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LANDMARK TOWER (formerly Continental
National Bank & The Texas Building) - 200 W. 7th St. - 1952; 1956/57 -
Imploded March 18, 2006. At the time of demolition, it was the
Second Tallest Building in the World to be Imploded by Controlled
Demolition, Tallest Building in the State of Texas to Be Imploded, and the
Tallest Building in the State of Texas to be Demolished. It was also
the first time in Fort Worth's History that a former tallest building in the
city was torn down. The Landmark Tower was 30 stories and 380 feet
tall. At one time, it had the World Largest Digital Clock, Revolving
Clock, and 4 Sided Sign. It also had one of the longest straight run
fire escapes at 31 floors from the main roof to the ground. |
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LAWYER'S BUILDING - 113 Houston - c.1890's
- Demolished August 2005. This small building, only 25 feet wide,
was constructed some time in the
1890's. The exact date is not known. Over the years, the ground
floor has been altered, but the second floor remains intact, other than
painting the brick and altering the windows. From 1903 until 1908,
National Coffee Company was located in this building. For one year,
they also occupied the building next door to the north. That building
has been demolished. Over the years, a furniture store, hardware
company, and salvage company have occupied this address. From 1917 to
1928, Engler's operated a clothing store here until they moved into the
building to the north and then later to the corner of 1st and Houston.
From 1932 until 1964, Luskey's Western Store operated from this location.
In 1964, they moved to the northwest corner of Houston & Weatherford
Streets. The building and the adjacent, but less significant Engler's
Western Wear Store was demolished in August of 2005. |
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RIPLEY
ARNOLD HOUSING PROJECT - demolished 2003. This public housing
development constructed in the 1940's and named for the founder of Fort Worth
sits very close to the original town site. It is being demolished to
construct the new corporate campus for RadioShack. These two story,
red brick apartment buildings were arranged with the fronts of the apartments
facing the streets and the rears facing courtyards and playgrounds. Many
old oak and pecan trees are present throughout the site and as many as possible
will be preserved. |
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811 LAMAR - 1962; demolished 2002. This three story building was
constructed for Equitable Savings Association across from Burnett Park. It
was designed to have 10 more stories added on top, but the expansion never took
place. Equitable Savings eventually merged with other financial
institutions. Over the years, the building has been home to other
financial institutions. It was demolished for an expansion of anew
parking garage constructed directly to the east of the building. |
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TEXAS SECURITIES BUILDING - 815 Throckmorton
Street - 1958; demolished January 1998. This building was partially imploded at 6:30
P.M. on Sunday, January 11, 1998. The scheduled implosion time was 8:00 A.M. I did take
photographs, but I was not prepared to take them after dark. Due to adverse weather
conditions during the week, the implosion ran behind schedule. The original plan was to
have 3/4 of the building fall northward and then the eastern 1/4 fall westward where the
building once stood. Only the western 3/4 of the building was demolished. The remainder of
the structure was imploded at 7:58 A.M. on Sunday, January 25, 1998. Over the years, the
building housed Mutual Savings and Loan, United Savings, and Texas Securities. The
building has been vacant for several years. The site is owned by XTO
Energy and they have expanded an existing surface parking lot into this
site. Over the last few years, XTO has been purchasing buildings in
the area. Plans call for some type of redevelopment of the property. |
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800 HOUSTON - 1935; Demolished September 1997.
This small, Art Deco, one story commercial building was one of the few in Fort Worth that
still survived. The building was demolished for a parking lot that will serve
XTO Energy. One of the interesting features of the building was the freize above the storefronts with a central dark band between courses of ornamentation.
The 8 story Texas Securities Building (1958), located on the same block, has also been
demolished for additional surface parking. Future plans are for an office/retail
development of some type on this site. |
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LERNER SHOPS (originally The Scott-Harrold Building) - 601 Houston - 1895, 1936, 1946; demolished
September 1996. This building was probably one of the largest structures built in Fort
Worth in 1895. It spanned across the entire block along 5th Street between Main and
Houston. Entrances were on all three streets. Originally, the building had a brick facade
with cast iron and wood columns, and was constructed for The Fair Department Store. In
1936, R.E. Cox & Co. moved in and remodeled the store by placing stucco over the
brick. The stucco was scored with joints to appear like stone. In 1946, Cox's moved out
and The Lerner Shops moved in and remodeled the building again -- this time with an Art
Deco facade. An angled wall was constructed on Houston Street and a sun screen was placed
at the roof line. All of the windows were closed, and the entire facade was stuccoed over
again. The base of the building was painted black and the upper two floors were painted
white. The site of the building is now a surface parking lot.
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