Colony to a large chunk of North Texas. In 1902, part of that area became Addison, which was officially incorporated in 1953 and today-as the town of Addison-offers food and fun. Anchored on the north by Addison Airport and on the south by Spring Valley Road, the little town’s 4 V2 square miles are home to 10 hotels, 124 restaurants, and plenty of shopping, with more of the same to be found in adjacent Far North Dallas.

Most of Addison’s restaurants are on Beit Line Road. Although navigating this stretch between Midway and Montfort roads can be a challenge during lunch hour, rush hour, and weekends, “Restaurant Row” offers a variety of cuisine. Appropriately, one of Addison’s oldest buildings now houses a restaurant. Dovie’s (1), 14671 Midway, built as a country farmhouse in the 1930s and purchased in the ’50s by film star Audie Murphy, is now surrounded by office buildings.

One cuisine sub-category at which Addison excels is the upscale steakhouse: Some of the area’s best are clustered here, including Del Frisco’s (2), 5251 Spring Valley, Chamberlain’s (3), 5330 Belt Line, Morton’s of Chicago (4), 14831 Midway, and Stone Trail (5), 14833 Midway. New favorites include Mi Piaci (6), 14850 Montfort, and Roaring Fork (7), 14866 Montfort. Some area restaurants also provide entertainment, notably Sambuca (8), 15207 Addison, and Memphis (9), 5000 Belt Line, noted for jazz, r&b, and big-band sounds.

After your meal, check out theater at the Addison Centre Theatre (10), 15650 Addison, or comedy at Addison Improv (11), 4980 Belt Line. Or rent a pair of skates and enjoy the ice rinks at Prestonwood Town Center (12), 5301 Belt Line, or the Dallas Galleria (13), 13350 Dallas Pkwy. Prestonwood offers a northern outpost for Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor. The Galleria’s atrium roof lets in the Texas sunshine as you enjoy the “sidewalk” seating at Neuhaus Chocolate Shop or Starbucks. This is also department-store heaven, with Macy’s, Marshall Field’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and a newly opened location of Seattle’s famed Nordstrom. Don’t miss the displays in the windows at Tiffany & Co.; Shakespeare Beethoven offers one of the city’s best selections of classical music; and Gucci, Williams-Sonoma, and Louis Vuitton all have boutiques here. If hunger overtakes you at the mall, try Uncle Tai’s, Huntington’s, or Nicola’s.

The Galleria also offers accommodations at The Westin Hotel (14), 13340 Dallas Pkwy. Other area hotels include The Grand Kempinski (15), 15201 Dallas Pkwy., the Marriott Quorum (16), 14901 Dallas Pkwy., and the Doubletree Hotel at Lincoln Centre (17), 5410 LBJ Fwy. at the Dallas North Tollway.

If the kids don’t want to shop or if you just want a change of pace, travel Addison Road north to see historical aircraft, including a World War II F41M Corsair and an F9F-2B Panther jet, at the Cavanaugh Right Museum at Addison Airport (18), 4505 Claire Chennault. Many of the charter airlines at the airport offer introductory flights, too.

Also, the Iceoplex Ice Arena (19), 15100 Midway, is yet another Addison source for ice skating, including pickup hockey games, private parties, family nights, and lessons. Skate rentals are available.

Addison’s calendar also boasts special events including Taste of Addison (mid-May), Oktoberfest (mid-September), and Kaboom Town (July 3), an Independence Day festival that includes a low-level fly-by of some of the vintage aircraft from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum.

Today’s Addison is a far cry from the original Peters Colony. If the 19th-century settlers were to visit, they might wonder what they had wrought-but only after they’d finished dinner.

ARLINGTON

Like an amusement oasis between Dallas and Fort Worth, Arlington’s Entertainment District stretches along Interstate 30, anchored by Wet ’N’ Wild, Six Rags Over Texas, and The Ballpark in Arlington. The first “tourist” attraction in Arlington, of course, was Six Flags Over Texas (1), 1-30 at State Highway 360. And this is the Six Flags, the first one ever, opened 35 years ago by Angus Wynne Jr., and it’s the only Six Rags park whose name makes any sense. As good little Texas schoolchildren and those who pay attention to the layout of the park know, the flags of Spain, France, Mexico, the Confederacy, the Republic of Texas, and the United States have all flown over Texas. One of the best thrills at Six Flags is the 300-foot observation tower, from which you can see the things that have made Arlington what it is today: the University of Texas at Arlington campus, the huge General Motors plant on 360, and on a clear day, the downtowns of both Dallas and Fort Worth.

