The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metroplex Has Emerged as Thriving Location for Economic Growth and Diverse Activities
Dallas and Fort Worth lie only thirty miles apart along Interstate Route 30 in Texas. They each have their own distinctive character. Dallas is known for its architecture, glamour, and financial sector, and some people see it as the place where the south ends. In contrast, Fort Worth is a down to earth city that hosts modern industries while embracing its cowboy history and southwestern connections. In the middle, the city of Arlington boasts an incredible array of sports and entertainment complexes that put the region on the national map. Finally, the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which is the sixth busiest in the world, connects the entire area to destinations near and far.
These areas have effectively merged into one regional economy which is often referred to as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The Metroplex has a fast-growing population that exceeds eight million people as of 2023 which makes it the fourth largest metropolitan area in the nation. Economic development and job opportunities are also on the rise. With twenty-four Fortune 500 companies located there, leading technology and engineering companies, a strong tourism infrastructure, and a regional gross domestic product that exceeds most of the world’s countries, Dallas-Fort Worth is well positioned for continued economic progress. The number of visitors to the region now exceeds thirty million people annually. While summer can be hot and humid, and it is not unusual to see temperatures below freezing in mid-winter, the rest of the year is a good time to enjoy the sites there.
There are dozens of museums, attractions, historic sites, parks and gardens, food, and shopping options to explore in the three major centers of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington. The following places are worth visiting during a stay in the area:
Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District- The Fort Worth Historic Stockyards District is a unique Americana tourist attraction. It embodies a significant part of the history of the frontier area of Texas. Fortune favors a good location and Fort Worth found itself at a key juncture on the Chisolm Trail which was the main route followed by drovers when transporting herds of longhorn cattle from South Texas to the railheads in central Kansas. Even after rail lines reached Fort Worth, the city continued to thrive and by the end of the 19th century an estimated four million cattle were brought there by ranchers, fattened up, and transported north by train.
At the turn of the century, Fort Worth convinced the prominent Swift and Armour beef companies to build meat packing plants and offices adjacent to the stockyards and the slaughterhouses. A Livestock Exchange Building where cattle, sheep and hogs were traded and the Cowtown Coliseum where cattle were displayed, and rodeos soon followed. After the interstate highway system and modern trucking decentralized the industry in the 1960s, the city was faced with the question of what to do with this huge industrial area. It obtained designation of ninety-eight acres of land and buildings as the Stockyards National Historic District in 1976 and opened the area to development.
Today, the Stockyards boasts seventeen attractions, fourteen restaurants, thirteen bars and thirty-five shops along with five nearby hotels. The attraction blends the cowboy culture, Fort Worth’s history, and entertainment into an experience which ten million people enjoy per year. The things to do there include:
Cattle Drive – Twice a day, there is a cattle drive down the center of the main street known as Exchange Avenue. Several dozen Texas longhorns are escorted by cowboys on horses from the pasture to the cattle pens while visitors line the “parade” route.
Western Experiences – Visitors can experience group trail rides on their own horse or ride around the compound on a stagecoach, a horse drawn wagon, or a mini train. There are staged encounters by the Legends of Texas group who reenact famous gunfights dressed as lawmen or outlaws. A rodeo is held every Friday and Saturday night with traditional ranching displays of bull riding, cattle roping and bronco riding. A traditional Wild West Show is presented on Saturday afternoons and the rodeo stage at the Cowtown Coliseum presents live music with southern rock, music, and Texas country music acts.
Exhibits- Exhibits on display at the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame depict renowned westerners of all kinds and feature a special show called the John Wayne Experience presents displays of his life and films.
Food, Saloons, and Shopping - There are many restaurants, saloons, snack shops and stores at the Stockyards serving Texas favorites like barbecue, steaks and burgers, beverages, beer, and ice cream. Popular honky tonks also make the Stockyards a high energy venue. Billy Bob’s Texas is a large warehouse that holds six thousand people who enjoy drinking, dancing to live bands, watching live bull rides or just hanging out. Finally, in addition to souvenir shops, western boots, hats, clothes, belts, and other cowboy accessories are on display at retail stores scattered around the Stockyard.
Southfork Ranch - From 1978 to 1991, one of the most popular television shows in America was “Dallas” viewed by tens of millions of people each week. The prime-time soap opera depicted the rich, powerful, and beautiful members of the fictional Ewing family who battled with business and romantic rivals over the fate of a Texas oil company and a majestic cattle ranch. While some scenes were filmed in Hollywood, most of the outdoor scenes and some indoor ones were shot at a large private ranch in Parker, Texas known as Southfork. Surrounded by a majestic driveway, fences, groomed ranch land, horses, longhorn cattle and barns, the 5900 square foot southern style mansion quickly became known around the world and eventually was opened for public tours, special events, and private parties. The ranch and show shaped the national perception of Texas as a dynamic and wealthy place for people to live and seek their future.
Southfork now entertains more than 400,000 visitors annually and hosts a wide variety of social events and conventions at its grounds which include a 63,000 square foot conference and event center. There is plenty to see on a tour of Southfork and you can have fun there even if you have never seen the show at all. The adjoining museum explains the history of the show, the story, and the interesting personalities who starred on the show. After visiting the museum, the tour group is driven on a tram through a portion of the property containing outbuildings used for various scenes. At the mansion, a guide brings you through the various rooms of the house and explains events that were filmed there, stories about the cast, and the background of the ranch.
Fort Worth Water Gardens- One of the most impressive attractions in the region is a 5.4-acre park and water spectacle known as the Fort Worth Water Gardens located in the downtown section of the city next to the Convention Center. Completed with a donation from a private foundation, the Water Gardens provide a unique futuristic space for relaxation and reflection by downtown workers and tourists in the heart of the city. Designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the Water Gardens were dedicated in 1974 and immediately attracted attention. The park has been described as featuring “soaring mesas and deep canyons of concrete unified by displays of water and vegetation.” The site has been used as a backdrop for movies, videos, and photo shoots.
