In the February 2013 issue of Texas Monthly, noted author and infamous curmudgeon Larry McMurtry takes on a touchy topic — the ranking of Texas cities.
"If I were to anatomize the six major cities more or less in order of urban merit, I would now put Houston first by a large margin: it's a great city," writes McMurtry, who was born and still lives in the hardly-metropolitan Archer City.
"Next would come Austin and Fort Worth," he continues. ". . . Dallas I haven't enjoyed since the sixties, when I could still scout books at the Harper's big bookshop in Deep Ellum, where my son now often performs. Dallas is a second-rate city that wishes it were first-rate."
We have to admit that the cities are all too distinctly dynamic to accurately rank — no matter the metrics.
Even as we pat our backs over Houston's much-deserved accolades, we have to admit that the cities are all too distinctly dynamic to accurately rank — no matter the metrics.
Although I personally count myself guilty of considering Dallas with some disdain in the past, a recent visit proved that the city isn't so bad. Restaurants, galleries and retail stores in the downtown area were bustling with activity well after dusk — a success that Houston, for all its efforts, can't quite grasp.
Despite being a complete change from the city that I loved to visit as a kid, and one that I called home in my early adulthood, Austin remains one of my favorite cities in the world: Beyond the city's amazing culinary offerings, the natural surroundings are breathtaking, the weirdness thankfully overt and the aesthetic comforting in its consistency.
Fort Worth has its perks, too. The Modern? The Kimbell? The Stockyards?
So with all due respect, Mr. McMurtry, we'll defer to The Texanist on this one.
Archer City author Larry McMurtry tackles a touchy subject in the Feb. 2013 issue of Texas Monthly.
