Editor Pick
Fair Park and Texas Discovery Gardens
- July 29, 2006
- Rated 4 of 5 by
callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Why aren’t more people here? That’s what I kept asking myself all afternoon, as we walked around the large grounds, home of the Texas State Fair. There’s an impressive collection of things to do here: several museums, music venues, an aquarium, a few restaurants, gardens, swan-shaped paddleboats on Leonhardt Lagoon, and even the Cotton Bowl on the Park’s northeast side.
Leonhardt Lagoon
The whole current complex dates from the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition, and many of the buildings are on their second or third use. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark 20 years ago, and the 30 original buildings (all standing) are a terrific collection of art-deco structures.
Art deco Museum of Science at Fair Park
The clouds had kept the mid-day heat in the 80’s, which wasn’t too bad as we walked around the grounds. A ‘Fair Park Passport’ gets you into the eight museums for $25 ($14 for kids), but with half of them closed on Monday (including the Women’s Museum, which disappointed my daughter), we adopted a pay-as-you-go plan. We visited the Museum of Nature and Science and its affiliated planetarium, and had an unexpectedly pleasant visit to the Texas Discovery Gardens in the southwest corner of the Park. It wasn’t completely clear what these were: a building appeared to be closed for renovation, and no one was at the entry gate, so we strolled into the gardens themselves. We sat and rested for 20 minutes and enjoyed the fountains at the end of the Promenade, sat in the shade, talked over the lily pond, and enjoyed the kind of respite from a hot urban summer day that reminded me of Central Park, or Belle Isle in my hometown of Detroit. Whenever the renovations are finished here, you’ll be able to learn more about butterflies, bugs and botany, but it’s pretty nice just as it is.
Fountains at Texas Discovery Gardens
On a holiday Monday (the day before the 4th of July), I would have expected more families to be doing the same, but we had the place to ourselves.
Details:
Fair Park is located about a mile west of downtown Dallas, and is easy to reach off I-30. There’s a multitude of gates around the perimeter, with parking just inside against the boundaries of the Park. The museums are all along the southwestern edge, so it makes sense to enter off Parry Avenue or Cullum Boulevard. Entrance to the park, and parking, were free. Purchasing the Fair Park Passport gives you admission to
- The African-American Museum
- Age of Steam Railroad Museum
- Dallas Aquarium
- Dallas Historical Society
- Museum of Science and Nature
- Hall of State
- Texas Discovery Gardens
- Texas Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
- The Women’s Museum
From journal One Day in Big D: JFK, Ringo, and the Metroplex