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Oct 11, 2009 5:43 pm US/Central
2 New Venues Opening In Dallas Arts District
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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Two new venues are set to join the Meyerson Symphony Center (shown above) in the Dallas arts district.
Meyerson Symphony Center
The Winspear Opera House and the Wyly Theatre in Dallas both open their doors to the public this week in what is being called the largest urban arts district in America. Their grand entrances will nearly round out plans for the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
The two additions are the latest in a stunning collection of venues for the visual and performing arts in a single Dallas location. "Altogether, we're standing in a nearly 70-acre arts district," said Maria May with the AT&T Performing Arts Center, "which is the largest urban arts district anywhere in the country."
Also included in the area are the Dallas Museum of Art, the Crow Collection of Asian Art, the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Nasher Scuplture Center and the Booker T. Washington School for Performing Arts. It is all along one stretch of Flora Street.
"It's nice," said Irving resident Shannon Mitchum. She likes the idea of arts venues in one place. "I think it's a great idea. I hope it brings more here and makes it more accessible to the public."
Optimists hope that the arts district will stimulate business. The area is located within walking distance of the downtown skyscrapers, and new apartments are being built next door.
Still, what is mostly visible around the arts district is empty parking lots. There is not a hint of economic activity, coming at a time when the national economic climate is at the worst it has been in generations. But May insisted that the dollars are already being spent. "We generated economic impact through the construction of these venues, but it will be on-going by creating jobs," she said. "And it's going to take the art to a new level."
Formal dedication of the center's newest facilities is on Monday.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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