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Atlanta does not have an arts district the same way Dallas and Houston does unfortunately. I guess you can call our center for arts to be northern Midtown, but still....
I've never been to Dallas's new arts district, but it looks like Dallas's shiny, sleek design seems more bound to garner more media attention. That's what Dallas is known for, It seems that it needs that spotlight. Houston's montrose/museum district is way more established, but unfortunately, it's possibly going to have to face being overshadowed by the glitz coming from our snobby little sister to the north.
Houston's museum district is just a bit disconnected and to get to most of the exhibits you'd have to drive unless you wouldn't mind the two mile trek to the Menil. Or the trek to the holocaust museum or Texas children's.
This doesn't take away from the fact that the exhibits in Houston are way better and that the district is probably the prettiest thing about Houston. I would certainly trade my apt in LA to live in the museum district in Houston it's that nice.
The only thing though is that Dallas does have a planned district that actually looks like a typical district. Its livelier and can display some amazing exhibits outdoors. Its a total package.
As far as Dallas being glitzy, that is what the town is known for. It's a city that's full of what Houston is newly erecting to emulate; gaudy mixed use development town centers with the same shopping as you would find in the mall just a mile away. Its silly how Houston has such potential but it's wasting it trying to be Dallas 2.0.
I've never been to Dallas's new arts district, but it looks like Dallas's shiny, sleek design seems more bound to garner more media attention. That's what Dallas is known for, It seems that it needs that spotlight. Houston's montrose/museum district is way more established, but unfortunately, it's possibly going to have to face being overshadowed by the glitz coming from our snobby little sister to the north.
Of course it's all speculative, but so much of it depends on how much weight is given to quantity vs. quality vs. image.
In many ways, cities are a lot like people... some have a deep appreciation for the arts and some just want to be known as someone who has a deep appreciation for the arts. There are definitely a few cities that have a reputation for the latter.
So Houston is a real deal and Dallas is a poser? I could kinda see that. Houston is a low key arts city. Definitely have to be in the know to recognize it as such.
Dallas arts district looks the more interesting, but Houston's arts district is more interesting. If you're true art fanatic and lover of the arts, I'd think Houston would offer more.
They are both great in their way. Dallas's is newer, shinier and more compact and has a slightly contrived ersatz feel. Houston's is older, bigger and emerged more organically and generally has considerably superior institutions and traveling exhibits. Houston is also generally more of a living arts town, more creative activity, though not so much in the museum district itself. For now and the foreseeable future Houston: first rate art museums are hugely capital intensive and take generations to build up, plus the art institutions in Dallas tend to be followers rather than leaders. For example, the Nasher - the best museum in the Dallas art district is essentially a collection of second and third rate pieces by first-rate artists, almost none of them still alive. The Menil in contrast has an impressive rotating collection of contemporary art. The museums in Fort Worth are hugely more important than their Dallas counterparts, but tend to be even more ossified. So for arts districts in Texas, I would rank 'em Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas. All more impressive than anything in Atlanta.
I've never been to Dallas's new arts district, but it looks like Dallas's shiny, sleek design seems more bound to garner more media attention. That's what Dallas is known for, It seems that it needs that spotlight. Houston's montrose/museum district is way more established, but unfortunately, it's possibly going to have to face being overshadowed by the glitz coming from our snobby little sister to the north.
Not really, though. The Menil, of course, is world famous and MFAH is one of the most visited art museums in the nation.
Houston's museum district is just a bit disconnected and to get to most of the exhibits you'd have to drive unless you wouldn't mind the two mile trek to the Menil. Or the trek to the holocaust museum or Texas children's.
This doesn't take away from the fact that the exhibits in Houston are way better and that the district is probably the prettiest thing about Houston. I would certainly trade my apt in LA to live in the museum district in Houston it's that nice.
The only thing though is that Dallas does have a planned district that actually looks like a typical district. Its livelier and can display some amazing exhibits outdoors. Its a total package.
As far as Dallas being glitzy, that is what the town is known for. It's a city that's full of what Houston is newly erecting to emulate; gaudy mixed use development town centers with the same shopping as you would find in the mall just a mile away. Its silly how Houston has such potential but it's wasting it trying to be Dallas 2.0.
I would say where you pulled these ideas from, but I'd receive an infraction for doing so. I'm convinced you've never truly experienced the Museum District. The walk from the Menil to MFAH is just barely over a mile and doesn't even take 30 minutes. You call it a "trek" but most people enjoy the pleasant stroll. On top of that, you have a great selection of restaurants and cafes along the way, should you decide to stop. After you leave the museum, you can hop on METRO rail and be in the Theater District within 20 minutes.
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