Dallas County Historical Plaza
Just a couple of blocks from the spot where JFK's motorcade slowly rolled by the Texas School Book Depository is the heart of historic downtown Dallas -- though nothing of permanence was built here until the 1890s. In the middle of the plaza is a reminder of Dallas's recent origins as a Western outpost: John Neely Bryan Cabin, a replica of the one-room log structure built by the Tennessee-born attorney credited with founding the city in 1841. The original cabin stood on the banks of the Trinity River.Across Main Street is the John F. Kennedy Memorial, funded by private donations and designed by the famed architect Philip Johnson in 1970. The open-roofed square room, made of limestone, is a "cenotaph" (an empty tomb), according to Johnson. Unfortunately, the memorial is also empty of emotion -- not the moving testament to a president and event that so marked the American national psyche. Inside the four solemn walls is a black marble slab, which looks like a low coffee table, engraved with the words "John Fitzgerald Kennedy." Johnson's intent was for the open roof to symbolize the "freedom of spirit of JFK," but I doubt that many visitors will feel their own spirits soar here.Just west of the Kennedy Memorial, across Record Street, is the Old Red Courthouse, built in self-important Romanesque Revival style in 1890 on the site of the original log courthouse (property donated by city founder John Neely Bryan). The blue granite and red sandstone building today houses the Dallas Visitors Center (which has Internet access and plenty of sightseeing and hotel and restaurant information).For those who miss the true nonbelievers that used to swarm around the Texas School Book Depository trumpeting wacky tales about the JFK assassination, Dallas now has The Conspiracy Museum, 110 S. Market St. (tel. 214/741-3040), brazenly located across the street from the Kennedy Memorial. Rejecting the conclusions of the Warren Commission Report and claiming "The Truth Shall Set You Free," the small, private collection of artifacts, photos, videos, and minutiae addresses the wealth of conspiracy theories, unsubstantiated but never let go of by a large segment of the population, that have swirled around the JFK assassination and other alleged cover-ups. A huge poster hanging from the ceiling proclaims that all the Kennedy brothers were the victims of conspiracy. This is the kind of place where the staff, who call themselves "assassinologists," place an "Out to Lunch" sign on the door that says: "We look forward to seeing you (and that guy following you!)." The Conspiracy Museum is open daily from 10am to 6pm; admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and $3 for children. Allow a little less than an hour to visit the museum, unless you get caught up rehashing the assassination and reading all the minutiae. The staff offers free JFK historical walking tours, and they're pretty much rant-free.

Swiss Avenue Historic District
Toward the turn of the 20th century, the Dallas elite began to abandon the area that now comprises the Arts District and move east (near the modestly funky Lakewood neighborhood). Sprawling, grand homes from the early 1900s -- English Tudor, Georgian, Spanish, you name it -- line a broad avenue, about 4 blocks of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Wilson Blocks (2800 and 2900), named for Frederick Wilson, who built a number of the homes there, are especially attractive. Around the holidays, Swiss Avenue is a favorite for Christmas lights cruisers. A drive-by can be done in 15 minutes; allow a half-hour if you want to stroll.

Meadows Museum of Art
On the campus of Southern Methodist University is one of the city's best-kept secrets: the finest collection of Spanish art outside Spain (so significant, in fact, that it spent much of 2000 on display at the top-tier Thyssen-Bornemisza museums in Madrid and Barcelona). A Dallas oil magnate, Algur Meadows, went to Spain to search for oil, entertaining himself at the Prado Museum. He came up dry, but his sojourn into Spanish art history bore fruit: Meadows began to assemble a splendid collection of works from the 15th to 20th centuries, including pieces by Spanish masters from the Golden Age of Spanish painting (such as Velázquez, Goya, Ribera, Murillo, Zurbarán -- just about the only big name missing is El Greco). Having moved into a new building six times larger than the old site, Meadows Museum is one of the best small museums with a singular focus in the U.S. Of special note among the nearly 700 items on display are Ribera's Retrato de un Caballero de Santiago and Goya's El Corral de los Locos (by many accounts the finest Goya found in the United States), as well as a series of 200 works on paper by Goya. The 20th-century Spanish masters Picasso, Dalí, Miró, and Tàpies are also represented.

Comfort Inn & Suites Market Center
Comfort Inn & Suites Market ...

The Westin Park Central
Nearby Airports: * Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport - 17 Miles * Dallas Love Field Airport - 8 Miles Nearby Cities: * North Dallas - 1 Mile * Richardson - 2 Miles * Addison - 5 Miles * Plano - 5 Miles * Carrollton - 6 Miles * Garland - 7 Miles * Dallas - 8 Miles * Highland Park - 8 Miles * Irving - 8 Miles * Mesquite - 15 Miles * Grapevine - 16 Miles * Rowlett - 18 Miles * Arlington - 20 ...

Renaissance Dallas Hotel
Indulge in a Dallas luxury hotel that combines landmark style with rich sophistication. The exquisite Renaissance Dallas Hotel is located in the heart of Market Center near downtown Dallas and the city's top attractions. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School is one mile north of the hotel. This modern thirty story pink granite tower houses over five hundred guest rooms and suites and features the world's largest free standing chandelier cascading three stories in the lobby. Enjoy ...