During World War I three flying fields were established near Fort Worth, all eventually taken over b

Fort Worth, western anchor city of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, identifies itself as Where the West Begins. Proud of its colorful western heritage and rowdy past, the city carefully preserves its history cheap new orleans hotels even as it plans for the future. Within cheap new orleans hotels its downtown, cowboys, cattle auctions, and horse-drawn cheap new orleans hotels carriages coexist with cultural centers and modern office towers. Glass and steel skyscrapers housing headquarters of aviation, aerospace, and high-technology companies share sidewalks with renovated historic districts such as the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District and downtown s Sundance Square. With a population growth of 29.3 percent between 1990 and 2000, Fort Worth/ Dallas is among the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country.
Fort Worth is located in the rolling hills of the Great Plains region of north-central Texas. It is the seat of Tarrant County and the major city in the western half of the Fort Worth/ Dallas Metroplex. Fort Worth is 30 miles from Dallas and separated from it by the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and several smaller central cities, such as Irving, Arlington, and Grand Prairie. The Clear and West forks of the Trinity River join near the center of Fort Worth and Lake Worth, Eagle Mountain cheap new orleans hotels Lake, Benbrook, and Arlington Lakes form parts of its northwest and southern borders.
Fort Worth s climate is continental and humid subtropical, cheap new orleans hotels characterized by wide variations in annual weather conditions, long, hot summers, and short, mild winters. For more than 150 years Fort Worth was the only major city in the United States that had never had a fatal tornado. The city s luck ran out in March 2000 when a spectacular tornado tore through residential neighborhoods and the downtown area. Five people died in the storms, which caused an estimated $450 million in damage.
Fort Worth s wild and wooly past began in 1849 when Major Ripley Arnold led a small detachment of U.S. Dragoons to the banks of the Trinity River and established an outpost to protect early settlers from Native American attack. The garrison was named for General William Worth, a Mexican War hero. It was more of an encampment than a fort, but after several years the natives ceased their opposition to the settlement. When the soldiers cheap new orleans hotels left, the settlers stayed, and in 1860 Fort Worth was chosen to serve as Tarrant County seat.
Its location on the Old Chisholm Trail, the route along which ranchers drove their herds, helped establish Fort Worth as a trading and cattle center and earned it the nickname Cowtown. Cowboys took full advantage of their last brush with civilization before the long drive north from Fort Worth. They stocked up on provisions from local merchants, cheap new orleans hotels visited the town s colorful saloons for a bit of gambling and carousing, then galloped northward with their cattle.
Post-Civil War reconstruction brought many disillusioned Confederates to Texas in search of jobs and new beginnings. cheap new orleans hotels Commerce grew along with the population. Yankees wanted meat, and Texas had a ready supply. During this time rumors grew of a panther that stalked and slept on the city streets at night. A Dallas newspaper ran a story claiming that Fort Worth was so drowsy, a panther was found sleeping on Main Street. Fort Worth citizens good-naturedly dubbed their hometown Panther City, and many local merchants and sports teams adopted the animal in their logos.
The Texas Pacific Railroad arrived in Fort Worth in 1876, causing a boom in the cattle industry and in wholesale trade. The city was the westernmost railhead and became a transit point for cattle shipment. With the boom times came some problems. Crime was rampant and certain sections of town, such as Hell s Half Acre, were off-limits for proper citizens. Cowboys were joined by a motley assortment of buffalo hunters, gunmen, cheap new orleans hotels adventurers, and crooks. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were said to roam the streets of Fort Worth between robberies.
During the 1880s and 1890s, an influx of home-seekers helped quiet the rowdy streets and create a more stable community. More railroads led to more industry. Meat packing companies, a brewing company, more newspapers, and a stronger banking cheap new orleans hotels system arrived. Community cheap new orleans hotels leaders modernized the fire department, started a municipal water system, built sanitary cheap new orleans hotels sewers, and paved streets. Free public schools were legalized in Texas and colleges were founded. By then most major religious denominations cheap new orleans hotels were represented with congregations in the city. Fort Worth women organized teas, dances, dinners, and cakewalks to raise funds for a public library. In 1907, the Texas Legislature helped tame the town by outlawing gambling.
During the early days of the twentieth century, Fort Worth became the meat packing center of the Southwest. Nearly cheap new orleans hotels all West Texas cattle stopped there for sale or reshipment. Merchants were delighted to discover that when ranchers brought their cattle to market, they also brought their wives to shop in Fort Worth s stores.
