in depth

In Depth The 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy brought the world to Dallas, etching a downtown plaza and a book depository building into the popular consciousness. With exposure like that, it's no wonder this modern metropolis is sometimes viewed as a hodgepodge of past events and larger-than-life people — many inspiring and some tragic.

Long before Lee Harvey Oswald became a household name, locals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow fascinated the American public with a crime spree that ultimately led to their Dallas burials. On the other end of the spectrum, nearly 100 million viewers watched the Dallas Cowboys suit up for their record-breaking eighth Super Bowl appearance, making the 1996 championship game the most-watched U.S. television sporting event of its time. TV audiences also saw the city depicted in the prime-time soap “Dallas,” which, in 1980, had everyone asking “Who shot J.R.?”

It actually was the discovery of oil just east of town that catapulted the already burgeoning business center toward high-rolling status during the Great Depression. As a result, the community garnered such commercial plums as the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition, which attracted millions of visitors to Dallas' Fair Park. A showcase for Art Deco architecture, the cultural complex continues to draw crowds with various events, including the State Fair of Texas.

During World War II, other industries like aviation and engineering furthered the city's wealth. More than 600 companies set up shop here over the next few decades; today the area boasts one of the country's highest concentrations of corporate headquarters.

The $1 billion-plus AT&T Stadium opened in 2009 as the largest domed arena on the planet, with a 72-by-160-foot high-def video board, another world record-holder.

Minuscule in contrast to the behemoth stadium, a reconstruction of city founder John Neely Bryan's one-room abode sits in the heart of Dallas. Eclipsing the tiny cabin are a towering skyscraper and, figuratively at least, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial, funded by Dallas citizens in 1970.

While forever linked to one of the saddest episodes in U.S. history, Dallas also conjures notions of Texas ingenuity, individualism, affluence and sheer size, and offers a succinct glimpse at America's past, present and potential.