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!

Related posts:

1. Cafe Modern, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
2. Cafe Modern, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, in HDR
3. Coming Up: “Andy Warhol: The Last Decade” at the Modern

MK’s menu appears to be pretty well-rounded, including several vegetarian options.  No word just yet on an opening date.

Related posts:

1. West 7th Aims for Small Business
2. West 7th Likely To Drop Hotel, Replace With More Lofts
3. Sushi Restaurant Headed To Museum Place Flatiron Building

The city has released some documents from HDR, Inc.’s current planning work on Fort Worth’s modern streetcar system, and one of the documents gives some more depth, information, and details on the potential starter alignments being considered and how they’re being measured.  It’s important to note that at this stage of planning, the routes are not set in stone.  There are several potential starter routes for the first phase of the modern streetcar system, and each is being evaluated according to a set of criteria.  The end result might be one of these lines, or it might be a combination of parts of lines.  These answers will come from the study currently underway by HDR, Inc. that is providing a blueprint for our modern streetcar system.  This information comes from publicly-available planning documents posted to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, available as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

The criteria that the potential starter routes are being measured against come from factors in successful streetcar systems in other cities, and the goals and issues that a Fort Worth solution could be designed to address.  The criteria are focused on improving the development and mobility situation in Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods.  They reflect the objectives of the project as told to HDR, based on meetings with City of Fort Worth officials and staff, organizations like Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and Fort Worth South, Inc., and the city’s Modern Streetcar Task Force.

The sort of criteria that these routes are being measured against include:

• Existing and anticipated population in the alignment corridor
• Existing and anticipated employment in the alignment corridor
• Major destinations served
• Developable land
• Potential yield from TIF and other locally-generated sources
• Assessed value base
• Compatibility with city and TIF district plans
• Relative lack of engineering or traffic management constraints
• Estimated ridership
• Capital and operating costs
• Public and stakeholder support

The following routes are being screened against these criteria.  Each is being analyzed as a potential stand-alone Phase 1 of the streetcar system.  It’s expected that, once the evaluations are complete, potential combinations of these lines could also emerge as a starter project, but the initial evaluation is of each route alone.  Note also that these descriptions are of the starter routes and do not include potential extensions to each route.

You’ll note that most of the lines include several segments that are the same as the other lines.  HDR’s plans showcase how the starter lines can build together over time into a network, and how they can share most of the same trackage in Downtown.

Click on the routes for a larger view.

West 7th

The West 7th alignment is 3.0 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound and heads to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound on 6th to Cherry, where it makes a slight right to merge from westbound 6th to westbound 7th.  The line heads westbound on 7th to Montgomery, where it then heads southbound to Camp Bowie, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown using the same route – northbound on Montgomery, then eastbound on 7th – until it reaches Henderson.  At Henderson, the line turns northbound on Henderson, then eastbound on 3rd.  After heading eastbound on 3rd, the line turns southbound on Calhoun before turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

North Main

The North Main alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound.  It heads northbound on Commerce through Belknap & Weatherford and makes the merge onto North Main past the Tarrant County Courthouse.  The line crosses the Paddock Viaduct (North Main bridge) where it is then envisioned that it would be integrated into the Trinity Uptown master plan.  One option, shown here, would have the line turn onto a reconstructed Commerce and head north before turning westbound on NE 6th and then southbound on North Main to head back to Downtown.  Once across the Paddock Viaduct, the line would merge from the bridge onto southbound Houston and continue southbound to 3rd, where it would turn eastbound and head to Calhoun.  At Calhoun, the line would turn southbound and head to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Trinity Bluffs

The Trinity Bluffs alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns and heads northbound to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound and heads to 7th, where it heads further westbound to Henderson.  It turns and heads northbound on Henderson to 3rd, where it turns and runs eastbound.  Upon reaching Pecan, the line turns northbound and heads to Bluff, then eastbound to Samuels.  It runs northbound on Samuels to the Cold Springs intersection, the terminus of the line.  It then heads back to Downtown via Samuels, Bluff, and Pecan.  At Pecan & 4th, it turns and heads westbound to Calhoun.  The line then runs southbound on Calhoun to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Near Southside – Jennings Option

There are two potential Near Southside alignments being considered at this time.  This is the Jennings option, which is 2.0 miles end-to-end.  The Jennings option heads southbound on Houston from 3rd.  At 9th, the line cuts over to Throckmorton headed southbound, then further over to Jennings.  It heads southbound on Jennings past Lancaster and under the railroad tracks and I-30, continuing southbound on Jennings to Pennsylvania.  The line then heads westbound on Pennsylvania to Henderson, turning southbound on Henderson to Terrell.  The line turns westbound on Terrell to 6th Avenue, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown eastbound and northbound via the same route – Terrell, Henderson, Pennsylvania, and Jennings – before reaching Throckmorton and heading northbound to 3rd, heading eastbound on 3rd back to Houston to head back to the Near Southside.  It is important to note that the Jennings option does not directly serve the ITC, but provides a connection to the TRE and the future SW2NE train at the Texas & Pacific Station.

