FACT SHEET

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Fun Facts

• 16th-largest city in the United States
• Part of the #1 Tourist Destination in Texas
• Fort Worth is home to the longest running stock show and rodeo in the country - the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
• The Kimbell Art Museum is home to the only Michelangelo in the Americas, his first painting The Torment of Saint Anthony.
• Fort Worth hosts the world's only twice-daily cattle drive and year-round rodeo in the Stockyards National Historic District.
• In 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered his last public speech in Fort Worth before leaving for Dallas.
• Fort Worth's Texas Motor Speedway is one of the largest racing facilities in the nation, with seating for nearly 155,000 spectators and home to Big Hoss TV, the largest HD screen in the world.
• One of Bonnie and Clyde's hideouts from the law was the historic Stockyards Hotel in Fort Worth.
• In 1909, the Fort Worth Zoo opened as the first zoo in Texas.
• The Stockyards Museum houses the 1908 Palace Theater Light Bulb which began burning on September 21, 1908, as a backstage light at the Old Byers Opera House and continues to burn today.
• 60 percent of America's paper money is printed at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth (tours are available).
• The Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth houses the largest private Civil War collection west of the Mississippi River.
• The 70+ lanes of bicycle and horseback riding trails along the Trinity Trails allow visitors and locals to access the entire city alongside the Trinity River.
• Coyote Drive-In Movie Theater is equipped with hitching posts for moviegoers who choose to ride horseback.
• Panther Island Pavilion is the only downtown waterfront music venue in Texas.
• Fort Worthians can often be seen wearing the Shady Oaks Hat, a hat made famous by Amon G. Carter who gifted the hats to celebrities and dignitaries in the 1950s.

History

Originally settled in 1849 as an army outpost at the Trinity River, Fort Worth was one of eight forts assigned to protect settlers from Indian attacks on the advancing frontier. Progress helped the growing settlement survive long after other such towns had blown away with the dust of departing pioneers.

Population

City of Fort Worth Population: 812,238 (2015 estimate)
Youngest city in Texas (average age 31.5)

Hospitality and Tourism

• Estimated number of out-of-town visitors to Fort Worth: 8.8 million annually
• Economic impact of visitors to Fort Worth: $2.2 billion annually
• Tourism employs over 22,000 hospitality and tourism industry workers
• Total Hotel rooms: 13,477
• Total rooms downtown: 2,622
• Hotel tax: 15%; breaks down to 6% state, 9% city
• Sales tax: 8.25%
• Top international visitor markets to Fort Worth include: Mexico, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany and China.

Transportation

• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), located 17.5 miles from Fort Worth is one of the busiest airports in the world with an average of 1,900 daily departures and arrivals and service to more than 201 destinations worldwide.
• Trinity Railway Express (DFW International Airport to downtown Fort Worth): $2.50
• Cab from DFW International Airport to downtown Fort Worth: $52 (approx.)
• Yellow Checker Shuttle (Airporter) from DFW Airport to downtown Fort Worth: $17*
• Super Shuttle from DFW International Airport to downtown Fort Worth: $25*

Weather

Entertainment Districts

Fort Worth is home to five main entertainment districts, all within 3 miles of each other:

Sundance Square

Downtown Fort Worth is a glittering urban oasis—one of the most exciting and pedestrian-friendly downtown areas in the nation. The 35-block Sundance Square entertainment and shopping district is where both locals and visitors go for food, fun, live theater, shopping and big events such as the Main Street Arts Festival. Nestled inside the heart of one of the most premier and walkable downtown settings in the United States is the newly developed 55,000-square foot Sundance Square Plaza. The European style plaza features a permanent stage for concerts and movies; stunning water features; four 32-foot tall Teflon umbrellas, the first ever in the United States; restaurants, a high-end cigar bar, shopping and much more.

Stockyards National Historic District

Stockyards National Historic District is filled with sites from the Old West, great Texas-themed shopping and cuisine, a year-round rodeo, authentic Western saloons, Billy Bob’s Texas—the world’s largest honky-tonk, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive. See beautifully preserved historic structures such as the Livestock Exchange Building and Cowtown Coliseum, the location of the world’s first indoor rodeo. Shoppers can fill their bags with custom steamed cowboy hats, handmade boots, and other Western gear. Stockyards Station offers over 25 shops including art galleries, a wine tasting room, and a record store.

Cultural District

Located a few miles west of downtown is one of the largest arts districts in the nation. The Fort Worth Cultural District features five internationally recognized museums in a beautiful park-like setting. The museums are acclaimed for their architecture, quality collections and programs. This remarkable collection of museums in a single location has made Fort Worth a major destination for art lovers. Museums in the Cultural District include the Kimbell Art Museum; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; the Amon Carter Museum of American Art; the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. The Kimbell Art Museum recently underwent a $135 million expansion designed by famed architect Renzo Piano. The new Renzo Piano Pavilion showcases masterpieces from the Kimbell’s Asian, African/Oceanic and Pre-Columbian collections, as well as special exhibitions.

West 7th District

This trendy new urban development links downtown, the Will Rogers Memorial Center and the Cultural District. Discover a sophisticated blend of pedestrian-friendly urban elements. Indulge in high-concept eateries, splurge in boutique shops and enjoy vibrant nightlife.

Near Southside/Magnolia

Historic architecture, enchanting restaurants, music venues and art galleries line the streets of this off-the-beaten-path neighborhood just south of downtown. Dine on local farm-to-table cuisine, tour a working brewery, or whiskey distillery, shop for distinctive art or catch a show by the region’s best emerging artists.

Meeting Space

Fort Worth Convention Center (FWCC)

• The FWCC offers 253,226 square-feet of exhibit space; 41 breakout rooms for maximum flexibility (with a total of 58,849 square feet of meeting room space); a 28,160 square-foot ballroom, 13,500-seat arena and expanded dock facilities.
• Public events plaza for outdoor gatherings links the Fort Worth Water Gardens to the Convention Center’s new grand entrance.

Will Rogers Memorial Center

• 100,000 square feet of exhibit space
• 6,000-seat coliseum
• 3,000-seat theater
• Equestrian center with 2,000-seat arena; 1,000 all-metal stalls
• 170,000 square foot livestock facility with 1,000-seat show arena
• NEW in 2012- $32 million Equestrian Multi-Purpose building featuring 1,100 premium stalls

Cowtown Coliseum

• 2,300-seat arena located in Stockyards National Historic District

Local Corporations

ACME Brick Company; Alcon Laboratories; American Airlines; Bell Helicopter/Textron; BNSF Railway, Co.; Cash America International; D.R. Horton; GM Financial Corp.; Jacobs; Justin Brands; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.; Pier 1 Imports; RadioShack Corporation; Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing; XTO Energy Inc.

For more information, contact our PR team.