Fort Worthology » Architecture & Urban Design

America’s Favorite Art Museum – The Modern, or the Guggenheim?

Kevin Buchanan — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:10:31 +0000

ArtInfo is holding an online tournament to determine America’s favorite art museum, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is in the running. There are several match-ups to vote for. In the current round, the Modern is matched up against the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. A little birdie tells me that the Modern is actually pretty close to the Guggenheim in the voting, so spread the word and see if we can’t get the Modern a little more recognition.

So, what’s it going to be – Tadao Ando’s Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum? Click the link and vote!

An Urban Jack in the Box, Because Why Not?

Kevin Buchanan — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:48:06 +0000

That, believe it or not, is a new-from-the-ground-up Jack in the Box. It’s located on Berry Street, across from the GrandMarc and just down the street from places like Fuzzy’s and the new TCU bookstore. It replaced a more typical suburban-style Jack in the Box on the same site.

Whatever one’s opinion of Jack in the Box as a place to eat, we have to give them kudos for building a store that actually fits into the more pedestrian-oriented goals of the Berry Street makeover. This new store is right up on the sidewalk, has street-facing entrances, patio dining out front, plenty of windows on the street, and an at least somewhat interesting street facade design. It’s not perfect (we’d have preferred it be more level with the sidewalk at the corner), but given the typical fast food box, it’s darned near miraculous.

We’re guessing a lot of city and neighborhood pressure was needed to get this result, but we’re glad to see a company like Jack in the Box willing to build something pedestrian-oriented. We’ve said many times that the programming of the retail spaces isn’t as important as getting the form of the building right, and this is a great example – a lot of our readers are probably not big Jack in the Box fans, but by building a properly urban structure the restaurant is at least being a good citizen of the streetscape and helping to create a better, pedestrian-enticing public realm.

Tour the Endangered Ridglea Theater Next Week

Kevin Buchanan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:08:25 +0000

CORRECTION: The date of the tour is Thursday the 29th at 5:30 PM.

Historic Fort Worth will be going on a tour of the endangered Ridglea Theater on Thursday the 29th at 5:30 PM. The tour is free for Historic Fort Worth members, and guests are $10. From Historic Fort Worth:

Don’t miss this chance to see the interior of this iconic theater, one of the last single screen theaters in Fort Worth. Architect John Roberts will lead the tour and the current tenants, Wesley Hathaway and Richard Van Zandt, will answer questions. Beer and wine will be for sale at the concession stand.

This would be a great chance to see the Ridglea’s beautiful original features, including intricate terrazzo floors and elaborate murals – all of which would be lost if the current plans to tear down all but the entrance for a Bank of America drive-through branch are carried out. Again, the tour is at 5:30 – you can RSVP to Corry Smith at 817-336-2344 x100 or Corry_Smith@historicfortworth.org.

Urbanism Field Trip – Bastille on Bishop in Oak Cliff

Kevin Buchanan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:55:35 +0000

Here’s a detour from Fort Worth coverage – took a field trip to the Bastille Day street festival in Oak Cliff’s Bishop Arts District to see how they did with a real, close-the-street-and-have-a-party street festival type event. It seems planners were expecting around 300 people to come, but more like 1,000 showed up. It was popular, in other words.

Bishop was closed for a couple of blocks in the heart of the district. One portion was lined with tents for the mussel cooking competition that would be held later in the evening. There were also wine-related events, and of course the many and varied merchants of the Bishop Arts District were participating as well.

At this end of the street, parking for bicycles and scooters was set up:

There were plenty of both, especially bikes (which spilled out across the rest of the Bishop Arts District as the parking area filled up).

The event was filled with, as our friends at Walkable DFW pointed out, Texans doing exactly what some people would have you believe Texans would never do – walking, riding bikes, socializing, and playing in an urban public setting, even when it’s hot.

Build spaces for people, and watch as people come from all over to use them thanks to our shortage of great places designed around human beings.

Outside of the core festival area, the sidewalks were bustling with life.

In the second half of the festival area, the street had been taken over by games. One end held a biggie-sized chess board, while the rest of the space featured a dirt bocce ball field.

Bikes & bocce ball – always a fun combination for photos.

Crowds were impressive, and I’m betting the businesses were loving it – they were all packed.

Lovely cruisers parked at the other end of the street.

The view down the festival.

The always-tasty Eno’s was packed to the rafters with activity.

It was an impressive showing, and a big congratulations go to Oak Cliff organizers and activists for creating such a wonderful street festival.

It’s definitely the sort of thing we’d love to see in Fort Worth more often – more intimate and grassroots than the events around here tend to be. The Bishop Arts District is a great example of a maturing Urban Village, with a variety of housing and retail destinations in a human-scaled, human-oriented form.

