|
|
 |
|
Rediscovering Cowtown A trip to Fort Worth used to be a stopover during a visit to Dallas. Now it's the reason to go to North Texas. Every city needs a tag line and Fort Worth has a swaggering doozy: "Where the West Begins." Decades ago, Amon Carter, publisher and relentless civic booster, stuck the phrase on the masthead of his newspaper, the Star-Telegram, where it remains today. The notion is as good as branded on the psyche of the citizens here who delight in touting their Western heritage. But a story that begins with cattle drives and stockyards doesn't end there; Cowtown has moved beyond its bovine beginnings to become a hotbed of fine art. "What I like about Fort Worth is the cowboys-and-culture contrast," says Kathryn Jones, writer and longtime resident. "You can go to a rodeo at the art deco–style Will Rogers Coliseum and walk across the street to view Rubens at the Kimbell Art Museum. People here prize good art as much as they do good horses." FAST FACTS Fort Worth is hot in the summer and mild most of the winter. Spring and fall can be glorious—as long as Midwestern storms don't spawn twisters—and packed with events, from the Main Street Arts Festival in April to the Women's National Finals Rodeo in November. Although Fort Worth and Dallas are only 35 miles apart, share an international airport, and are now linked by the long-awaited commuter train the Trinity Railway Express, don't mistake these two cities for twins. Their differences are legion, and their rivalry is the stuff of legends. (The second, unpublished half of Fort Worth's motto? "Dallas: Where the East Peters Out.") DON'T MISS The redbrick and history-rich city center—a lively mix of restaurants, bars, music venues, and shops—has been revitalized with a vengeance, thanks to the largesse of the billionaire Bass family, the Medicis of Fort Worth. Kathryn Jones always takes visitors to three places downtown: along Main Street to gawk at Richard Haas's trompe l'oeil Chisholm Trail mural and the postcard-pretty 1895 Tarrant County Courthouse, to the venerable Peters Brothers to try on cowboy hats, and to the Water Gardens, a tumult of waterfalls and pools designed by Philip Johnson. You'll never milk Cowtown of all its culture in two weeks, much less two days. The highly concentrated Cultural District, on a slight hill overlooking downtown, bursts with expanded museums. At the new National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, a light-pink brick building designed by David Schwarz, you can learn to saddle up your mount, thumb through giant scrapbooks documenting ranch life, and film yourself "riding" in a 1930s rodeo. Last year the Amon Carter Museum completed a $39-million expansion that has tripled the gallery space to better showcase its vast collection of Remingtons, Russells, and a wealth of fine American paintings and photography. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth reopens in December with an inaugural exhibit—"110 Years: The Permanent Collection"—in the new 50,000-square-foot building designed by modernist and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando. But don't let these flashy newbies keep you from the iconic Kimbell and its rotating collections of European and non-Western art ("The Path to Abstraction," an exhibit of Mondrian works, runs through December 8). A café serves salads and quiches at lunchtime. The historic Stockyards, the hub for Chisholm Trail cattle drivers and later for stockmen shipping their cattle by rail, has reinvented itself to appeal to wanna-be cowboys and cowgirls. On the weekends, daytime crowds ham it up astride docile longhorns or board the Tarantula steam train for excursions to Grapevine, a nearby town with a historic heart. Night brings out urban cowpokes by the droves. But quiet weekdays may be the best time to soak up the Old West atmosphere courtesy of old hog and sheep pens (now a mini-mall and train depot called Stockyards Station), brick streets, and stucco buildings. WHERE THE LOCALS EAT It's no surprise that stylish steak houses like the popular Del Frisco's abound in Fort Worth, but when June Naylor, restaurant critic at the Star-Telegram and guidebook author, dines on the wild side, she heads to Lonesome Dove Western Bistro for chef Tim Love's venison sashimi or grilled quail quesadillas. On the lighter side, Naylor recommends angel-gazing over a plate of giant calamari on the patio at Angeluna, a restaurant with a heavenly location facing the enormous trumpeting angel statues of the Bass Performance Hall. Café Ashton has elevated downtown dining even further with offerings like roasted-lobster bisque and wild-mushroom risotto. Joe T. Garcia's, which began in the 1930s as an eight-table diner in a wooden shack, now covers an entire block. The lush outdoor patios, menu-free dining (at dinner only; choices are enchiladas or fajitas), and margaritas still attract the locals—as well as visiting glitterati like Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. For combination platters of tequila shrimp and tenderloin tamale appetizers, folks pack Pedro's Trailer Park, as fun and funky as its name implies. COWBOY COUTURE To play cowboy, you've got to have the outfit. At Maverick Fine Western Wear, the beaded and embroidered shirts and chartreuse cowboy boots suggest Rodeo Drive more than cattle drive. If you ever plan on actually stringing barbed wire or riding the range, Fincher's offers more modest, hardworking duds. Mayfair's on Main Street, a tiny shop tucked into a tree-lined stretch of downtown, sells rhinestones, cowboy or not. Clustered around the Cultural District is a wealth of art galleries, such as Carol Henderson's, where ornamental crosses and one-of-a-kind jewelry can be had. The old Santa Fe Warehouse, built in 1937, was reborn last spring as the Fort Worth Rail Market. Merchants hawk everything from fresh produce and seafood to Texas wines and cut flowers. The market also includes a tamale shop (Hot Damn, Tamales!) and Fort Worth's first all-vegan restaurant. NIGHTLIFE "I believe with all my heart that people should go to Billy Bob's at least once," says Jim Stinson, manager of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Billy Bob's is the self-proclaimed world's largest honky-tonk, with an indoor live bull-riding ring, a dance floor for 10,000 (free lessons are held Thursday evenings), and a spangled silver horse saddle twirling in place of a disco ball. The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, with two 48-foot limestone angels flanking the facade, houses Fort Worth's opera, symphony, and ballet, and also showcases acts like the Chieftains and Jethro Tull. For a boggling beer selection, unapologetic funk, and live jazz and blues, locals drop in at the Black Dog Tavern. Searching for a more studied atmosphere, a frightening selection of martinis, and a chummy cigar room? Then check out Sol y Luna, where each of its two floors celebrate its celestial namesakes. On weekends, catch the acoustic music at the Four Star Coffee Bar. SLEEPS At the Renaissance Worthington, many of the 500 elegant, spacious rooms overlook the frenetic downtown from a tranquil height. Rooms at the boutique-style Ashton Hotel, originally the swank 1915 Fort Worth Club, are outfitted with mahogany furnishings, claw-foot bathtubs, and luxurious Frette linens that make getting out of bed a heroic endeavor. Etta's Place is a cozy bed-and-breakfast located in a four-story building in the heart of downtown's historic Sundance Square. TRAVELWISE
Sightseeing, Culture, & Shopping Restaurants, Cafés, and Bars
Angeluna: 215 E. Fourth St.; +1 817 334 0080. Lodgings
The Ashton Hotel: 610 Main St.; +1 817 332 0100; www.theashtonhotel.com, ($230-290 U.S.). The information in this story was accurate at the time it was published, but we suggest you confirm all details before making travel plans.
|
|
