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Chase Court on Hemphill Street


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#1 DKinFW

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Posted 25 June 2009 - 03:32 PM

Chase Court is an old private "gated community" on Hemphill, a few blocks south of Allen Avenue. It has a few somewhat grand old homes, a few smaller homes and even a vacant lot. Today I noticed that a low property wall that faces onto Hemphill had been removed. This wall only marked property and did not add security to the property. It was in sad shape the last time I saw it....crumbling in several places and a real eyesore to be honest. Does anyone know what is going on here? Is the wall going to be replaced? There is a historical marker inside Chase Court as well as one on one of the major houses. Wonder if whoever did the demo had to get permission from the Historical guys?

If anyone has answers, let me know. I will also keep checking on the status of the wall replacement, if any.

#2 travelbear

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Posted 25 June 2009 - 10:06 PM

I don't know about the historical value of that wall, but it will be one less place on Hemphill for homeless and hookers to sit and relax.

#3 Recyclican

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 06:13 AM

QUOTE (DKinFW @ Jun 25 2009, 04:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
There is a historical marker inside Chase Court as well as one on one of the major houses. Wonder if whoever did the demo had to get permission from the Historical guys?

If anyone has answers, let me know. I will also keep checking on the status of the wall replacement, if any.


Only two of the homes in that Court have local historic designations; 8 Chase Ct, and 9 Chase Ct. From what I heard, back during the original planning for the Fairmount historic district, the owners of the properties in this private cul-de-sac specifically did not want to be included in the district. I suppose the owners of 8 and 9 decided they wanted their homes protected because they were both individually designated in 1990 - just a few months prior to the Fairmount District being created.

3 Chase Ct, the Johnson-Elliott House, is listed on the National Register.

So, unless that wall is on the property of 8 or 9 Chase Ct, it would not be protected by review of the Landmarks Commission for demolition of the wall. Regarding 3 Chase Ct, it would also not need review from the local guys for the same reason. It doesn't appear that the wall was described/listed in the National Register listing for 3 Chase Ct either.

For more info, see my thread on "So you've found an old building, now what?"

#4 Fort Worthology

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 07:20 AM

According to the map in the Fairmount design guidelines:

http://historicfairm...uidelines-2.pdf

The entirety of Chase Court is in the Fairmount district.

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#5 Recyclican

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 07:46 AM

QUOTE (Atomic Glee @ Jun 26 2009, 08:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
According to the map in the Fairmount design guidelines:

http://historicfairm...uidelines-2.pdf

The entirety of Chase Court is in the Fairmount district.


Hmm, interesting. Though on page 23, in the list of Contributing Structures, it says:

QUOTE
Chase Court (Has National Designation, but no Local Designation)
1, 3, 6, 9, 10*, 11, 12, 13, 14


#6 vjackson

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 08:40 AM

Chase Court is such a treasure, but I have to wonder if the residents have the funds to maintain the street, gates, and walls. That wall has looked crappy for years and the street was in horrible shape the last time I drove down it (years ago). Isn't the neighborhood eligible for some kind of assistance?

#7 Fort Worthology

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 09:01 AM

QUOTE (Recyclican @ Jun 26 2009, 08:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hmm, interesting. Though on page 23, in the list of Contributing Structures, it says:

QUOTE
Chase Court (Has National Designation, but no Local Designation)
1, 3, 6, 9, 10*, 11, 12, 13, 14



So, in summary: who knows? Hardly the first time preservation was a gray zone in Fort Worth. smile.gif

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#8 DKinFW

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 07:40 AM

I drove by Chase Court yesterday and there are no signs that the demolished wall is going to be replaced any time soon.

#9 Doohickie

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Posted 08 May 2010 - 07:45 PM

I found this old thread through a Google search on Chase Court. Anyway, the wife and I toured 3 Chase Court as part of the Fairmount Home Tour this afternoon. Stunningly gorgeous home with a lot of care to retain the original character of the house while updating it. Preservation example: it has two parlors, one on each side of the main entry, the ladies' parlor and the men's parlor; the ladies parlor still has the original glass-paned pocket door to close that room off from the rest of the house. Update example: The delivery porch on the rear of the home has been fully walled in and incorporated into the kitchen. The house also has a children's play house, a pool, and a carriage house with 5 garage stalls and an original apartment over two of them.

The other homes on this year's Fairmount tour, even the larges among them, could still be called cottages, or at least fairly modest homes. 3 Chase Court is best described as a mansion; no question in my mind.
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#10 John S.

