Fort Worth, popularly called Cowtown, is the 17th largest city in the United States and is Texas' fifth largest city. It is located in North Texas and the western part of the South America. The city's area is almost 300 square miles. Fort Worth is the county seat of Tarrant County. The city has a population of more than 727,000 by estimate according to the 2010 census. Fort Worth's climate is primarily humid subtropical. July is the hottest month of the year, and January is the coldest. In Fort Worth, the coldest temperature recorded is -6 degrees Fahrenheit, and because of this, the city is susceptible to thunderstorms, hails and can produce tornadoes. Fort Worth is providing the ideal for industries of different sizes and from several sectors. It is one of the country's top business destinations. There are over 900 principal business relocations and expansions in the past 10 years in this city. There are six Fortune 1000 companies that are situated here. The Barnett Shale, one of North America's largest natural gas fields, has stirred an economic growth of $6.5 billion annually, and provided 70,000 jobs. Based on recycling, electrical use, buildings, nature reserves, parks and transportation, Fort Worth was named one of the 50 Greenest Cities of America in 2008 by Popular Science. The city has 228 public parks and is about 10,743.75 acres in total.
The settlements of Birdville, Alton, and Grapevine in 1849 were the first in Fort Worth. The tribes of Anadarkos, Wacos, and Tonkawas were the growing Indian tribes during this period. A charter was obtained by the colony of Peters making them the legal colonists on the land of Fort Worth. Johnson's Station was built thereafter because of their fear of the Indian settlers.
Rangers were posted for duty and guarded the area to prevent any invasion. After the death of Major General William Jenkins Worth, Major Ripley Arnold was ordered by Colonel William S. Harney to find a new fort site along the Clear Fork and West Fork. Major Arnold set up a camp on the Trinity River bank and called it Camp Worth in respect of General Worth. Soon, the camp was moved to the bluff facing north, and the U.S. War Department officially named it Fort Worth on November 14, 1849. The area was still threatened by Indian attacks. The pioneers settled along the fort that was flooded in the first year, but later moved to the bluff's top. This site is where the courthouse sits today. There was no trace of the original fort. Later, Fort Worth became a busy town and was the center of cattle drives and ranching industry. It earned the nickname “Cowtown” for its location on the Old Chisholm Trail.
Fort Worth is a favorable place to live for those who are starting a family, or those who are going to retire. The city is recognized as the tenth-safest U.S. city because of its size, the nation's fastest growing city, and is one of the most livable communities in America. There are many opportunities here in Fort Worth. The city is known for a stable and strong economy, outstanding quality of life, and mild climate. The neighborhoods in Fort Worth are inviting. The city has an array of homes as old as those bungalows that were built in the 1900s to the beautiful custom houses. Retirees who want to live here can enjoy the golf courses. The families who want a secure neighborhood can stay here. The young professional who wants a classy apartment downtown can get it here. Existing affordable homes and newly constructed homes with exceptional quality are offered here for a good value.
The city of Fort Worth has a low cost of living and no state income tax. Fort Worth offers the comfort of living. In terms of educational opportunities, the city has plenty of it, from excellent public schools to private schools, and universities are within commuting distance. Fort Worth is served with several transportations to make reaching other destinations possible and accessible. The Trinity Railway Express provides uncomplicated and inexpensive rail transportation between Dallas and Fort Worth. The Amtrak is also available. The city's Transportation Authority provides accessible bus services. The red, white and blue buses in the downtown area offer free rides. There are also trolleys for a quick and convenient transportation.
Fort Worth has a vibrant economy with the presence of many companies that provide for the employment and economic growth of the city. The popular companies headquartered in Fort Worth with the most jobs are: the Bank of America, Staples, Textron, Deloitte, and Texas Health. The most common careers in Forth Worth are professional, management, and related jobs, 28%; sales and office occupations, 24%; and service jobs, 15%. Seventy-eight percent of the workers in Fort Worth work for companies, while government workers cover 9%, and 5% are self-employed. Careers that are common in Fort Worth include automotive glass installers and repairers; entertainment attendants; earth, marine and space sciences teachers; service unit operators; sports officials and others. The jobs commonly listed in Fort Worth are for physical therapists, sales associates, occupational therapists, and registered nurses.
