DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH: Here are a few of the panoramas I shot:
1. Chisholm Trail Mural 2. Downtown Main Street
3. City Streets 4. Bass Performance Hall 5. Fort Worth
Symphony
Downtown Cowtown
Story & Photos by IRA KENNEDY
When pondering Texas cities Houston, Dallas, San Antonio
and Austin all come to mind first . Even El Paso beats out Fort Worth in this little
exercise. But, for pure eye appeal, Fort Worth is way out front.
The morning was perfect in all respects and Sundance Square,
in the heart of the city, with its red brick, tree-lined streets is immaculate.
I felt like I was standing in the big middle of a work of art.
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 fter the Civil War cattle were roaming loose everywhere in great numbers
and rounding them up for market became the principal enterprise in Texas. The Chisholm Trail, named after the Scot-Cherokee Indian trader Jesse
Chisholm, was the Interstate of its day reaching from the Rio Grande to central
Kansas. It was during a brief period between 1867 to 1884 that over one million head
of cattle were driven to the stockyards in Fort Worth. And several million more were
herded to other destinations.
Like politicians are lured to county fairs, the romance and adventure of the cowboy life
lured young men away from the farming life straight into legend. And in those days
Fort Worth was the epicenter of excitement for cowboys, card sharks, outlaws and women --
using the term loosely.
When the cowboys arrived on the southern edge of Fort
Worth they were in Hell's Half Acre, one of the wildest spots in all the borders of
Texas. If you were looking for a fight or someone to relieve you of your bottom
dollar this was the perfect place. Newspaper editor B. B. Paddock of the Fort Worth Democrat
claimed "it was a slow night which did not pan out a cutting or shooting
scrape among its male denizens or a morphine experiment by some of its frisky
females."
Today, there's still plenty of excitement to be had.
And if you're looking for Texas culture you're in the right place. The home
to seven museums, the Will Rogers
Auditorium, Coliseum & Pioneer Town, The National
Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame, The Fort Worth
Botanic Gardens, numerous night clubs, and Billy Bob's -- the Worlds Largest Honky Tonk.
I had to stop by the parking garage to retrieve a few
items from Nigel the Land Rover who was getting a well-needed rest. On my way out,
the head man in the facility had someone get me a map of Sundance Square so I could find
the Sid Richardson Collection
of Western Art. I was on the look-out for culture so starting there was as
good as anywhere.
As it happened, I was so dazzled by the city I just
kinda wandered around taking pictures. The streets were nearly devoid of traffic,
but judging from the number of Free parking lots I assumed things picked up after dark.
Before long I was standing in front of the backside
of the Jett Building featuring the Chisolm Trail Mural painted by Richard Haas. ( How'd
you like to have that painting hanging over your fireplace?)
As chance would have it, after wandering
aimlessly around, I found myself standing at the gallery entrance.
(There is an excellent map
of downtown Fort Worth on the Internet you might want to preview.)
PAGE
1: TO FT. WORTH / PAGE 2: DOWNTOWN COWTOWN
PAGE 3: THE MUSEUM /
PAGE 4: KERRVERTVILLE
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