If you've watched TV in the last 20 years or checked the NFL rankings lately, you probably think you know Dallas. Well, yes and no.

J.R. only lives in reruns, but in real-life Dallas, you can watch billionaire Mark Cuban cheer on his basketball team—and tangle with referees. As for the Cowboys, they're still marching down the gridiron (and in and out of trouble), but they left Dallas for suburban Irving decades ago. And they're about to move again, west to Arlington.

So, the clichés are a start, but Dallas is more than colorful executives and running backs. Now cocktail chatter is just as likely to include marquee architects, who are descending on the city with buildings and projects.

The latest gem: Renzo Piano's Nasher Sculpture Garden. A few years ago, the Guggenheim and other museums tried to acquire real-estate mogul Raymond Nasher's art collection. But his hometown won out and Dallas landed an urban sanctuary, with Rodins, Picassos, and Moores arrayed in the shadow of skyscrapers. This year, the buzz is "Walking to the Sky" by Jonathan Borofsky, a towering steel pipe with figures climbing its length toward heaven. It will remain in the garden until March 2006 and makes a quirky addition to the city's skyline, suggesting there's more to Dallas glitz than first meets the eye.

The downtown garden sits next door to the Meyerson Symphony Hall, a glowing crystal of a building designed by I.M. Pei. A few blocks away, plans are progressing to build a Norman Foster–designed opera hall and a Rem Koolhaas theater. Across town, bridges designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava are in the works.

Yes, you will hear a lot of name-dropping in Dallas. Decades ago, critics attributed it to insecurity: The city embraced culture and sophistication to prove it was world-class. There may still be a bit of that, but there's a simpler explanation, too. Dallasites like nice things, and they love showing off.

The city's character

For most of the world, Dallas is defined by one horrible moment on November 22, 1963. The assassination of John F. Kennedy marred the city's psyche for decades. Dallas didn't regain its footing until the early 1990s, when Oliver Stone re-created the famed motorcade through the Triple Underpass to film JFK. When the assassination became pop culture, the city let go of its collective guilt.

Dallas has always relied on grit and self-promotion. It prospered by luring railroads to the North Texas prairie and became a regional business center built around cotton trade. Years later, it boomed with the oil industry. J.R. notwithstanding, there are no oil wells in Dallas, but much of the state's petroleum industry was financed by Dallas banks. And when newly rich tycoons craved big-city thrills, they went to Dallas and its luxurious department stores, like Neiman Marcus.

The city has always sought the next big thing, and in 1958, it hit pay dirt. Texas Instruments engineer Jack Kilby cobbled together a collection of transistors to create the microchip. A few years later, an ambitious IBM salesman named H. Ross Perot launched his own business, creating Electronic Data Systems and another Texas legend. More recently came Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, founders of Broadcast.com. They sold to Yahoo! at the height of the dot-com boom and have been flashing their money around ever since.

The last 20 years have seen a real estate bust and a telecom industry meltdown. As before, the city picked itself up and moved on. The latest addition: Hispanic and East Asian immigrants. Whole sections of town seem transported from northern Mexico, and it's as easy to buy handmade tortillas as a loaf of bread. Smaller but growing are suburban Indian enclaves, where crowds line up for the latest Bollywood releases, and cricket games compete for space with soccer matches.

Dallas sells itself as a business city, and it is. Residents work long hours and jam highways day and night. Many visitors leave thinking that's all there is. Here's a secret: The city keeps its beauty for itself. Its leafy neighborhoods and sparkling parks were designed for residents, not outsiders. (Still, everyone's free to drive by Highland Park's mansions or jog around White Rock Lake.) Now, with the growing Arts District, a downtown housing boom and the maturing of its edgy nightclub district, the city's quirks are easier to find.

What to see

Even if you've never been to Dallas, you'll recognize Dealey Plaza. It's part of our national DNA. In front of you is the Texas School Book Depository building. Instinctively, you look up to the sixth floor, where shots once rang out. To the left is the Grassy Knoll, where coconspirators may or may not have lingered.

For years, Dallas played down the Kennedy assassination site. The city marked the crime with a restrained memorial a few blocks away. But in 1989, Dallas County opened the Sixth Floor museum (411 Elm St., 214-747-6660), preserving the sniper's perch where Lee Harvey Oswald tracked the president. The world hooted at the project and the tactless Texans. Then they started visiting—and leaving in tears. Rent the audio tour, narrated by a newsman who was there. The museum presents a straightforward chronicle of Kennedy's era. We're immersed in the optimism and social upheaval of the early '60s. But you already know the ending. And as much as you'd like to change history, every step you take toward the southeast corner brings you closer to the finale. When Walter Cronkite announces the President's death on a vintage telecast, and wipes a tear from behind his dark-framed glasses, you will also.

