The historic Fort Worth Stockyards is drawing thousands of tourists this Labor Day weekend with three rodeos, live music and a ton of Western flavor.
"Taste of the West. We'll take it," said Colleen Dunn, a tourist from Boston.
A new part of the Stockyards, known as Mule Alley, is taking off.
They're even filming a prequel to the hit series "Yellowstone" on Exchange Avenue.
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"I think it's fulfilling the direction it's been heading for 40 years,” said Steven Murrin, a longtime Stockyards developer who arrived on the scene in 1974 and is known as the unofficial mayor of the Stockyards.
"My old deal always was this ain't Las Vegas and this ain't Hollywood and this ain't Disneyland,” Murrin said. “This is the Stockyards and this is our heritage."
At one point, he said the city talked about bulldozing the Stockyards and replacing it with an industrial park.
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But he and others had a vision.
"It just smells bad and don't look good,” Murrin said. “I said, ‘We are just going to have to elevate the primary drink from Mad Dog from Merlot and don't change anything, you know.’"
Repeat visitors will tell you the Stockyards has changed a lot.
"Love all the stuff they've done,” said Paula Rose, a frequent visitor from Tulsa.
The Stockyards opened in 1887 after the railroad arrived in Fort Worth, and it became a major shipment point for cattle.
More than four million head passed through in the late 1800’s and got so big it became known as the “Wall Street of the West.”
“I’m proud of it,” Murrin said.
