For the second straight year, USA Today has named Dallas the country’s top arts district.
As they say, everything’s bigger in Texas. It is perhaps no surprise that Dallas boasts a giant arts district, covering 118 acres of Downtown Dallas. This makes it the single largest arts district in the entire country.
An expert panel nominates arts districts nationwide before they are voted on by readers. The USA Today Best Arts District aims to rank cities by the vibrancy and diversity of their arts scene.
“What makes for an inspiring arts district? They might be revitalized and renewed urban spaces in once derelict neighborhoods, full of big-name museums with architecture as impressive as the art housed within, or they could have streets lined with small galleries and studios interspersed with trendy cafes,” reads the recently published report.
Notably, the Dallas Arts District was highlighted for possessing more buildings designed by Pritzker award-winning architects than any other city in the world. In terms of cultural venues, Dallas has plenty of galleries, museums, and performance halls, like the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Winspear Opera House, and the Meyerson Symphony Center.
There are over 200 museums in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Of course, Dallas’s culture of arts does not necessarily come cheap.
Last year, The Dallas Express reported that 15 arts centers were included in a $75.2 million City bond proposition. The lion’s share of the funding was allocated to improving and repairing the iconic Dallas Art Museum.
Other cultural centers in the bond proposition included, but were not limited to, the Oak Cliff Culture Center, Sammons Center for the Arts, South Dallas Cultural Center, AT&T Performing Arts Center, Latino Cultural Center, Majestic Theatre, and Moody Performance Hall.