The Entertainment District’s crown jewel is. of course, The Ballpark in Arlington (2), 1000 Ballpark Way, built in 1994 as the new permanent home for the Texas Rangers. A first-class facility funded largely by a sales-tax increase, The Ballpark was built with visitons-and marketing-in mind. You can tour the Ballpark year-round, visit the Legends of the Game Museum, or eat at Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill or the Diamond Club.

A third entertainment anchor in the area is Wet ’N’ Wild water park (3), 1800 E. Lamar, located on the north side of I-30; the adjacent Funsphere amusement area and arcade is open year-round.

Around these attractions all manner of restaurants have grown like mushrooms after a thunderstorm. Most are clustered in three strips. One, on Copeland Road along I-30, features Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen (4), 1304 E. Copeland, Landry’s Seafood House (5), 1520 Nolan Ryan Expwy., and Cozymel’s (6), 1300 E. Copeland, a Tex-Mex place. Another strip along either side of Highway 360 is home to seafood restaurant Key West Grill (7), 919 Six Rags Dr., J. Pepe’s Restaurant and Cantina(8), 923SixFlags Dr., Blues City Diner (9), 706 N. Watson, and Humperdink’s Bar & Grill (10), 700 Six Rags Dr., Arlington’s first brew pub. On the north side of 1-30, along Lamar, find Trail Dust Steakhouse (11), 2300 E. Lamar, the bistro Le Peep (12), 1901 E. Lamar, and the French bakery La Madeleine (13), 2101 N. Collins.

For more sophisticated dining, try Arlington’s only four-star French restaurant. Cacharel (14), 2221 E. Lamar. And you will find a gem of a white-tablecloth Italian restaurant, Piccolo Mondo (15), 829 E. Lamar, tucked away in a strip shopping center.

Shopping and movies can be found at elegant Lincoln Square Shopping Center (16), with its notable mustang sculptures, Collins and 1-30; restaurants at the center include Second Avenue Pizza, the high-end ice cream palace Marble Slab Creamery, and a couple of coffee houses, Cafe de France and Coffee Haus A Barnes & Noble (17), 934 E. Copeland, complete with coffee bar, waits just down the street from the Ballpark.

Hotels in the area include the Arlington Marriott (18), 1500 Convention Center Dr., where some rooms overlook the Ballpark; the Arlington Hilton (19), 2401 E. Lamar; and the Radisson Suite Hotel (20), 700 Avenue H East.

The car is king in Arlington, which has no public transportation system, and visitors should be aware that the Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled reconstruction of 1-30 through this area, the start-up of which has already begun. Call TXDOT at 817-370-6899 for updates.

At press time a new trolley service was planned to debut in the entertainment district, offering five routes that will shuttle visitors among hotels and attractions, including area restaurants and Lincoln Square shopping center. The trolley is scheduled to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. seven days a week.

FORT WORTH



Stockyards

This is what you want Texas to be. The city’s best known historical landmark, the yards were a destination for cattle drives like the one made famous in Lonesome Dove. When railroads arrived in 1876, Fort Worth became a major shipping point to Eastern meat markets. Acres of wooden pens held livestock cattle before they were shipped out or slaughtered at the giant meat packing plants. Saloons and ladies of the evening catered to the cowboys and packinghouse workers. The saloons are still here, but family-friendly best describes the Stockyards today.

The Visitors Information Center (1), 130 E. Exchange, will help orient you, or you can walk along Exchange Avenue straight back into living Western history. The White Elephant Saloon (2), 106 E. Exchange, still looks like the Wild West bar it originally was; by the way, the bar scenes for the TV series “Walker, Texas Ranger” are filmed here. Bonnie and Clyde hid out at the Stockyards Hotel (3), 109 E. Exchange; according to legend, they holed up at opposite ends of the hotel so they could watch for posses. Booger Red’s Saloon & Restaurant in the hotel has saddles for bar-stool seats. See indoor rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum (4), 121 E. Exchange, and walk through the Stockyards Collection and Museum at the Livestock Exchange Building (5), 131E. Exchange. A few blocks north of Exchange Avenue, line-dance and two-step ’til you drop at Billy Bob’s Texas (6), 2520 Rodeo Plaza, the world’s largest honky-tonk, with 42 bars, a dirt pen where cowboys ride real bulls, and a mechanical bull. Shop for souvenirs at Stockyards Station (7), 140 E. Exchange, an upscale shopping pavilion housed in former hog and sheep pens-a true case of sows’ ears giving way to silk purses. At the station you can catch the Tarantula Train, a turn-of-the-century steam excursion train with vintage coaches that makes a round-trip loop through the Fort Worth Zoo-Trinity Park area. The Cultural District

