Historic Fort Worth
Fort Worth is full of mothballed buildings that look ripe for demolition. But, through another monocle, such buildings may be worthy of salvation. As Historic Fort Worth releases its annual list of Most Endangered Places, nine buildings and properties might get a second chance.
Among the properties nominated is a 1920s building that once boasted a 2,000-seat auditorium and housed the Ku Klux Klan. Designed by Earl Glasgow, its features are hard to miss with a high-peaked parapet and motifs of arches. The building served as the KKK headquarters, housed membership, and is located just across the Trinity from the city’s courthouse.
“Part of historic preservation is recognizing what something was, and what something is, and perhaps recognizing what it might become,” executive vice president of The Projects Group, John Stevenson, says. “It seemed to be falling apart and waiting to be swept aside with the development of Panther Island. But, swiping away this history would be another step in hiding and maintaining systemic racism and oppression. Its demolition could have been used to suggest resolution and closure to the trauma caused and spread by what took place in this building. But letting or making a building fall down does not heal violence.”
The nonprofit organization, Transform 1012 N. Main Street, purchased the building earlier this year to convert the structure into The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing. Its namesake honors the memory of Fred Rouse, a Black meatpacking-plant worker in Fort Worth who was lynched by a White mob in 1921. The new purpose of the building hopes to return resources to the communities that were marginalized and targeted for violence by the Ku Klux Klan. Some features include meeting spaces for equity and membership training, services for underserved communities, and spaces for artists.
Other properties nominated include the Garda Park built in 1910, the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena built in 1968, a candy company factory built in 1906, the Berry Theater built in 1940, the William Coleman House built in 1930, and Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church and Parsonage built in 1929.
“I hope that people see the enthusiasm around younger generations that can support a future for the buildings that they can represent,” executive director of HFW, Jerre Tracy, says. “Lots of preservation groups have endangered lists because the conversation is what really changes the future for a building. People are very creative when they know there’s a need.”
