Arts District
Spread over 20 square blocks and encompassing 68 acres, the walkable downtown hub of creativity features art for all the senses with award-winning museums, performing arts venues, restaurants and bars, while an arts magnet high school, Booker T. Washington, inspires tomorrow’s brilliant artists.Boasting the largest contiguous urban arts district in the nation and an array of vibrant and breathtaking visual and performing arts experiences across the city, Dallas offers world-class exhibits and adventures for culture lovers. If you’re pressed for time, don’t fret! There’s plenty of time to see all the major attractions. From the Nasher Sculpture Center, one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary sculptures in the world, to stunning sounds of the Meyerson Symphony Center, you can’t beat a day in the Dallas Arts District. The Arts District is Downtown’s cultural hub, known for the strikingly angular Meyerson Symphony Center, the lavish Winspear Opera House and the Dallas Museum of Art, with its vast collection spanning ancient times to the present. The Nasher Sculpture Center exhibits modern masterpieces in a verdant setting, while the Crow Collection of Asian Art displays religious and secular pieces from diverse eras and cultures.
You may not think of Dallas as a hotspot for top musical entertainment, opera, art exhibitions, and fine dining, but take a closer look. Dallas is home to the largest arts district in the country. Hidden within the impressive architecture of the area are Picassos, Beethoven performances, Italian opera, the works of Rodin, and Tony-Award-winning theater. Don’t be daunted by the size of the area; it’s all much more accessible than it appears at first glance. In fact, not all the art is indoors. I’ve put together a short list of some of the top places you should visit in the Dallas Arts District. The Arts District is home to 13 facilities and organizations including The Annette Strauss Square, the Belo Mansion/Dallas Bar Association, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Theater Center, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Nasher Sculpture Center, St. Paul United Methodist Church, Fellowship Church, and the Crow Museum of Asian Art housed in a portion of the Trammell Crow Center.
The Dallas Arts District is considered the largest urban arts complex in the nation. Not only does the District offer several superb performance venues, including the nationally acclaimed Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, plus three world-class museums (the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Crow Collection of Asian Art), it also houses one of the world’s largest collections of Pritzker Prize-winning buildings in one location. Other not-to-be-missed gems include the nineteenth-century Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe and a half-acre sculpture walk adjacent to KPMG Plaza.