What really happened that day? The museum lays the conspiracy theories out for review: The CIA? The Russians? The Mafia? Who's to say? Outside the museum, hawkers offer the latest conspiracy tracts, muddling the mystery even more. But inside, it's not very complicated. Just read the visitor comments. What happened that afternoon in Dallas tore hearts around the world.

About a mile east is the Arts District. Along with the Nasher Sculpture Garden (214-242-5100), there's the Dallas Museum of Art (214-922-1200), which concentrates on Western Hemisphere works, including a notable pre-Columbian collection. Across the street, find the Crow Collection of Asian Art (214-979-6430), housed in the Trammell Crow Center.

But what about Texas' Wild West lore? Stop by Pioneer Plaza, a 43-piece bronze collection of sculptures covering four acres in front of the Convention Center. The outdoor scene depicts a cattle round-up, complete with cowboys. Some have noted that a more historically accurate depiction would show galloping bankers and insurance executives. But occasional cattle drives did pass through the area.

For more Texana, visit the Hall of State in Fair Park (3939 Grand Ave., 214-421-4500). Built for the Texas Centennial in 1936, the building glories in Lone Star history. Names of Alamo heroes are chiseled in its frieze. Bronze doors feature oil wells, lariats and cotton bolls. Inside, murals depict the battle for Texas independence. But the delight is in the details. Tile-inlayed floors gleam with images of rattlesnakes, jackrabbits and armadillos. A wing dedicated to the future glows with lights shaped like flying saucers.

Nearby Deep Ellum can feel like a visit to another planet, too. The motley collection of nightclubs, restaurants, shops and tattoo parlors bustles during the evening. But it also attracts office workers at lunch.

Entertaining clients

The city has no shortage of restaurants geared toward expense accounts. But here's a surprise: Some are outstanding. Dallas pioneered Southwest cuisine, and chef Dean Fearing of the Mansion on Turtle Creek is still a star.

Ferre offers standout contemporary Tuscan cuisine in Uptown, a hot residential and entertainment district. Nearby, Perry's is a traditional steakhouse, enlivened with classed-up comfort food. Aurora offers high-end French-American dining without being stuffy. And when big deals call for big steaks, Pappas Bros. (northwest of downtown) and Bob's (in Dallas and Plano) deliver big-time.

Finally, Dallas is about sports. The new American Airlines Center on the northwest edge of downtown is home to basketball's Mavericks and the National Hockey League's Stars. Twenty miles west in Arlington, you'll find baseball's Texas Rangers and, in 2009, the Cowboys.

Larry Bleiberg is travel editor of The Dallas Morning News.

Restaurants
Aurora
4216 Oak Lawn Avenue
214-528-9400

Bob's Steak & Chop House
4300 Lemmon Avenue, Dallas
214-528-9446
5760 Legacy Drive, Plano
972-608-2627

Ferre Ristorante e Bar
3699 McKinney Avenue
214-522-3888

The Mansion on Turtle Creek
2821 Turtle Creek Boulevard
214-559-2100

Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
10477 Lombardy Lane
214-366-2000

Perry's
2911 Routh Street
214-871-9991

Hotels
Hotel Adolphus
1321 Commerce Street 214-742-8200 
A 93-year-old classic in the heart of downtown

Hotel Crescent Court
400 Crescent Court
214-871-3200
Glitzy setting on the edge of Uptown

The Mansion on Turtle Creek
2821 Turtle Creek Boulevard
214-559-2100
Legendary service and hospitality

Getting there

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (D/FW), bigger than the island of Manhattan, is often cursed by connecting passengers. But flying to Dallas is very different than flying through. Baggage claim is a quick stroll from the gates, and taxi lines are short. A central car-rental area is served by shuttle bus.

The airport is nearly through a multi-billion-dollar makeover. Terminal D, which opened in July 2005, serves international carriers and some domestic American Airlines flights.

It's connected to a new Grand Hyatt hotel, with meeting space, a fitness center and a pool. And D/FW recently debuted Skylink, a 30-mph train that circles the airport in nine minutes, which should cut down on complaints from connecting passengers.

The airport is halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, and taxis to downtown Dallas run $38. There is limited train service. (Check www.trinityrailwayexpress.org.)

Dallas' second airport, Love Field, is closer to downtown. Service is only available to cities in Texas and nearby states, though.