Fort Worth’s Remaining Single-Screen Theaters

Kevin Buchanan — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:32:35 +0000

The Ridglea
Year Built: 1950
Status: In use, endangered by demolition
Location: 6025 Camp Bowie – Ridglea Urban Village

The Ridglea is one of the only remaining single-screen theaters still in use in Fort Worth for entertainment purposes. It hosts live music. Currently, the Ridglea is threatened with near-total demolition for a Bank of America drive-through bank branch. Posts on the Ridglea’s current saga: here, here, here, and here.

The Bowie
Year Built: 1940
Status: In use
Location: 3859 Camp Bowie

The Bowie is currently housing a Frost Bank branch. The building was kept mostly intact in its conversion to a bank.

The Berry
Year Built: Unknown, presumed 1920s-1930s
Status: Vacant
Location: 3021 Hemphill – Hemphill/Berry Urban Village

The Berry, at Hemphill & Berry, has been vacant for some time and looks rather run-down. The neon sign is still in place, but the marquee appears to have been lost when Hemphill was last widened.

The Grand
Year Built: Unknown, presumed 1910s-1930s
Status: Appears vacant
Location: 1100 Fabons – near Evans & Rosedale Urban Village

The Grand was most recently in use as a church. It appears to be vacant now. The sign and marquee are still intact. The last church to occupy the building added large concrete blocks to its street facade for some reason.

The New Isis
Year Built: 1935
Status: Vacant
Location: 2401 N. Main – Stockyards

The New Isis is a 1930s renovation of the Isis Theater from the 19teens. The sign and marquee are intact. Signage on the marquee has promised “The New New Isis” is “coming soon” for years, but the building doesn’t appear to be in active restoration.

The Azle
Year Built: 1941
Status: Vacant
Location: 2206 Azle

The Azle has been vacant for some time. The sign and a marquee are intact. It appears to have had its formerly colorful appearance painted white some time ago.

The Rose Marine
Year Built: 1918
Status: In use
Location: 1440 N. Main – Historic Marine (formerly Mercado) Urban Village

The Rose Marine is certainly the most well-cared-for of the old theaters in Fort Worth. It is currently a performing arts venue.

The Poly
Year Built: 1941?
Status: Vacant
Location: 3001 Vaughn

The Poly’s signage and marquee are partially intact. The building was a church at some point in the past after it stopped being a theater, but appears to have been vacant for some time now.

The Hollywood
Year Built: 1929-1930
Status: Building in use, theater vacant
Location: 410 W. 7th – Downtown Fort Worth

The Hollywood sits entombed in the Electric Building in Downtown Fort Worth, the last of the old 7th Street “Show Row” theaters even partially intact. The theater lobby on 7th Street is mostly intact and serves as office space. The theater itself is vacant and sealed up in the building, but the lobby areas past the main lobby and the theater from the balcony level up are all reasonably intact. The lower level of the theater was converted to parking for the Electric Building apartments. See our old walkthrough of the Hollywood’s remains.

Unknown
Year Built: Unknown
Status: Vacant
Location: Evans & Terrell – Evans & Rosedale Urban Village

This structure isn’t obviously identified as a theater, but it strongly resembles one (its form is very similar to the Grand a few blocks away). Not sure of this one’s name or history. The building is currently vacant.

Photo not yet available

Unknown
Year Built: Unknown
Status: In use as church
Location: Sylvania near Race – near Six Points Urban Village

This building is potentially an old single-screen theater. It resembles one in form, but we have no information about its history. It is currently a church.

These are all the remaining single-screen theaters that we’re aware of. Of them, only two are in active use as entertainment venues, and one of those is threatened with demolition. One is in use as a bank and one as a church. The rest are vacant.

An Architect Walks Through the Ridglea

Kevin Buchanan — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:19:23 +0000

Noticed a message from architect John T. Roberts of the great Architecture in Fort Worth site. He got the chance to walk through the Ridglea a few days ago. These are his initial impressions:

I had a chance to tour the inside of the Ridglea Theater this afternoon. It is really not in bad shape. Yes, there are a couple of roof leaks, one small ceiling failure, and several smaller ceiling failures. The building could easily be re-roofed, which would stop the leaks. The ceiling could be repaired with a small amount of plaster, plus one supply air register would have to be replaced. I have rehabbed buildings in far worse condition and they have been saved, so this one is not a loss at all. Actually, considering it’s age, it is mostly intact and in fairly good condition.

This seems to square with our own impressions of the building. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s a far cry from being in such bad condition it wouldn’t be worth the cost to restore, as Council Member Zimmerman said in the DFW.com article that helped launch this storm around the theater. Seems an odd statement to make considering the building’s actual condition.

