Fort Worth Apartments | A Green Apartment in Texas

You probably don't give much thought to Fort Worth when you fly into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. If you think about it at all, you may associate the town with cowboys, livestock and rodeos. And with good reason: Fort Worth residents are proud of their Western heritage. They even call their city Cowtown.

But you may not know that Fort Worth is a culture capital, with 14 museums, including a huge new contemporary art museum that was scheduled to open Saturday. In a city where oil money and philanthropy go hand in hand, its museums can and do buy some of the biggest and best art in the world. That's a bonanza for visitors, especially considering that many Fort Worth museums don't charge admission.

When I was here last month, friend Jorden Nye and I took advantage of the city's multifaceted charms, from its cowboys to its culture.

We cheered as bull riders tried to stay aboard 1,800 pounds of wildly kicking fury; we yelled "yeehaw" when cowboys herded longhorn Texas steers through town; and we rubbed elbows with about 6,000 Willie Nelson fans as the country music icon performed at the world's largest honky-tonk.

Then we visited the city's cultural district for a preview of its new crown jewel: the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

On Saturday the Modern was to open its new building to the public, becoming one of the largest contemporary art museums in the nation. The $65-million building, designed by internationally known Japanese architect Tadao Ando, holds an impressive collection of postwar art, ranging from mid-20th century Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art to new works in various media, including video and sound.

"These are the things you only see in books," Jorden said when we visited.

Although the Modern is worth a visit on its own, it is but one of several significant cultural institutions. There are so many that the city calls itself the "museum capital of the Southwest."

Some are small and regional, but others have notable claims to fame. Across the street from the new Modern is the Kimbell Art Museum, whose architecture and wide-ranging collections propel it to the fore as one of America's best small museums. It was designed by 20th century architect Louis Kahn, a controversial but well-respected figure.

Nearby is the Ammon Carter Museum, whose large American art collection includes several hundred sculptures and paintings by Western artists Frederic Remington and Charles Russell; it also contains one of the nation's largest photography collections.