11 replies to this topic

[John T Roberts]

I set up this sub-forum for us to discuss historic photographs, and so far, no one has started a topic or discussed any of the Jack White Historic Photographs that have been placed on the site. I just wanted to thank Jack for contributing these wonderful historic photos of Fort Worth.

Over in the threads about our proposed 60 story building and the question about "Why Can't We Be Happy?", density in our CBD is discussed. Before the automobile age and urban renewal, downtown Fort Worth was very dense, even though most of the buildings in the Convention Center area were two to three stories. I'm posting this photograph to discuss the density and the buildings in the southern sector of downtown. The photo was taken by Bill Wood in 1931.


Please feel free to make any comments about the layout of the city, the density, buildings, and the photograph. One of the interesting group of buildings are to the left of center. Those structures are expanded buildings from the 100+ year old telephone company facilities that are still buried under the existing SBC building.

[RD Milhollin]

Please feel free to make any comments about the layout of the city, the density, buildings, and the photograph. One of the interesting group of buildings are to the left of center. Those structures are expanded buildings from the 100+ year old telephone company facilities that are still buried under the existing SBC building.

This photo really brings to bear the tremendous number of buildings that have been demolished in DT, for various reasons. I was pretty young when Hell's Half Acre (or what was left of it by then) was demolished to make way for the Convention Center. Where did all the businesses go that were displaced all at once? Was the brick just thrown in a landfill, or was it reused? I remember when the main part of the Swift Plant was demolished they would pay piece-meal for people to knock off the mortar from the downed bricks, and I believe they were reused in new residential construction. It seem s to me that Downtown really took a blow when the Convention Center was put in. Did the economic impact from the new center every equal what was lost from the demolished buildings and the businesses forced to move?

[safly]

Absolutely amazing! No wonder why FW was a booming city before most in the country. I WISH that background landscape would still exist today. It seems so "Little House on the Prairieish". Like you could wagon on in to THE BIG CITY from the prairie land up north, take in a nickelodeon, or a bar, or steakhouse, even a fine CLOTHIER from time to time. It's as if this town SHOULD have been THE HOLLYWOOD from back then. You can lodge the stars at a local favorite posh hotel. Get some film in for a cowboy movie set somewhere near now....I-35 and 820, or 183 and Berry? Then get a good train robbery scene done by.... Meacham? Or Richland Hills? IT was just waaaay cool back then.

[WTx]

This photo really brings to bear the tremendous number of buildings that have been demolished in DT

One thing that has always looked strange in old pictures were all the buildings directly across from the T&P Depot and Warehouse. That area looked completely different before the I-30 overhead was constructed IMO. The whole area where the current Lancaster median is now was filled with buildings.

[John T Roberts]

First of all, there two issues here relating to Lancaster. Prior to 1931, the T&P Passenger Rail Terminal was at the southeast corner of Main and Front Streets (Lancaster). That structure was similar in design to St. Louis' Union Station. The way the building was situated, the tower of the terminal was on axis with Main Street and the Courthouse. The freight terminal and warehouses were across Main, roughly sitting in front of the current T&P and where the Post Office is now. That is the long narrow building that you see going behind the T&P Terminal in the photograph.

Front and North Streets (now Lancaster Avenue) were indeed narrower than they are now. If you look at 15th Street between Throckmorton and Jennings, there is only a median between it and Lancaster. At one time, there was a block between them. Lancaster was widened in order to construct the overhead portion of I-30 back in the 1950's. When the reconstruction of Lancaster is completed, the alignment will be closer to the original location of the street. The remaining property on the north side of the street will be sold to developers.

[Jack White]

Thanks to John for allowing me to post wonderful vintage photos of
the WAY WE WERE. I donated my collection of about 10000 images
to UTA about ten years ago, and many researchers have been
using it.

I will be happy to answer photo requests here, but do not check the
forum frequently. If anyone posts a message here, to make certain
that I see it, please email me at

jwjfk@flash.net

and I will respond on the Forum as soon as I can.

My goal is to interest Fort Worthians in old FW history and photos.

Jack White

[John T Roberts]

Welcome to the forum, Jack! I'm willing to bet that there are several of the forum members that would love to hear your perspectives on Fort Worth's history here. If you click the box for e-mail notification when you post a reply, the board will automatically e-mail you when a reply is posted in the topic.

[Jack White]

Welcome to the forum, Jack! I'm willing to bet that there are several of the forum members that would love to hear your perspectives on Fort Worth's history here. If you click the box for e-mail notification when you post a reply, the board will automatically e-mail you when a reply is posted in the topic.

John, call me dumb...but I cannot find the box to check for email notification.
I tried all the obvious places, but got nowhere. Can you provide details
for the computer illiterate?

Thanks.

Jack

[John T Roberts]

There are at least two ways to do it. On an individual post basis, when you click "Add Reply" to reply to a post, there are three boxes after the text box. Click the box next to "Enable e-mail notification of replies". This will subscribe you to this thread.

If you want an automatic e-mail notification of replies to every thread that you have posted, on any page in this forum, click on "My Controls", which is located in the upper right of every page. That will lead you to a new window. On the left hand side of the controls is "Menu". Go down about towards the bottom to "Options". Click "E-mail Settings". There will be a control panel here that allows you to "Enable E-mail Notification by Default". Check that box and then you will have a chance to pick how often you are notified. If you want to immediately know when someone replies, then pick "Immediate E-mail notification". There are also other options to allow the actual text of the reply to be sent to you.

I hope that I have walked you through it so you can receive the e-mail notification.

[Jack White]

John...another dumb question.

I wanted to post a few photos on the HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS forum
for discussion, but cannot locate a button for uploading images.
Please tell me how to post images.

Jack

[John T Roberts]

Jack, if you want to start a new topic, then click the button stating "New Topic". That will open up a blank box to create a title, subtitle, and text for the topic. To put the picture into the topic, you must know the URL address for the photo. If you need to find it as one of the photos that you have already provided me, then get the address of it and copy it from the address bar in your browser. Once you have it copied, click the button above the text box that has a frame and a tree in it. That calls up a window where you can paste the URL into the message. Make sure that you don't have the "http" in there twice due to cut and paste. In order to link to a photograph, it must be already uploaded to the web.

I hope this helps you.


John

[Jack White]

Jack, if you want to start a new topic, then click the button stating "New Topic". That will open up a blank box to create a title, subtitle, and text for the topic. To put the picture into the topic, you must know the URL address for the photo. If you need to find it as one of the photos that you have already provided me, then get the address of it and copy it from the address bar in your browser. Once you have it copied, click the button above the text box that has a frame and a tree in it. That calls up a window where you can paste the URL into the message. Make sure that you don't have the "http" in there twice due to cut and paste. In order to link to a photograph, it must be already uploaded to the web.

I hope this helps you.


John

That is no help, since NONE of my photos are on a URL website. I am on two other forum
of this same format, and both have buttons for ATTACHING JPG IMAGES. Never mind.
Thanks anyway!

Jack