Again, at this point, because there’s not much in the proposed plan (which may not happen – Bank of America does not yet own the property) that needs city approval, about the only hope to save the Ridglea should BoA move forward is an outcry of public opposition to the plan sent to the Fort Worth City Council and support for designating the property as a Historic & Cultural Landmark, as was attempted late last year before being removed from consideration by the council. Contact info can be found in this previous post.

Aggarwal Building Lofts

Kevin Buchanan — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:52:06 +0000

Finally got the chance to take a look at the lofts upstairs above Dr. Aggarwal’s office, located on Lipscomb just north of Rosedale. The Near Southside’s NS-T4-N zoning in many areas of the district requires residential in some form (either all residential or residential and something else). As a result, many of these small mixed-use infill buildings are popping up all over the district, usually with a doctor’s office downstairs and 2-4 apartments upstairs.

The Aggarwal building was designed by the Near Southside’s own TMA Architects, who have designed many of these small mixed-use buildings (their own offices are in such a building on Pennsylvania). Upstairs has four lofts (three are still available) of various sizes around 700 square feet, with rents at about $1.00 per square foot. We took a walk through all three remaining lofts.

Click the photos below for a larger view. If you or somebody you know is interested in living here, it looks to use like a cool project – the lofts are really attractive (love the exposed wood ceilings), and the building’s only a short walk from Magnolia Avenue (about a block or two, depending on how you count things) and just down the street from Magnolia Green Park. For more information, call 817-734-6475 or 972-849-8216.

West 7th Phase II Underway

Kevin Buchanan — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:37:18 +0000

Left-to-right: Michael Wheat (Cypress Equities Senior Vice President of Leasing), Fernando Costa (Fort Worth Assistant City Manager for Infrastructure Services), Dale Fisseler (Fort Worth City Manager), Bill Thornton (President and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce), Tom Higgins (Fort Worth Assistant City Manager for Economic and Community Development), Kirk Williams (Cypress Equities Senior Vice President of Development), John Fainter (Cypress Equities Vice President of Development), and Joel Burns (Fort Worth City Council Member District 9).

Phase II of the West 7th development by Cypress Equities officially got underway today with a groundbreaking attended by several Cypress and Fort Worth city officials. Phase II’s site is the “southeast block”, bounded by Currie, Crockett, and Foch, with a parking garage that will go behind Fred’s to the south.

The next phase of West 7th is comprised of 96 new loft apartments on the upper floors above 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The additional residential and retail space comes thanks in part to the strong leasing of the original phase – around 75% of the original retail space is leased, and the loft apartments in the first phase are 99% leased.

Below is a rendering of the new phase, showing the new building’s Crockett facade. Click to embiggen:

The new building is of complimentary style to those on the other three blocks from Phase I, and will fully complete the Crockett & Currie intersection, where unique corner elements come together in the center of the project. Additional renderings of Phase II can be found in the gallery below. Hats off to Cypress for keeping the project rolling during rough economic times – we’re looking forward to seeing Phase II rise.

A Look at a New Fairmount Bungalow

Kevin Buchanan — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:21:55 +0000

Here’s something more cheerful for you – our friend Joe Frank, a local developer who has done a number of infill bungalows in the Fairmount National Historic District (where new construction must fit in with the historic buildings) and has been expanding into mixed-use buildings, has completed a cute new bungalow on a vacant lot on Lipscomb that we got the chance to look through. The bungalow is around 1408 square feet, and listed for $188,000 (it’s sold now).

We love looking at infill projects like this – they reinforce something we’ve been banging on about for a long time: urban living encompasses an incredibly wide selection of housing types, from condos in skyscrapers to converted lofts to street-oriented detached homes and everything in between. Urbanity isn’t about height – it’s about how building interact with the street and their surroundings and how we design neighborhoods that allow a diverse assortment of housing types, building uses, and transportation methods.

Anyway, here’s a few photos from Joe’s new house, along with a shot of its new owners. You can learn more about Joe’s infill bungalows at his site, fortworthbungalow.com.

Councilman Zimmerman Issues Statement on Ridglea Theater

Kevin Buchanan — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:26:30 +0000

District 3 Council Member Zimmerman has issued the following statement about the Ridglea Theater:

Over the past several days, the District 3 Office has received numerous phone calls and e-mails regarding the fate of the Ridglea Theater. We’ve heard a great number of concerns, and I share many of those. The Ridglea Theater has been an important part of the Camp Bowie landscape, and citizens have a strong connection with this landmark. Unfortunately, the future of this property has been uncertain for quite some time.