The leading industries of the city are educational service, social assistance and health care, 16%; manufacturing, 12% and retail trade, 12%. These industries are hiring a number of workers for clinics and outpatient services, catering services, outpatient surgery centers, food service contractors, and trauma centers. The average salary for Fort Worth jobs is $32,628 according to government data. The unemployment rate in Fort Worth is 7.7%, compared to the 6.9% national average. Jobs in this city have increased by 33% since December 2008.
Forth Worth offers a wide selection of restaurants, serving delicious meals that make the dining experience pleasant and memorable. These are some of the best restaurants in Fort Worth, Texas. The Cantina Laredo in 530 Throckmorton serves Mexican dishes from fish specials to grilled chicken and savory steaks complemented with tasty signature sauces. The Cattlemen's Fort Worth Steak House in Main Street invites cowboys and international tourists of their Heart o' Texas rib-eye, the restaurant's signature dish. The Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse serves impeccable cuisine, and the USDA Prime Beef and Australian Cold Water Lobster Tail are the restaurant's cornerstones.
They also offer excellent appetizers, fresh seafood, vegetables and side dishes. Their best dessert is the lemon cake. Eddie V's Restaurants, Inc. features top-notch concepts for a marvelous fine dining treat from fresh, quality ingredients to the lively atmosphere. They serve Gulf Coast and American cuisines. Ferre Fort Worth is a modern and stylish Italian-Tuscan restaurant. Grace is a restaurant that serves Modern American Classic dishes in a convenient contemporary setting. The Hunter Brothers' H3 Ranch is always cooking something delicious. Savory trout, delicious ribs and steaks can satisfy anybody's appetite. Their homemade pies and cobblers are freshly baked each day. Other restaurants to visit in Fort Worth are P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Reata Restaurant, Texas de Brazil and many more.
The Fort Worth Cultural District is a location to explore museums and be entertained with cultural events. There are many historical attractions in the city of Fort Worth, and these are some of the great museums to visit. Tourists, locals, and children surely find these places interesting. The Amon Carter Museum has a vast collection of American art dated from the 1820s to the present. The special exhibits here include modern photos, maps from the nineteenth century and various paintings. The Kimbell Art Museum is a world-class art museum.
The collections here range from antique to modern and are from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Modern Art Museum has an impressive collection of more than 2,600 art pieces from the World War II. The Casa Manana offers shows for both children and adults in its live theatre. The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame was created to portray the different stories of the women in the American West. There are artifacts, photographs, and interactive exhibits that tell their story. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History was designed mainly for the children. Dinosaurs, the Noble planetarium, science exploration and the Omni theatre are some of the facilities that the kids can enjoy.
The tourists and denizens enjoy the famous attractions in Fort Worth. Family visitors and vacationers should not miss these interesting places in the city. The Fort Worth Zoo is the shelter of over 500 species of animals. A wide display of indoor and outdoor exhibits can be found here that include Asian Falls, Raptor Canyon, Thundering Plains and World of Primates. The zoo is also a home to the most elite herpetarium of the country, the Museum of Living Art or MOLA. The Burger's Lake is a fun place for family. The place is a 30-acre park that features a one-acre lake for swimming. There are also sandy beaches; beautiful big trees for shade; a slide that is 20 feet in length; six diving boards and a 25-foot trapeze. The place is staffed with certified lifeguards as well.
The Cowtown Cattlepen Maze is a unique facility for family or group entertainment. This has 5,400 square feet of changeable wooden pathways that look like the old west cattle pens. The Stockyards Championship Rodeo and Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show offer bull riding, calf roping, and barrel racing shows. These events are both held at the Cowtown Coliseum on weekends. The Fort Worth Botanic Gardens are a must-see for the tourists and denizens alike. Considered the oldest botanic garden in the state of Texas, the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens are the home of over 2,500 species of plants in its 21 different gardens. The place is captivating for its crafted stonework, waterfalls, and winding paths. Other attractions in Fort Worth are: the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, Fort Worth Stockyards Arena and Livery, Fort Worth Water Gardens, and the Heritage Trails.