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Posted 01 July 2010 - 01:46 PM

Here's an architectural mystery involving E.E. Chase and Chase Court:
A friend of mine in Ohio with a keen eye for detail was looking over a circa 1907 D.H. Swartz photo collection online:(click on link) E.E. Chase home illustration by D.H. Swartz
(from the Portal to Texas History at UNT) and noted that the E.E. Chase (for whom Chase Court is named) residence is remarkably similar to a famous Los Angeles CA residence, the Lewis Leonard Bradbury Home designed circa 1886-87 by California's renowned Victorian era architects, Joseph Cather and Samuel Newsom, better known as the Newsom Brothers. The Bradbury Mansion stood according to an online source at 406 Court St. until 1929 when it was demolished. The same source also said the house was built originally for J.W. Potts, County Clerk of Los Angeles Co. and was sold to Bradbury in 1887 for $125,000 a princely sum in those days. I also believe the Bradbury House was used in some early Hollywood movies. The Newsom Brothers are best known for their residential masterpiece in Eureka, CA, the 1886 William Carson Mansion (still standing and widely acknowledged as one of the finest high-style Victorian mansions on the West Coast) Some architectural scholars consider the Bradbury Mansion to be even more architecturally sophisticated than the Wm. Carson Mansion, but nonetheless, the E.E. Chase residence is remarkably similar. (nearly identical, actually)

I have yet to find any extant photos of the C. 1890 E.E. Chase residence which once stood where Chase Court now exists. According to one account:(click on link) the E.E. Chase residence design is credited to A.N. Dawson the Chase house was designed circa 1890 by Alonzo N. Dawson but if that credit is true, then he must have literally plagiarized the Newsom Brothers design or maybe bought the plans from that firm. My question is: are there any photos extant of the E.E. Chase residence-the Swartz "photo" as well as the FW Architecture site images are illustrations, not real photos. The Chase residence is said to have burned in 1900 so it only stood for about 10 years. I would also be interested in learning any connections between E.E. Chase, the credited architect of his home, Alonzo N. Dawson, and any Fort Worth connections to California, L.L. Bradbury, or the Newsom Brothers architectural firm. Here's a photo of the Bradbury Home in its prime (1892) kindly provided by a friend of mine in California who owns the original-all image uses and rights are reserved by the same.



LL Bradbury Residence 406 Court St Los Angeles CA

#11 Owen

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Posted 01 July 2010 - 02:04 PM

Very interesting: your picture looks a lot like the famous Garvey house on Samuels Ave.

#12 John S.

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Posted 01 July 2010 - 06:58 PM

QUOTE (Owen @ Jul 1 2010, 03:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Very interesting: your picture looks a lot like the famous Garvey house on Samuels Ave.


Well, not really... except that they are both in the (towered) Queen Anne style. I actually have a 1901 photo of the William B. Garvey House at 769 Samuels Avenue which I plan to post soon. If you might be able to click on the two links in my previous posting, you'll see the E.E. Chase House was a "dead ringer" for the Los Angeles Bradbury Mansion. Problem is, the Bradbury House was a custom design by the Newsom Brothers architects and while it may have appeared in a building trade magazine, I'm not aware of it ever being in any planbook. How or why a local Fort Worth architect, Alonzo N. Dawson, made a near-replica here of the very same house remains a mystery. I'm hoping some early FW architectural enthusiasts might share additional information to explain this odd coincidence. Although the Bradbury House fell into disrepair and neglect it was lauded when built as one of the finest homes in Victorian era Los Angeles. The Bradbury house has long been demolished but a set of original plans and numerous photos survive.

Update July 2: Regarding the mysterious Chase House (what an "apt" name) I've "chased" down a few more facts. After Googling, I found E.E. Chase was in New Orleans in Feb. 1893 and helped broker a land deal to establish Audubon Place, one of New Orlean's first formally planned communities, according to narrative in the book New Orleans Architecture Vol. VIII page 72. No other mention of him is made in the book and he is called there a businessman from Fort Worth, Texas. Published local accounts state he disappeared permanently from city directories after 1893. In the book, A Field Guide to American Windmills by T. Lindsay Barker on page 100 is a photo of E.E. Chase's huge wood windmill and the book claims it was installed in 1890 and was the most elaborate and ornate in the entire United States. In the background, a small section of a large stone masonry house is visible but I cannot match it with the Los Angeles Bradbury House design. If this photo is indeed of the house that was copied from the Newsom Bros. Bradbury House design then it seems it was different in use of materials but again, very little is shown of the house, mostly seen in the photo is the huge windmill. The "Chase" chase continues...I'm working on locating info and any possible links from Los Angeles sources.

#13 Nitixope

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Posted 18 July 2022 - 11:19 AM

FW Report article about Chase Court:

 

https://fortworthrep...near-southside/

 

One thing I don't understand is the graphic at the bottom of the article states that total population of Chase Court is 3,547.  This can't be correct?

 

cWBslD9.png



#14 Doohickie

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Posted 18 July 2022 - 11:30 AM

That's quite a bit for a single city block.  I wonder if that was put in by the editor because surely Todd knows that isn't right.  I knew Todd's partner who often rode with Night Riders, and I'd been to Todd and Doug's house several times.  There house is at the rear of their property.  It was the carriage house; the house at the front of the property was moved to another lot and later burned.


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#15 John T Roberts

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Posted 18 July 2022 - 01:09 PM

I was going to say that the population of Chase Court might be 35, but certainly not 3,547.






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