The city of Dallas, the Southwest's largest business center, is also one of the nation's leading fashion centers. A variety of businesses and industries make their homes in Dallas, primarily those involved in oil, aerospace, and insurance. Far from the typical image of a Texas city, Dallas is a well-dressed, sophisticated city that tends toward formality. A major convention city, Dallas is accustomed to showing visitors a good time and is well equipped to do so.

The city originated with the establishment of John Neely Bryan's trading post on the Upper Trinity River in 1841. Two years later, the town was named Dallas, after one of several men by that name--no one is quite sure which. By the mid-1870s, Dallas had become a thriving business town, with a cosmopolitan air unique to the region.

The cultivation of Dallas's urbane cultural persona began in 1855 with the arrival of French, Swiss, and Belgian settlers looking to build a Utopian colony. Among them were scientists, artists, writers, naturalists, and musicians. The colony was a failure, but the nucleus of culture remained in the heart of this young community on the frontier. Today ballet, symphony, opera, and theater are still enjoyed in Dallas, as are numerous museums and exhibitions.