Formerly a rather ordinary building in Downtown Dallas, the fortunes of The Texas School Book Depository were transformed on November 22 1963 when President John F Kennedy was shot dead outside. Killer Lee Harvey Oswald worked at the depository and fired the fatal shot from the sixth floor – now a museum.
Things to see in Dallas
Tourist offices
Address: 100 S Houston Street, West End, Dallas, TX 75202
Tel: +1 214 571 1316 .
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun 0900-1700
www.visitdallas.comLocated inside Dallas’ Old Red Courthouse Museum, staff are friendly and happy to dish out everything from activity ideas to tips on where to find the best steaks.
A Dallas CityPASS (www.citypass.com/dallas) can be purchased from the tourist office for $48 and includes discounted admission to the city’s top attractions, including Dallas Zoo and the Reunion Tower’s GeO-Deck.
The 111 hectare Fair Park was created in 1936, for the Texas Centennial Exposition and includes a smorgasbord of attractions, ranging from museums to theaters. Highlights include the Texas Discovery Gardens, the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Music Hall at Fair Park. There is also a lovely (albeit child-focused) aquarium.
Designed by Philip Johnson, a Kennedy family friend, the JFK Memorial sits just off Dealey Plaza close to the Old Red Courthouse. A stark white stone platform, it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and is the site of an annual commemoration ceremony on the anniversary of President Kennedy’s death.
One of Dallas’ most recognizable landmarks, Reunion Tower is home to the GeO-Deck – a circular observation platform 561ft (181m) off the ground. Known to locals as ‘the Ball’, the top of the tower is lit up with LEDs at night and is home to a restaurant aptly named Cloud 9.
Once a private home, Southfork Ranch has been a full time tourist attraction since 1985 – after the owners got fed up with Dynasty fans showing up and asking to see the home of the Ewing family. Still a working ranch, visitors can go trail riding or put their feet up and watch one of the frequent ‘showdeos’.
Sprawling over 105 acres three miles south of central Dallas, the city zoo was opened in 1888 and is the oldest in Texas. Thanks to the 406 species of animal that lives within, it’s also one of the most popular with highlights including the Giants of the Savannah exhibit and the in-house monorail.
The only proper park in Dallas, Klyde Warren Park covers five acres and is the place to go if you’re in the market for a free yoga or pilates class. There are also poetry readings, concerts and plays, while the north side has chess tables. For the peckish, there’s usually a food truck around with options ranging from Vietnamese to Texas BBQ.
One of Dallas’ most popular attractions, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science occupies 180,000sqft and boasts 11 exhibition halls. Highly interactive, highlights include the jaw-dropping 3D simulations and the spectacular Big Bang Dome. The museum’s cube-shaped building, giant glass lobby and lovely rooftop deck are worth making the trip for alone.
Housed in a colossal concrete and steel building, the Dallas Museum of Art boasts 23,000 works drawn from six of the world’s seven continents. The US and Mexico feature heavily but there is also a 1,400-strong collection of impressionist paintings and frequent visiting exhibitions.
The Wilson Block is an entire block of houses on Swiss Avenue, acquired by Henrietta and Frederick Wilson in 1899. One of the six, the Wilson House, is open to the public and includes exhibitions giving an introduction to the area. Nearby Swiss Avenue is home to the mega mansions of the original oil barons – showing off their early 20th Century taste, or lack (in some cases) thereof.
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