All things considered, it’s important that we strike a balance between preserving the character of this community while at the same time encouraging positive redevelopment. This is a delicate balance, but it can be achieved.

Bank of America has shown interest in the Ridglea Theater. That’s good news. And while the proposed plans to remodel the building into a bank office would adhere to its present multi-use zoning designation, Bank of America has shown a willingness to be a good partner and consider preserving the building’s façade, including its marquee and tower. Although Bank of America has not yet purchased this property, we greatly appreciate their interest in maintaining the character of this important part of our city. Nothing has been finalized, but we will continue to work closely with Bank of America, city officials and the residents of the surrounding community to work toward a positive outcome.

I think I’m seeing that Council Member Zimmerman and the rest of us are approaching this from two very different positions.

He says we have to “encourage positive development,” and takes that to mean ripping out a mixed-use development featuring a live theater and replacing it with a Bank of America branch. The many, many folks who want to see the Ridglea saved do not consider that an example of “positive development,” for a variety of reasons. You’ve got the loss to Fort Worth’s indie music scene – local bands replaced with BoA employees. You’ve got the loss of another single-screen movie theater, a handful of which still remain in the city – a detriment to the city’s connection with an important social and cultural facet of its past. You’ve got the loss of a major historic structure on Camp Bowie that truly sets the architectural stage for several of the historic structures around it – an architectural loss. Hiding all this behind the “well, they’d keep the facade” argument just results in a hollow, false identity covering up another generic bank.

He also says the proposed bank branch would “adhere to the present multi-use zoning,” which is completely untrue unless BoA plans to be running a live music theater in their bank lobby. I’m not certain that “mixed-use zoning” and “Urban Village program” mean what he thinks they mean. My understanding is that the project would demolish all of the Ridglea except the facade, and would also demolish the adjoining office & retail building. The new construction behind the mask of the Ridglea facade would be a BoA branch, while the space currently occupied by the office/retail building would become…a parking lot.

Going from a complex with a live theater, offices, and retail space to a single-use bank branch is in no way “adhering to the present multi-use zoning.” It’ll just be…a bank. That’s one use. Parking does not constitute a second use.

The Ridglea area is designated by the City of Fort Worth as an Urban Village. The city’s web site states that the purpose of the Urban Village program is thus:

Urban Villages are small geographic areas (usually one square mile) zoned for dense, multiple-use development that is mass-transit and pedestrian friendly.

Parks, business, entertainment, homes, and stores — all within walking distance of each other in an area with a consistent look and feel that emphasizes the culture and heritage of those who call it home. A city within a city.

The City of Fort Worth is working with developers, business groups and neighborhood associations to revitalize older commercial districts using capital improvements, mixed-use zoning and economic incentives to help urban villages throughout the Central City.

In no way does the demolition of a historic mixed-use project for its replacement by a single-use bank building with a big new parking lot meet any of the goals of the Urban Village program. Put simply: by the city’s own stated goals for this area, this is a bad deal.

“Bank of America has shown interest in the Ridglea Theater. That’s good news.” Frankly, I think that’s horrible news, councilman. Why are we approaching this from the standpoint that “Bank of America ruining a historic theater & mixed-use building” is good news? That is an unacceptable baseline for the citizens of this city who want to see this beautiful building complex saved. New development along that stretch of Camp Bowie has been trending in a generic suburban-bank-branches-and-chain-restaurants way for a while now, and continuing that trend rather than pursuing the sort of development that the city itself says it wants to see in the area doesn’t strike me as progress, nor does development of another generic national corporate bank branch to replace something with real through-and-through local character and heritage strike me as progress. In my opinion, this is a bad, bad deal – the loss of architectural value, the loss of cultural value, the loss of built heritage, the loss to Fort Worth’s music scene, and the creation of an inappropriate development form in a designated Urban Village.

I’d also like to add that, in a document dated October 2007 that outlines the master plan of the Ridglea Urban Village (PDF link), the following statement relating to Council Member Zimmerman’s predecessor, the late Chuck Silcox, can be found:

After a discussion of future uses for Ridglea Theater, Council Member Silcox said he would request that the City begin the historic designation process for the structure.

It seems even Chuck Silcox wanted to keep the Ridglea intact. Clearly, the Fort Worth city government has dropped the ball.

I hope you’ll all keep telling the City Council how bad an idea this is. Keep e-mailing them and telling them to designate the Ridglea as a Historic & Cultural Landmark. Not all new development is good development. Even I, Mr. Let’s Build Cool New Stuff Dork, know that to be true. I’d like to think that Fort Worth has more ambition and creative value than to let such a wonderful historic resource like the Ridglea get consumed by a generic bank branch.