205 replies to this topic

[Stadtplan]

I heard some interesting scuttlebut about the reason the building's lower floors popped out so bad. 

At some point, not sure if it was during the bank days or XTO days, the glass on the lower floors was upgraded to be bulletproof. During the blast, the windows held up so well that the pressure pushed the entire facade off, window frames and all. Had the windows been "weaker", they may have just shattered. It sounded crazy to me, but if you look at the photos from FWFD, it looks like most of the glass is still mostly intact, even in places where the facade is laying in the street. You might also notice in the photos that there's a lot of glass on Houston St, and it appears that it came from the doorway, which I think were changed out during the hotel conversion. 

 

Considering recent events, that's actually a reasonable investment for a really nice building like the W.T. Waggoner:

 

[John T Roberts]

I agree with Nitixope's statement.  However, I can't remember when that work was done.  XTO restored the building in 1985, and the Continental National Bank and it's predecessor occupied the building from 1920 until 1952.  I also can't remember who occupied the lower floors between those two times.  So, I'm like Austin, I'm not much help.  One thing that I did notice is that the storefront has been altered slightly from the early photographs of the building to my photos of the building since about 2000.  You all are welcome to search the UTA Digital Galleries to see if you can pinpoint an approximate time frame those changes occurred.  I have a feeling that discovering the details of this will be time consuming.  Another place to look is on the National Register Nomination to see if it mentions the revisions in the storefronts, who made them, and when that occurred.

[John T Roberts]

Here's a link to Channel 8's story on the permit for the debris removal.  It shows an interior shot of the basement.

 

https://www.wfaa.com...09-8fb776417bcc

[Dylan]

Thankfully, it appears the building is structurally sound enough for Sandman Hotel owners to renovate and reopen it.

https://fortworthrep...-in-fort-worth/

[John T Roberts]

I will agree.  I have also seen the plans for the shoring and removal of the damaged portions of the building.  The areas that collapsed are not as bad as I had initially thought.  I would love to try to explain where the slab did collapse or was severely damaged enough that it will be removed, but all of the lower levels of the building were actually very complex in their position and alignment.  The greatest amount of damage that occurred to the building vertically was in the southwest corner.  That corner bay of the building had the sub-basement level, the first floor, and the mezzanine, all damage and those levels will be removed.  The basement floor was not built in that corner, so the blast carried up to the first floor.  The new lobby restrooms were located in that corner, and they collapsed into the sub-basement.  Above, on the mezzanine, even though furniture was still inside that conference room, the floor slab was damaged enough that it has to be removed.  The actual kitchen to the restaurant was located inside the smaller vaults for the bank in the center of the basement.  In the conversion, the perimeter walls of the vault remained and the walls separating the vaults were removed.  It appears to me that keeping the vaults helped save most of the first floor.  The 2 bays in the lobby right next to the check-in desk collapsed into the basement.  Another portion of a bay heading toward the elevator lobby also collapsed.  Those on the forum who have been inside on my Walking Tour will probably have a better idea of where the damage occurred.  The plans that I saw did not address any damage done to the walls or finishes inside the building, other than the structural floor slabs.

[John T Roberts]

It has been completely boarded up for some time now, but I thought I would post a photo of the base of the building taken today.

 

sandman-03-02-24 by jtrobert, on Flickr