Fort Worth brags of being a city of cowboys and culture, and this area embraces both. Every January, this West Side district is home to the 100-year-oid Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. For the three weeks of the Stock Show at the Will Rogers Coliseum (1), Amon Carter Square, the equestrian buildings and the stock barns teem with cowboys and all manner of livestock, all in comfortable proximity to museums housing some of the world’s greatest art. Admission to these museums is free, although some special exhibits may have an entrance fee. The Kimbell Art Museum (2), 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., has an excellent collection of European and Asian art and is home to many blockbuster traveling exhibits. The Amon Carter Museum of Western Art (3), 3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., houses not only former Fort Worth Star-Telegram publisher Amon Carter’s famous collection of Remingtons and Russells, but also a fine grouping of 19th- and early 20th-century American paintings and an outstanding American photography collection. The Carter will be closed for renovations from mid-June to early September. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (4), 1309 Montgomery, features excellent American and European contemporary art, as well as a new collection of international photography. The Modern Art Museum’s Scott Theater is home to the Fort Worth Theater, as well as concerts by Texas singer-songwriters such as Guy Clark and Tish Hinojosa. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (5}, 1501 Montgomery, features

excellent exhibits on Texas’ natural history, as well as the exciting Omni Theater and the Noble Planetarium. All the museums are within easy walking distance of one another.

Immediately south of the Cultural District is the Fort Worth Zoo (6), 1989 Colonial Pkwy. (See page 5). Within the Botanic Gardens and Conservatory (7), 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., are the Japanese Gardens, which have been called the most authentic outside of Japan. The Meditation Garden mirrors the design of the great Ryoanji temple garden in Kyoto, and this subtly beautiful and serene space features a “sea” of carefully groomed gravel interspersed with gently curving stone islands. Koi, or imperial carp, can be seen in pools that flow past the pavilions in this tranquil sanctuary.

Sundance Square/ Downtown Fort Worth

This restored area in downtown Fort Worth sits just a few blocks south of the bluff above the Trinity River where the original Fort Worth was established by U.S. Army dragoons in 1849. A very walkable area, its blocks are filled with restaurants, shops, museums, theaters, and hotels, including the upscale Worthington (1), 200 Main, the Remington(2). 600 Commerce, and the Radisson Plaza Hotel (3), 815 Main.

Anchoring the historic Sundance Square area on the north is the beautifully restored Tarrant County Courthouse (4), 100 E. Weatherford. To get an overview of Fort Worth’s rich Western heritage, start a Sundance Square tour at the Fire Station No. 1 Museum (5), 2nd and Commerce streets, which offers a “150 Years of Fort Worth” exhibit. The Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art (6), 309 Main, is home to a nice assortment of Russells and Remingtons. The Chisholm Trail Mural (7), 3rd and Main streets, salutes the most famous cattle trail that came through Fort Worth. And the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Sundance Square Annex (8), 410 Houston, offers mini-exhibits of the Modern’s collection.

Sundance Square bustles with activity all day and nearly all night. You can catch a movie at the 11-screen AMC Sundance Cinema (9), 3rd and Houston streets. Fans of live theater can take in African-American theater at the Jubilee Theater (10), 506 Main; sample a play at Circle Theater (11), 230 W. 4th; or see a musical at Casa on the Square (12), 109 E. 3rd. Restaurants abound in Sundance Square, including Juanita’s (13), 115 W. 2nd, or Mi Cocina (14), 400 Main, for Tex-Mex; and Razzoo’s (15), 318 Main, for Cajun food. Riscky’s Barbecue (16), 300 Main, is a Fort Worth institution; the Cactus Bar and Grill at the Radisson Plaza Hotel offers a well-executed New Southwest menu and a decor to match. New to Fort Worth is an outpost of Dallas’ trendy 8.0 Bar (17), 111 E. 3rd. For coffee, try the Sundance Market and Deli (18), 353 Throckmorton, or the Coffee Haus (19), 404 Houston, which has sidewalk seating.

Not to be missed is the Caravan of Dreams (20), 312 Houston, the nightclub-theater that really kicked off the whole notion of revitalizing downtown Fort Worth. There, you can hear the best in jazz, rock, and pop music, see experimental or mainstream theater, or visit the rooftop grotto bar and cactus dome. Those in search of a drink might also want to try the Flying Saucer Beer Emporium (21), 111 E. 4th, or the Blarney Stone Irish Pub (22), 903 Throckmorton.

Changes are corning to Sundance; the new AMC Palace Theater (23) has just opened at Third and Calhoun streets, and the Fort Worth Outlet Square will open soon in the Tandy Center. In the fall, Barnes & Noble will open a new book superstore. Big Time Texas, due in the winter of ’96, will feature dining, a nightclub, a microbrewery, and shopping.