Near Southside – South Main Option

The second potential Near Southside alignment is the South Main option, which is 3.2 miles end-to-end.  This alignment leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Magnolia.  It turns and heads westbound on Magnolia to 7th Avenue, where it turns northbound and heads to Terrell, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – 7th Avenue, Magnolia, and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Near Southside & Rosedale/East Side – Rosedale Alignment

The Rosedale line is 2.2 miles end-to-end.  It leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Rosedale.  It turns eastbound on Rosedale to Evans, which is the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – Rosedale and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Again, let us stress that these alignment options are still being measured against the design criteria.  The exact starter alignment has not yet been selected, and may in fact be a combination of elements of multiple alignments.  We’ll have more as the study by HDR continues.  For more information on this process, head to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, where this data is available to the public as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

Related posts:

1. Three Potential Near Southside Streetcar Alignments
2. A Further Refinement Of The Streetcar Starter System Route
3. City Of Fort Worth Issues Streetcar Design Request

6:00 PM:  Kevin Aldridge of Chatterton
7:00 PM:  Luke Wade
8:00 PM:  Doug Moreland

Bring blankets and lawn chairs.  Terra Mediterranean Grill will be selling food and drink.  Other participating merchants include Pure Bliss Therapeutic Massage, LA Fitness, Yofé Fresh Fruit & Yogurt Cafe, Backwoods, Paciugo, and Toni & Guy.

Related posts:

1. Yofé, others now open at West 7th, more coming soon
2. West 7th Adds More Retail Tenants
3. Broadway Off Broadway – Free Concert Tonight at Magnolia Green Park

Critical Mass, the group bike ride intended to raise awareness of local bike culture, has returned to Fort Worth in a big way.  Last Friday, June 25th, over 60 bike riders gathered at Burnett Park in Downtown Fort Worth at 7:00 PM for a mass group ride that took them to the 7th Street corridor, back through the heart of Downtown, and then on to the Near Southside.

This isn’t the kind of Critical Mass you might have heard of in rare cases in a few other cities – there’s no angry confrontational mindset here, just a laid-back family-friendly group ride to show Fort Worth that bike culture is here in a big way.  With the sheer amount of riders in this one, the event took on an almost parade-like quality with people gathering on the sidewalks to watch and wave as the group rode by.

Here’s some shots of the group meeting at Burnett Park, heading down 7th back into Downtown, and cruising down Magnolia in the Near Southside.  Click the photos to embiggen.

Related posts:

1. July Critical Mass This Friday
2. Critical Mass Ride Tonight
3. Three Bits of Bike News and Events – Trinity Trail Chicanes, Critical Mass, Group Ride to Burger’s Lake

Do you like music?  Sure, we all do.  Since you do, you’ll want to head over to the web site of the Fort Worth Weekly, where the nominees for the annual Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards are online.

What’s more, the Weekly’s Music Awards extravaganza is this Sunday, at six clubs around 7th Street:  The Backyard at Capital Bar, Fred’s Texas Café, Lola’s Saloon, Poag Mahone’s, The Pour House, and 7th Haven.  The show is free, and is going to feature 36 Fort Worth artists (all are nominees):  The Orbans, Calhoun, Dove Hunter, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Josh Weathers and the True+Endeavors, The Burning Hotels, Stella Rose, Goodwin, Clint Niosi, Rivercrest Yacht Club, Stoogeaphilia, Eaton Lake Tonics,Pinkish Black, Quaker City Nighthawks, The Dangits, Chatterton, Fate Lions, Titanmoon, Rabbit’s Got the Gun, KatsüK, Maren Morris, Exit 380, Cityview, The Phuss, The Will Callers, Jefferson Colby, Keegan McInroe, Browningham, Secret Ghost Champion, JZ & Dirty Pool, Phantom Caste, Kristina Morland, My Wooden Leg, Jason Worley, Christian L. Williams, and Vatican Press.

The full schedule and festival program can be found in the current Weekly.  If you’re big on local, independent music, you’ll want to check out the Weekly’s festival.

Related posts:

1. Coming Soon: The Fort Worthology Awards 2007
2. Fort Worthology Wins Best Blog, Readers' Choice – Fort Worth Weekly Best of 2008
3. The Weekly's new site

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.

Related posts:

1. West 7th Phase II Breaks Ground Thursday, June 24th
2. West 7th Grand Opening
3. West 7th Update

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.

Related posts:

1. UPDATED: Ridglea Theater and Office Building Doomed to Demolition by Bank of America
2. Ridglea Theater Follow-up
3. Tour the Endangered Ridglea Theater Next Week

Photo by John T. Roberts

Terrible news for Fort Worth historic preservation:  the Ridglea Theater, one of only a handful of remaining single-screen movie theaters in Fort Worth, and its adjacent office building would be nearly entirely demolished under a plan from Bank of America, who want to demolish everything but the facade of the theater and build a new bank branch on the site behind the facade.

It’s yet another black mark on Fort Worth’s track record of historic preservation, which (despite what City Hall would have you believe) is incredibly poor.  The Ridglea has no protection of any kind, not even Demolition Delay.  Historic Fort Worth added the Ridglea, along with the other remaining single-screen theaters, to their Most Endangered list this year.

