My idea has more to do with making downtown a traveler's destination. I have traveled to many cities and one of the main draws for me is to see with my own eyes the images millions have seen before me in person or on television. I call it the "Money Shot".
While the stockyards are postcard worthy I feel a new generation is ready for an iconic image that Texas in general lacks. From the space needle in Seattle to the hollywood sign in Los Angeles, heck even Philadelphia has the love sculpture to represent the "city of brotherly love." If you ask an outsider what comes to mind when they think of Texas the familiar slogan "everything is bigger in Texas" quickly comes to mind.
So along those lines I think it would be travel worthy for tourists if on random street corners or along the Trinity or maybe in the water gardens we had giant lifelike sculptures of small mundane objects to play off our slogan. From a giant safety pin or a huge marble and created possibly by local artists, lets give tourists another reason to smile and say cheese.
Also we could choose objects that promote the history of our city and state. For instance we could have a giant football face mask (safe for kids to climb maybe) that included a plaque discussing the history of Texas high school football. Or a giant Sherrif's badge with a plaque discussing the history of the Texas Rangers. Maybe a giant turn of the century school desk promoting the past and future of TCU. The possibilities are endless. I know a lot of you are rolling your eyes but so did the people in Chicago when cloudgate (Da Bean) was proposed. Now tourists can't make a trip to Chicago without stopping by.
Don't underestimate the power of a person's "things to see before they die" bucket list. Visitor's from across America would have a reason to visit and that is when you drop their jaws with how much cooler Fort Worth is than they envisioned.
Thousands go to Southfork each day just to see a ranch. Let's bring them west.
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