Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, Bezoekersgids & wat te doen in de buurt

Bass Performance Hall is a limestone concert hall at 455 Commerce Street in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, opened on May 1, 1998. It is best known for the two 48-foot angels carved into its facade, and it is a centerpiece of the city's performing arts scene, including the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

The story behind it

The hall is named for the philanthropists Nancy Lee Bass and her husband Perry Richardson Bass, whose support helped make it happen. It was designed by the architect David M. Schwarz, working with HKS Architects, and the main theater seats about two thousand people. The look is deliberately classical, which is why it feels like it has been part of downtown far longer than since the late 1990s.

The angels are the signature feature. Each is 48 feet tall, carved by the sculptor Marton Varo from Texas limestone, and they look down over Commerce Street like guardians at a gate. The hall also stands in a city with a rowdy past. Fort Worth grew up as a cattle town on the Chisholm Trail, and its old vice district, Hell's Half Acre, was famous across the West. In 1887 the gambler Luke Short shot the former city marshal Jim Courtright dead on Main Street, one of the best-known gunfights of the Old West. Today's polished downtown is a long way from that world.

What to look for

• Look up at the two giant limestone angels on the facade and notice how much detail was carved into figures this large.
• Step back across the street to take in the whole front, where the classical proportions and pale stone show up best.
• Come near dusk or after dark, when the angels are lit against the sky and look their most dramatic.
• Watch the people arriving for an evening performance, which gives the block a sense of occasion you will not get at midday.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 30 minutes to admire the exterior and take photos. Longer is only needed if you have a ticket for a show.
• Seeing the inside generally means attending a performance, so check current opening hours and whether tours are offered before you plan around it.
• The late afternoon and early evening light is the best time for photographs, and the angels are floodlit after dark.
• The hall is next to Sundance Square, so you can combine it with a stroll, a coffee or dinner nearby.

See it on a quest

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Fort Worth brings you to the hall on foot as one stop on a longer route through downtown. The app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle right in front of what you are looking at. One ticket covers the whole group.

Ghost Hunt in Fort Worth suits this block well, given the rough history around downtown. You walk from place to place, hear the story of each stop as you reach it, and work out a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Lucky Treasure Hunt: The Golden Shamrock in Fort Worth is a lighter way to see the hall and the streets around it. You reach it on foot, learn about it from the app, and solve a puzzle on location. One ticket covers the whole group.