There are four separate areas of the park scattered around a central square. The most prominent and popular one is the Active Pool. This is a recessed pool located thirty-eight feet below the square. It is constructed out of a series of concrete terraces and flat steps. The water cascades down the terraces to a square pool at the bottom where it is pumped back up to the top. The steps allow park visitors to walk down to the pool while the water rushes around them without getting wet. The second pool is called the Aerating Pool. This pool has forty nozzles which spray water in small fountains and create a sensation of a mist dancing above the water. The third pool is designed as a mediation space. A large calm pool surrounded by cypress trees has been placed at the bottom of 22-foot-high walls and accessed by walking down steps. All three pools are illuminated at night. The final segment of the park is the Mountain which is a massive concrete plateau, grassy lawn and stage at the south end which buffers the park from the nearby city streets.
Arlington’s Collection of Sports and Entertainment Venues – The city of Arlington has assembled a unique and impressive collection of sports facilities, other attractions, and two dozen hotels in an entertainment district on Interstate 30 that has become one of the nation’s premier sports destinations. The venues and attractions in Arlington include:
Six Flags Over Texas-The entertainment focus of Arlington started in 1961 when a Texas developer finished the construction of a large amusement park on barren land along Interstate 30 and called it Six Flags over Texas. Sixty-one years later, the 212-acre theme park has dozens of rides, food, entertainment, and special events which attract over three million people annually to the Arlington site.
AT&T Stadium- Built in 2009, AT&T Stadium is the largest domed stadium in the country which serves as the home field for the Dallas Cowboys. It contains 3 million square feet and holds 80,000 to 100,000 people depending on the event. Since it is three hundred feet tall, the stadium is high enough to be seen from most places in the region. High profile NFL games are just one of the major events that occur at AT&T field. The stadium is used three hundred times each year for everything from the Super Bowl and WrestleMania to NCAA football and basketball championships to large concerts and international soccer matches.
Choctaw Stadium- In 1994, the Texas Rangers opened an attractive 50,000 seat baseball stadium with a brick façade in Arlington. The stadium was originally known as The Ballpark in Arlington and later called Globe Life Field. Leading Texas figures such as future President George W. Bush and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan played major roles in running the franchise. When team owners and the city of Arlington built a new stadium right across the street that opened in 2019, the stadium was preserved and renamed Choctaw Stadium in partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. It now serves as the location for XFL games, USL League professional soccer games, the major league Dallas Jackals rugby team, and fifty high school football games.
Globe Life Park- Facing hot Texas summers, fan expectations for greater amenities, the Texas Rangers built this state-of-the-art facility across the street from Choctaw Stadium. It holds 40,000 fans in a climate-controlled environment that includes a retractable roof and a synthetic grass field using improved carpeting. The Stadium was used by MLB for the 2020 playoffs and all seven World Series games that year, and in 2023 the Texas Rangers won their first World Series despite losing all their home games. It features spectacular views and wide-open corridors for concessions and fan relaxation.
Texas Live- The $250 million Texas Live! project provides an integrated game day experience for fans attending games or other events in the entertainment district. It includes a luxury Loews Hotel connected to the Globe Life Park with rooms and an infinity pool overlooking the stadiums along with a special shopping complex that combines entertainment, restaurants, and accommodations into one exciting destination. The complex includes two flexible performance pavilions and eight restaurants along with shops and a sixty-five by 20-foot HD video screen.
Esports Stadium Arlington- In 2018, the city converted the former convention center in the entertainment district into “a pioneering venue for large scale esports productions, events and community activities.” It now offers advanced technology and the largest turnkey space available in North America for esports tournaments, providing seating for 2500 spectators as well as exhibition space for conventions.
John F. Kennedy Memorials- The legacy of Dallas as the place where President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 remains a painful memory for the city and for the people who visit the locations where these events took place. The main memorial to JFK thirty foot-high, square granite headstone that stands in a small park on Main and Market Street in downtown Dallas in memory of the President and serves as “a place of quiet refuge.” Down the street at Dealey Plaza, the Sixth Floor Museum has been established in the building which housed the former Texas School Book Depository. More than 400,000 people visit the museum and the surrounding area including the Grassy Knoll overlooking the site. The museum includes exhibits about the tragic events of that day and the important achievements of the man and his presidency.
Shopping Dallas Style- Shopping has always been one of the leading leisure activities among the residents of Dallas and there are many locations in the city to pursue this interest. For more than one hundred years, the Neiman Marcus department store in central Dallas was renowned for catering to its customers’ every need and the emporium is still a favorite destination during the holidays. The Galleria Dallas located in the northern suburbs is another premier destination since it features hundreds of designer stores and luxury goods as well as the food and entertainment amenities that shoppers have come to expect.
Herd of Longhorns- The Pioneer Plaza in downtown Dallas includes a small hill and a stream that provides a place for downtown workers to eat lunch or relax. However, you won’t be alone because the area is also occupied by A Herd of Longhorns who meander down the hill and across the stream accompanied by cowboys and drovers on horseback. Cast in bronze, each of several dozen full sized statues make an impressive demonstration of the cattle drives that once passed through the area.
Dallas Cultural Attractions- Dallas also has abundant cultural and entertainment facilities for residents and visitors to enjoy. A 68-acre section of the downtown is an Arts District that consists of first-class facilities like the Dallas Museum of Art, the Meyerson Symphony Center, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, and other cultural centers. These buildings have given rise to a growing number of galleries, theaters, cafes, and restaurants, and attracted more people to live in the surrounding area.