Nightlife in Fort Worth is vibrant and has many options. An evening can be amazingly spent in the City Streets. This is actually an eclectic collection of clubs that offer a variety of temptations. Cages brags of its Top 40 tunes and dancing; karaoke is the forte of Blue Monkey's; 70's and 80's music fill the air in an underwater-themed site in Atlantis, and the Racks N Balls offers the patrons a cool place to relax, and watch water sports on the tube. Groups of friends can have a terrific outing here.
The Rodeo Exchange, in the Historic Stockyards District, also offers a great opportunity for nightlife. This is one of the most-visited clubs in Fort Worth. Country music is the most preferred genre, and Top 40 tunes are occasionally played as well. The patrons in the mood for dancing can take the dance floor while the live bands play. There are also drink specials and tasty barbecues here. The Billy Bob's Texas has 32 bar stations and a huge space for accommodating 6000 guests. This is the world's largest honky-tonk according to Billy Bob's. The place is known for its quality and great atmosphere. The place books weekly entertainments featuring artists like Sammy Kershaw, Willie Nelson, and others. Other attractions here are ladies night and live bull riding. The place has several pool tables, arcade games, dance floors and dining areas, definitely a place for an exciting night escapade.
Fort Worth has awesome shopping destinations. Most of these places offer affordable shopping and provide for every taste. It is one of the destinations for shopping in the Southwest. The shopping centers range from antique stores to upscale shops and everything in between. There are shops selling authentic Western gear up to the trendiest fashion. The city is a home to a few of the best malls in North Texas. The Camp Bowie Boulevard is a historic boulevard. It only takes a short drive from the west of downtown to get here. The place has more than 30 blocks of awesome shopping with the finest specialty boutiques in Fort Worth.
The Chapel Hill Shopping Center is the Fort Worth's west side shoppers' favorite. This shopping destination offers an eclectic chain of unique stores and restaurants like Borders Books, World Market, Mi Cocina and others. The HEB Central Market is also located here that sells imported foods, rare items, fresh products and meals prepared by chefs. The Fort Worth Stockyards has many stores where souvenir items can be bought. It is filled with a number of unique shops. The Hulen Mall is the destination for the classy trendsetters. This is one of Fort Worth's largest and most famous shopping complexes with Dillard's, Macy's, and Sears. The mall has more than 100 specialty shops, movie tavern and a food court. The Ridgmar Mall is for upscale shopping where anchor stores include Neiman Marcus, Dillard's, Macy's, Sears and JCPenney. Other shopping locations to check out are the Sundance Square Entertainment and Shopping District, and University Park Village.
Locals and tourists in Fort Worth are welcome to get or stay fit in the many health and fitness centers in the area. These fitness centers offer state-of-the-art facilities. They offer a variety of group exercise sessions and personal training as well. The amenities basically include cardio equipment, free weights, indoor lap, full-sized basketball court, sauna, steam room, whirlpool and more. There are also sessions like group cycling, group exercise and kids can join the Kid's Club. Some of the best fitness centers in Fort Worth are: Forever Fit Personal Training, 24 Hour Fitness, and iCycle Studio & Callipygian Fitness Training.
The city also has some of the best salons that satisfy the tourists' and locals' need to look and feel good. The A NU DU 4 U offers excellent services like coloring and highlights, haircutting, extensions, weaving and pressing. The chief provider of the beauty services is Cheryl Williams. Another great place is Bella Retreat Spa & Salon. They provide premium services including skin care, waxing and hair treatments, facials, massage, manicure/pedicure, makeovers, peels, day spa packages and more. They also offer premium beauty and health products to their clients, such as Babor cosmetics from Germany and Sothys products from Paris. Bella also has the best hair care products that include the Rene Furterer personalized hair care programs (Paris), and Schwarzkopf hair treatments (Germany).
The cultural district offers Old and New World art masterpieces as well as science and cultural exhibits. If these are things that you truly enjoy you should consider staying in one of the hotels available in this area. Some of them include the Sheridan Hotel and Spa, The Embassy Suites, and The Omni. These hotels all offer easy access to the entertainment spots available in this area.