In 1917, oil was discovered in West Texas on McCleskey Farm about 90 miles west of Fort Worth. The gusher meant another boom for the city and helped meet the fuel demand created by World War I. Five refineries were built by 1920 and the city became a center for oil operators. Oil-rich cheap new orleans hotels ranchers and farmers moved to Fort Worth and built luxurious homes and towering office buildings.
During World War I three flying fields were established near Fort Worth, all eventually taken over by the U.S. government. In 1927, an airport opened and the aviation industry began. During cheap new orleans hotels World War II, B-24 bombers were manufactured at the Convair Plant in Fort Worth, while bomber pilots trained at the nearby Tarrant Field (renamed Carswell Air Force Base in 1948). The opening of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 ushered in a new era of aviation history. At the time it was built, the airport was the largest in the world. The aviation/aerospace industry remains an important factor in Fort Worth s economy today.
Partners for Livable Communities voted Fort Worth as one of America s Most Livable Large Cities in 2004. With a vibrant cultural life, continuing development, and expanding economy in high tech industries, Fort Worth forecasts a vibrant future.
Fort Worth has traditionally been a diverse center of manufacturing, and the city had demonstrated strong economic growth since the 1980s. However, an economic slowdown in the sector accounted for job losses for the first time in many years between 2001 and 2003. Forecasts call for an increase of manufacturing jobs, supplying 32,048 new manufacturing jobs between 2004 and 2025 foran annual growth rate of1.2 percent. Government sector jobs are expected cheap new orleans hotels to show continued growth, and the transportation, communication, and utilities cheap new orleans hotels sector is forecasted to show growth as well. Mining business cheap new orleans hotels in Texas is driven by oil and gas production and has shown losses as oil prices dip.
Major employers in the area are American Airlines, Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Bell Helicopter Textron, Radio Shack Corporation, SABRE, Pier 1 Imports, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Emerging economic sectors cheap new orleans hotels in the new century include semiconductor manufacturing, communications equipment manufacturing, corporate offices, and distribution.
Between 1990 and 1996 defense downsizing resulted in the loss of 44,000 jobs in the Fort Worth area. That development set Fort Worth s economic diversification effort into motion. A plan was adopted called Strategy 2000, Diversifying Fort Worth s Future, which had as its goal the creation of a healthy, diverse, less defense-dependent economy supported by business cheap new orleans hotels development, cheap new orleans hotels emerging technologies, international trade, and a world class workforce. cheap new orleans hotels Tech Fort Worth, an off-shoot of Strategy 2000, is a business incubator that works with the Fort Worth Business Assistance Center to foster new start-up companies. Tech Fort Worth opened a new facility in 2004 with over 160,000 feet of office space, laboratories and conference rooms.
Tourism is an important contributor to the local economy. According to the Fort Worth Convention cheap new orleans hotels and Visitors Bureau, in 2004 there were 8.7 million visitors to Fort Worth, who spent $1.2 billion in the city and even more in the surrounding areas.
Items and goods produced: aircraft, communication equipment, electronic equipment, machinery, refrigeration equipment, containers, clothing, food products, pharmaceuticals, computers, clothing, grain, leather
Local programs— Fort Worth offers many incentive programs to develop and redevelop cheap new orleans hotels the city. As of 2005 Fort Worth had nine active Tax Increment Finance (TIF) districts. There are two Enterprise Zones in Fort Worth, with fee wavers, cheap new orleans hotels tax refunds, and other assistance provided by both the city and state. Under a policy adopted in February 2000, the City of Fort Worth, on a case-by-case basis, gives consideration to the granting of property tax incentives to eligible cheap new orleans hotels residential, commercial, cheap new orleans hotels and industrial development projects. It is the objective of the city of Fort Worth to encourage applications from projects that (a) are located in enterprise zones or other designated target areas; or (b) result in a development with little or no additional cost to the City; or (c) result in 1,000 or more new jobs, with a commitment to hire Fort Worth and inner city residents. Fort Worth has two state-designated Urban Enterprise Zones.
State programs— Texas is a right-to-work state. The Texas Enterprise Zone Programs offer tax abatement at the local level, and refunds of state sales and use taxes under certain circumstances to businesses operating in enterprise zone areas. The state of Texas primarily targets its incentive cheap new orleans hotels programs toward smaller and rural communities.
Job training programs— The state of Texas provides training funds through its Smart Jobs program, which offers up to $2,000 in matching funds for training employees who will work for new and expanding Texas companies that pay