Dallas for culture vultures
Dallas may not be internationally renowned for its world-class museums or opera houses but that’s not to say there isn’t some culture in the Big D.
The city’s cultural epicenter is the Arts District, located a few block southwest of downtown Dallas. This is one of my favourite areas not least because it’s pedestrian friendly, a rare occurrence in this town where everything is spread out and the car is king.
The Dallas Museum of Art is the biggest museum in the city by far. Its permanent collection ranges from wonderful Aztec artifacts to colonial furniture to African art. Their Late Nights are fun: the museum stays open until late on a Friday once a month and there is live music.
The Nasher Sculpture Center is across the street from the DMA. They sell a combined ticket for both museums that is a little cheaper. I think that the Nasher’s best feature is its gardens. There, modern sculpture (including one by one of my favourite artists, Henry Moore) seamlessly blend with nature. The cafe terrace has gorgeous views. Highly recommended.
Across the Woodall Rogers Freeway from the DMA and the Nasher are the Meyerson Symphony Center and the Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Both concert venues are sleek and modern.
A short walk from the Winspear are some other Dallas landmarks, like the Belo Mansion, the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Dallas’ Catholic cathedral (in case you haven’t noticed) and the First United Methodist Church (circa early 1900s)
A while ago I signed up for a walking tour of the area, which I didn’t take because I showed up on the wrong day (hey! I can see you rolling your eyes!). Since it was a lovely spring morning, I decided to create my own private tour. I ambled to the First United Methodist Church -I like to visit churches- but it was closed. I started chatting with the gardener tending to a flowerbed. One thing led to another and then he called a mate of his who was inside and asked him to unlock the doors for me.
Thy say that God helps those who help themselves.
Ana View All →
Hi, I’m Ana. I’m originally from Argentina but I’m currently living in Dallas (USA) with my British husband. I’d like to share my experiences as an expat and as a traveller.
I’d really like to visit the sculpture garden. Sounds like a great idea for an afternoon!
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It’s lovely (as long as the weather’s good too). I’ll show you around when you come to the Big D 🙂
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Well, everything looks really modern, clean and big! The Nasher Sculpture Centre (sorry, Center!) would be my first choice, I think – it really looks and sounds interesting.
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Everything must be big. It’s Texas. 😉
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Texas is the North American version of Brazil then – they’re always “o máis grande do mundo” 🙂
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Ha! Tal cual.
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I love sculpture gardens too, so I’d definitely make time to stroll around while taking in a bit of art and (hopefully) sunshine. I’m also interested in pre-Columbian artifacts, so I’d probably pop into the art museum to check out that exhibit. It’s nice that they offer a combined ticket at a reduced price–museum hopping can get expensive!
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Sunshine is a given 🙂
The pre-Columbian collection is quite big, at least for a “gringo” museum 🙂
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I remember Texas of 20 years ago. Never thought I’d see the words Dallas and pedestrian-friendly in the same sentence 🙂
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Ha! well, it’s still not very pedestrian-friendly except for a handful of areas.
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God helps those who help themselves, indeed, haha. Nice one, Ana.
A family member lives in Dallas but I’ve never gone there, partly because it doesn’t really seem all that interesting to me from a cultural point of view (I’m sure I’m wrong). So it’s good to get a glimpse here of some of the city’s cultural attractions. 🙂
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You’re not that wrong 🙂 especially if you’ve been to the great museums of the world. However, it’s interesting to go in search of the local culture. I don’t mean art but local idiosyncrasies.
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