If you enjoy staying in historical hotels, then consider the Ashton Hotel. The hotel was once home to the Fort Worth Club which was a collection of the city‘s well known citizens. In 1937, the club vacated the property and it was connected to the 1890 Winfree building. The buildings were vacant until 2001 when it was redeveloped into the Ashton Hotel. The Ashton Hotel is currently a member of Historic Hotels of America. Featuring an Italianate architecture, this is the only hotel in Fort Worth of this particular style. If you are looking for a journey back to the old west, you will want to stay at the Stockyards Hotel. The Stockyards Hotel does an excellent job of capturing the heart of Texas. It is located in the Stockyards historic district and offers some of the finest steak houses, shopping, and entertainment. The Stockyards is only a couple of miles away from downtown. Whether you are looking for rustic, luxury, or historical charm, you will be able to find the perfect hotel for your stay in Fort Worth, Texas.
Texas is credited with some of the most important moments in our history, and seems to want to stand out and be of some notoriety. This does not change when it comes to the dedication and attention to detail in regards to the education system. The idea has always been that a person, any person, deserves pay equal to the service that they are providing. Texas holds this very near and dear in their policies when it comes to the teachers in its public school systems.
For those who are looking to become a teacher or are already a teacher and want to think of just where to set up in terms of career, Fort Worth should to be the place to look. Teachers are the artists by which the next generation is molded and shaped, so it stands to reason that they should be some of the highest paid individuals in the country. For many states and cities, this is not the case, with teachers and educators having to deal with salaries that barely cover most of their living expenses. This lack of funds for teachers often leads to them quitting or trying to look elsewhere for employment. The school district of Fort Worth, on the other hand, pays their teachers very well, and consequently have some of the best teachers in the area. The pay grade for teachers who opt to work in Fort Worth can be expected to be good at the beginning and increasing as their time and experience grows. Having a degree but no experience guarantees a teacher in Fort Worth to start off at almost $50,000 a year. Then, with natural increases in both the level of education or experience, a teacher looks to make almost $70,000. Dedicated and well paid teachers help to ensure that a good education is distributed to the future of the nation.
In days of the past, the citizens of Texas had to rely on horses and keen senses to get them to where they wanted to go. Now in modern times, there is much more at the disposal of the modern day Cowboy from Fort Worth. The main source of transportation still deals with horses, though more in the terms of horsepower and does not require as much care as the fleshy animal.
The privately owned car is the most popular and frequently used mode of transportation, which is largely due to the fact that there is such an extensive map of roads and highways that run through it. As such, this leads to the fact that there is a popular and often used bus line as well. The bus line, also known as ‘The T', takes advantage of the paved network of roads which is at its disposal. With thirty-six stops and programs such as the vanpool/carpool program, it is not hard to see why people take advantage of this available service. The vanpool/carpool system is where people can carpool or vanpool with one another to work, sharing the cost of taking the bus with one another after sharing the ride to the stop. For those who cannot get out and about on their own, there is also, in certain locations, the ability to have the bus come to their homes and pick them up.
There is still one more means of travel available, should the commuter not wish to deal with the traffic that could come with riding a bus. There is a well-staffed and functioning railway system, which is ranked the fourteenth largest and most active in the nation. It receives nearly ten thousand riders daily, with certain experts predicting that the number will only increase with the years to come.
The city of Fort Worth, Texas is one of the American cities that has the most popular form of government -- the council-city management type of government. It was in 1873 when this type of government was incorporated into the city, but it was only in 1924 when Fort Worth received the charter from the Legislature of Texas. In this type of government, the members of the city council represent the people in their respective districts. A quorum is constituted with six members. The city council is privileged to appoint a city manager who will be the one to administer the operations and programs of the municipality. The other important members of the Fort Worth government, who are being appointed by the city council, include the municipal court judges, city secretary, city attorney, city auditor and those who serve on the city commissions and city boards.
The members of the City Council are each elected from their respective districts, while the mayor is elected at large. The mayor heads the government and has the responsibility of representing the city on ceremonial occasions. He or she has a voting privilege in the city council. Council meetings are presided over by the mayor. The city council, on the other hand are tasked to set the tax rate, plan for improving the budget, select the citizens who get to serve on boards and commissions, approve land transactions, purchase, handle contracts and approve the budget. The council meetings are open to the public and are carried out at 7 pm during the first and second Tuesdays of the month. On the other Tuesday, the meeting begins at 10 am. The meeting commences in the City Hall's Council Chamber at 1000 Throckmorton Street, unless otherwise stated. To learn more about the local government of the Texas' Fort Worth, visit http://www.fortworthgov.org/.
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