Fort Worth bureau | Dallas | Fort Worth Water Gardens | Bass Performance Hall

Where did you spend more of your time, Dallas or Fort Worth?
"I spent most of my time in Fort Worth, because several months after arriving at WFAA, I was transferred to the Fort Worth bureau. But I'd go to Dallas a lot and frequently went to my favorite pizza joint, Campisi's Egyptian, which is actually Italian. Rumor has it the name comes from an old sign that was left over from the restaurant that was there years before."


And what of the supposed rivalry between Dallas and Fort Worth?
"I always thought the rivalry was amusing, because I've never known two cities so close together with so much to offer. Both have dramatic skylines and great cultural institutions."

Where would you go to get away from it all?
"I would head to the Fort Worth Water Gardens. It's probably one of the greatest escapes in any major American city. No matter how much chaos there was around me, I always felt like I was completely removed from the city once I stepped inside. It was designed by the incomparable Philip Johnson, and is made up of rushing water that pours over large slabs of concrete and into enormous pools. It was a wonderful place to relax, picnic, and watch the sun set while listening to bubbling water. It's a great, unique oasis in the middle of the city."

Where did you like to go to hear music?
"I saw some terrific musicians at the Bluebird Lounge, a blues club in Fort Worth. But that's gone. For my classical music fix, I played the cello with the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra. [Zahn began playing at age five and went to Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, on a cello scholarship.] We had performances all over the city. Since I left, a lot has happened on the performance front in Dallas and Fort Worth. Both have world-class concert halls with spectacular acoustics: the Meyerson, designed by I.M. Pei, in Dallas, and the Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth."