Dallas lays claim to the biggest urban Arts District (tel: (214) 953 1977; website:
www.artsdistrict.org) in the USA. Founded in 1983 and located on the north side of the town, the district includes the
Dallas Museum of Art (see
Key Attractions), the
Morton H Meyerson Symphony Center (the major performing arts venue in Dallas) at 2301 Flora Street (tel: (214) 670 3600; website:
www.meyersonsymphonycenter.com), and the
Arts District Theater, 2401 Flora Street
(tel: (214) 522 8499).
To obtain tickets to cultural events, visitors should contact the individual venues. Useful information points include the weekly
Dallas Observer (website:
www.dallasobserver.com) and the
City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs (website:
www.dallasculture.org).
Music: The
Dallas Opera (tel: (214) 443 1000/43; website:
www.dallasopera.org) plays at the
Music Hall at Fair Park, Fair Park, 909 First Avenue (tel: (214) 565 1116; website:
www.liveatthemusichall.com), all year. The
Dallas Symphony Orchestra (tel: (214) 692 0203; website:
www.dallassymphony.com) is based at the
Morton H Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora Street (tel: (214) 670 3600; website:
www.meyersonsymphonycenter.com), but also gives free performances in various parks throughout the summer. Also based at the
Morton H Meyerson Symphony Center is the
Dallas Wind Symphony (tel: (214) 565 9463; website:
www.dws.org) and the men’s chorus, the
Turtle Creek Chorale (tel: (214) 526 3214; website:
www.turtlecreek.org). The range of classical music performances available is represented by the
Dallas Bach Society, 2401 Swiss Avenue (tel: (214) 320 8700; website:
www.dallasbach.org), the
Dallas Chamber Orchestra (tel: (214) 321 1411; website:
www.dallaschamberorchestra.org) and the
Allegro Guitar Society of Dallas (tel: 1 888 553 7387; website:
http://dallas.guitarsociety.org).
Theater: The
Dallas Theater Center (tel: (214) 526 8210
or 522 8499 (box office); website:
www.dallastheatercenter.org) is based at the
Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Boulevard but also performs at the
Arts District Theater, 2401 Flora Street (tel: (214) 522 8499).
Theater Three, 2800 Routh Street (tel: (214) 871 3300; website:
www.theater3dallas.com), and the
Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm Street (tel: (214) 880 0137; website:
www.liveatthemajestic.com), a restored 1920s movie palace and vaudeville hall, are other options. The type of theater presented ranges from mainstream shows to fringe theater.
Dance: The
Texas Ballet Theater (tel: (214) 369 5200; website:
www.texasballettheater.org) performs, along with the opera, at
Music Hall at Fair Park (see
Music above) and the
Majestic Theater (see
Theater above). The
Dallas Black Dance Theater, 2627 Flora Street (tel: (214) 871 2376; website:
www.dbdt.com), performs highly acclaimed modern dance. For a Hispanic flavor, there is the
Anita N Martinez Ballet Folklorico, 4422 Live Oak Street (tel: (214) 828 0181; website:
www.anmbf.org).
Film: Apart from the usual range of mainstream cinemas, there are also two specialist venues:
The Granada Theater, 3524 Geenville Avenue (tel: (214) 824 9933; website:
www.granadatheater.com), a 1940s ‘movie theater’ with a dinner menu and drinks, and the
IMAX Theater, 11819 Webb Chapel Road (tel: (972) 888 2629; website:
www.cinemark.com). The
Inwood Theater, 5458 West Lovers Lane (tel: (214) 764 9106; website:
www.landmarktheaters.com),
Angelika Film Center, 5321 East Mockingbird Lane (tel: (214) 841 4700; website:
www.angelikafilmcenter.com), and
The Magnolia, 3699 McKinney Avenue (tel: (214) 764 9106; website:
www.landmarktheaters.com) show arthouse movies.
Movies that have been filmed in Dallas over the years include
Bonnie and Clyde (1967),
Places in the Heart (1983),
RoboCop (1987),
JFK (1991),
The Bridges of Madison County (1995), and
Boys Don’t Cry (1998).
Literary Notes: It is not easy to find specific references to Dallas in literature. Most writers speak more generally of Texas. One early example is Amelia E Barr’s
Remember the Alamo (1888), in which a mixed Anglo-Mexican family in San Antonio overcomes its own cultural differences while tensions mount between revolutionary Texans and the Mexican government. The short story,
Last of the Troubadours, by O Henry (first published in the July 1908 issue of
Everybody’s Magazine) deals with a strolling minstrel in turn-of-the-century South Texas and divides the world into three types of people - the barons, the troubadours and the workers. Neither of these accounts is easy to come by, except in special library collections.
Again taking the wider Texan theme but this time from a child’s perspective, is Janice Jordan Shefelman’s
A Paradise Called Texas (1983), about searching for a better life when Mina and her parents leave Germany in 1845 and travel to Texas. The story is based upon the author’s own family history. Simone de Beauvoir traveled in Texas in 1947 and wrote her whole US diary as
America Day by Day (1954). Her route through the state took her from San Antonio to Houston. She observed: ‘Texans are proud to be Texans. They have the reputation of being the biggest braggarts in America, and they even brag about this. In their vast territory they’ve gathered all the world capitals: Paris, London, Madrid, Toledo, St Petersburg, Moscow ... and some can even be found more than once.’
Dallas has also been celebrated in song. A favorite tune heard at cowboy bars around the state is by Texan singer/songwriter Joe Ely; in
Dallas, he sings, ‘Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night? Well Dallas is a jewel, oh yeah, Dallas is a beautiful sight.’
The longtime standard from 1956 is
Big D, by Frank Loesser (1910-1969), composer of
Baby,
It’s Cold Outside, has this to say:
You’re from Big DMy,
oh yes,
I mean Big D,
little a,
double l,
a-
sAnd that spells Dallas,
my darlin’,
darlin’ DallasDon’t it give you pleasure to confessThat you’re from Big DMy,
oh yes!
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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