{"id":183308,"date":"2026-02-27T18:35:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T18:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/183308\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T18:35:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T18:35:30","slug":"el-paso-downtown-arts-district-ranks-fourth-in-national-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/183308\/","title":{"rendered":"El Paso Downtown Arts District Ranks Fourth In National Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The USA Today 10BEST Readers\u2019 Choice Awards for 2026 have officially ranked the top arts districts in the country, and the El Paso Downtown Arts District landed at No. 4 in the United States.<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s an impressive jump from last year, when El Paso came in at No. 5. Moving up in a national readers\u2019 poll like this means continued visibility, continued support, and continued growth. It also confirms what locals have been feeling for years: the creative energy downtown is gaining real traction beyond the Borderland.<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Christian Churches<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Christian Churches<\/p>\n

Here is the full 2026 Top 10 list<\/a>:<\/p>\n

No. 10: Northeast Minneapolis Arts District \u2013 Minneapolis, Minnesota
No. 9: Grand Center \u2013 St. Louis, Missouri
No. 8: Alberta Arts District \u2013 Portland, Oregon
No. 7: East Market District (NuLu) \u2013 Louisville, Kentucky
No. 6: River North Art District (RiNo) \u2013 Denver, Colorado
No. 5: Carmel Arts & Design District \u2013 Carmel, Indiana
No. 4: El Paso Downtown Arts District \u2013 El Paso, Texas
No. 3: University Circle \u2013 Cleveland, Ohio
No. 2: Dallas Arts District \u2013 Dallas, Texas
No. 1: River Arts District \u2013 Asheville, North Carolina<\/p>\n

Krystall Poppin, Tino Ortega<\/p>\n

Krystall Poppin, Tino Ortega<\/p>\n

El Paso is ranked ahead of well-established creative hubs like Denver and Portland and sits just two spots behind the Dallas Arts District. That places the city among nationally recognized arts destinations with deep institutional infrastructure and long-standing reputations.<\/p>\n

According to USA Today, Downtown El Paso stands out for its art deco and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, large-scale murals honoring Mexican American history, and cornerstone institutions such as the Plaza Theatre and the El Paso Museum of Art. The district blends historic preservation with contemporary expression in a way that feels authentic to the region.<\/p>\n

El Paso County Elections Department<\/p>\n

El Paso County Elections Department<\/p>\n

The steady rise from No. 5 to No. 4 signals that this recognition is not a one-time moment. Reader-voted rankings reflect engagement, tourism interest, and national awareness. As more people experience the Downtown Arts District through festivals, performances, exhibitions, and everyday public art, that reputation continues to strengthen.<\/p>\n

For a city that has long supported its artists across disciplines, this ranking reinforces that El Paso\u2019s creative ecosystem is being taken seriously on a national stage. If the upward movement continues, the conversation next year could be even bigger.<\/p>\n

PHOTOS: Inside El Paso\u2019s First-Ever New Year\u2019s Eve Star Drop<\/p>\n

El Paso made history with its first Star Drop at San Jacinto Plaza, featuring live music, local DJs, and a celebration built by local businesses.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Courtesy; Iris Lopez, El Paso Winterfest, Christian Churches<\/p>\n

The \u201cPeople of El Paso\u201d loteria series<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Ware Portraits <\/p>\n

From El Paso to Hollywood: Julian Kalel\u2019s American Idol Journey<\/p>\n

Julian Kalel secures a golden ticket on\u00a0American Idol\u00a0and delivers a message bigger than music.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: American Idol<\/p>\n

IMPOSTERS Vol. 3 Was Even BIGGER Than The Last One<\/p>\n

Over 50 local El Paso artists of all kinds came together to swap styles and get out of their comfort zones! Old Sheepdog Brewery in Central El Paso opened their arms to the IMPOSTERS for the 2nd time and it proved to be another incredible show with a packed house the entire time!<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Grizz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The USA Today 10BEST Readers\u2019 Choice Awards for 2026 have officially ranked the top arts districts in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139,141,142,143,833],"class_list":["post-183308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-featured-carousel","tag-include-in-newsletter","tag-local-el-paso","tag-local-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}