The Ridglea has for years served as a live music venue, and still does, playing host especially to Fort Worth’s metal scene.  That track record of active use makes the comments from the Ridglea’s district’s council member, “Zim” Zimmerman, even more puzzling.  Zimmerman is quoted in the above DFW.com article as saying:

“The interior is [in] very poor shape, probably not worth the cost of rehab.”

What’s puzzling is that not only has the Ridglea been in active use for years (and is in fact still in active use), but having been inside it ourselves in the not too distant past, it hardly looked anywhere near as bad as indicated above.  We’ve seen theaters in far, far worse condition be restored and go on to live healthy lives.  Seems a very odd statement to make considering the Ridglea is in better shape than a lot of historic buildings that have been successfully rehabbed in Fort Worth and it’s still being used.

What’s doubly unnerving about the proposal at the Ridglea is that just down the road a short distance is an example of a bank that went into a historic single-screen theater and actually kept it intact – the Frost Bank that occupies the former Bowie Theater:

Photo by John T. Roberts

Seems to us that Bank of America is not such a one-of-a-kind flower that they couldn’t pull off something similar at the Ridglea, saving the building for other future uses.

Single-screen theaters in Fort Worth are an extremely endangered breed.  There’s the old Bowie (now the Frost Bank), the vacant Berry, the Ridglea, the New Isis, and only a tiny handful of others in various states of decay.  While Fort Worth likes to think of itself as being different from Dallas, in terms of preservation we’re right there next to our neighbors to the east.  This city does not take historic preservation seriously.  We’d hope that the city council would take this new threat to one of our few single-screen theaters as a wake-up call to stand up for preserving more of our built heritage – but how likely is that?

We hope a lot of you out there would contact the city council and express your disappointment in the sorry state of historic preservation in this city and this latest failure to save one of our rare single-screen theaters.

UPDATE: The management of the Ridglea (not the owner – the folks who run the music venue) have released the following statement on their web site, and are urging people to write to the City Council (especially District 3 representative Zim Zimmerman) and the Zoning Commission to express their displeasure with the proposal to demolish everything but the Ridglea’s facade for a bank branch:

As you may have heard, the previous owner of the Ridglea Theater complex lost the building to FixFunding, LLC, a funding company based in Dallas. The complex has been up for sale and may have already been sold to a bank. Richard has shown the Ridglea to their “team” of architects more than once.

However, the City of Fort Worth has requested that IF FOLKS DO NOT LIKE THE PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE, THEY SHOULD LET CITY COUNCILMAN W.B. “ZIM” ZIMMERMAN AND THE FORT WORTH CITY COUNCIL KNOW IMMEDIATELY!

Richard and I would love to get this stopped – not because of what we do here (after all, we need to retire sometime) but simply because this is the last of the grand old buildings in Fort Worth. It would be a shame to lose part of the heritage of Fort Worth, and it should be preserved! The paintings are original! The mosaic floor could never be replaced, and the structure itself inside is beautiful. Of course the present owners are probably not interested in the history, and I can see their point – they are in the business of making money.

This is going to hit the newspapers immediately, and we would like to let our loyal supporters know what is going on! It’s HORRID!!!! Our lease runs into early next spring, so we hope we can stay at least that long.

Meanwhile, it’s BUSINESS AS USUAL! Ridglea Theater needs the local support now more than ever. Please contact the Fort Worth City Council, and let them know how much you want the Ridglea Theater to stay!

If you would like to help support the preservation of Ridglea Theater, please use the contact information below to make your voice heard.

City Councilman W.B. Zimmerman
District 3 Office
1000 Throckmorton St.
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Telephone: 817-392-8803
Fax: 817-392-6187
E-mail:District3@fortworthgov.org

Related posts:

1. Councilman Zimmerman Issues Statement on Ridglea Theater
2. Ridglea Theater Follow-up
3. Tour the Endangered Ridglea Theater Next Week

Cypress Equities has just told us that later this month, on Thursday the 24th, they’ll be holding a groundbreaking ceremony for Phase II of the West 7th development.  The Phase II groundbreaking will be for the southeast block, the last missing piece of the Crockett & Currie intersection.  The southeast block was once planned for a hotel, but we’ve heard that instead the block will become another mixed-use building with residential lofts over retail space.  The southeast block construction will also wrap around behind Fred’s, as can be seen in the aerial photo above.

The groundbreaking ceremony will be held from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM on Thursday the 24th in the Movie Tavern, upstairs and across the street from the southeast block.  This should provide a clear view over the site, and Cypress will undoubtedly be talking about the plans for the development’s second phase.

We are looking forward to seeing more buildings rising at West 7th.  The development has thus far been the most successful of all the 7th Street projects at creating a real sense of place and making walkable, livable, and enjoyable spaces, and getting the last corner of Crockett & Currie filled in will make it even better.  We hope to have some renderings and other information on Phase II shortly.

Related posts:

1. West 7th Phase II Underway
2. West 7th Spring Bash – Thursday, March 4
3. West 7th Grand Opening