(Photo by John Roberts, fortwortharchitecture.com)

Fantastic news for Fort Worth historic preservation!  What is commonly called the “Daiches Building” sits at Houston & Weatherford in Downtown, right across the street from the Tarrant County Courthouse.  So-called for the jewelry store that has inhabited its ground floor for the last 81 years, the building was built in 1910 and is basically the only original “courthouse square” structure still standing in even somewhat original condition.  It was given a ground-floor modernizing in 1955 (when the blue mosaic tile was added), but otherwise looks totally original, if rather shabby.

With Joe Daiches relocating, there were many fears among Fort Worth preservationists and urbanists that the little building would be plowed into the ground for a parking lot, has happened to two neighboring buildings not many years ago.  We are very happy to report, though, that the building will live on.  We were contacted today by commercial real estate broker David Tuttle, who is announcing that he and investor Darwin German have acquired the building and  are restoring it to its original condition for adaptive re-use.

The building’s 1955 ground floor remodeling will be removed, and the entire original appearance restored.  Upstairs, the 2nd and 3rd floor were a hotel until the 1970s and have been vacant since.  Describing the 2nd and 3rd floor as being “like a time capsule,” the original suites still include tons of original details, including original doors, transom windows, hardware, wood floors, chair rails, molding and tin ceiling tiles.

The plan is to restore the 2nd and 3rd floors and lease the suites as office space with all the modern amenities.  It is intended that the ground floor be leased as retail space – ideally, the owners want to see a coffee shop or sandwich place go in.

This is a great victory for Fort Worth historic preservation, and it’s also a great victory to keep this building active and engaged with its surroundings instead of becoming another blank parking lot.  We are looking forward to seeing the building’s restoration progress and hope to bring you photos as it goes.

More local neighborhoods taking advantage of social media – we’ve noticed that the Fairmount Home Tour now has its own Twitter feed for updates and news.  If you’re a local Twitter-er, follow them to keep up-to-date on news about the upcoming Home Tour.

These photos come to us from Atlas Properties, the new local owner/manager of the Historic Electric Building in Downtown next to Burnett Park.  The historic 1931 skyscraper has been apartments for quite a while, but under its previous out-of-state owner the building had fallen into rather poor condition.

Since acquiring the building, Atlas has launched into an ongoing renovation and improvement project.  Thus far, they’ve moved the leasing office to the ground floor, remodeled the common areas like hallways and elevator lobbies, and have remodeled the main lobby as well.  Later this week, a new cooling tower is being installed.

These photos show the improvement in the interior condition of the building.  We’ve always thought that the Electric Building was a gorgeous piece of architecture (and a valuable piece of the Downtown residential picture by virtue of its being notably more affordable than other apartment buildings Downtown) that was in need of better keepers to give it some attention, and it’s looking like that’s finally happened.

For more information, check out the Electric Building’s web site.

The redevelopment of the building on Hemphill just off the corner of Magnolia & Hemphill that will be home to the Near Southside’s new police station is well underway.  The police station, currently in the ground floor of the building at College & Magnolia that houses Mamma Mia, The Salon Upstairs, Urban Green Build, and other tenants, is relocating to this larger facility and is bringing the gang unit (who had to move out of their old home on University after Botanical Research Institute took it over) with them.

Most people are probably familiar with the building as it has sat for many years – an ugly, blank concrete box with a handful of tiny windows.  It has long been an eyesore in the Near Southside, especially right off the ongoing revitalization success of Magnolia Avenue.  This development will finally do something about all that ugly – the project is completely revamping the exterior of the building to be compatible with the Near Southside’s urban design standards.  Already, many new windows have been punched in the formerly blank concrete walls.  As the project continues, the building will gain an all-new facade divided up into three bays, making its appearance more compatible with the classic urban buildings of Magnolia.

What isn’t as obvious is the lengthy, oddball history of this building.  From the street, the building is a dreary 1970s box, which is the result of additions and remodeling done in the ’70s to an existing building on the site.  You see, buried within all that ugly concrete is a building from around 1903.

The original building inside, one of the traditional urban structures which used to line the major streets of the Near Southside before demolitions and parking lots took over, was originally a Texas National Guard Armory and post office.  In the ’70s, Hemphill was widened from its older, narrower, more human-scaled form, and the old Armory had its street facade removed to accommodate the widening.  At that time, additions were made and everything was unified behind the blank concrete facade that’s been there ever since.

Hints of the building’s past are visible, however – most notably in the alley.  If you go around back and look at that side (the east side), you’ll see the concrete facade on each end, but in the center you can still see the original alley facade of the Armory, complete with arched windows and more.

This project will result in a major eyesore being transformed into a much more attractive and urban-compatible form, as well as the consolidation and expansion of the FWPD station and gang unit.  We’re looking forward to seeing how the building looks as the renovations progress.

The Fairmount neighborhood in the Near Southside is gearing up for its annual home tour, coming up on Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9.

The Fairmount Tour of Homes highlights the beautiful homes that we have in our historic neighborhood. Each year, six to ten homes are selected for the tour and hundreds and hundreds of people tour these homes to appreciate the architecture and take a step back in time.

Proceeds from the tour are the primary source of funding for Neighborhood Association endeavors. Recently, the association used profits from past Home Tours to help offset the cost of capital improvement projects such as installing period-style streetlights, replacing signs marking the boundaries of the Historic District, and enhancing area landscaping.

Over at Fairmount’s site, there’s links to purchase advance tickets online, as well as info about where tickets can be purchased in person.  Advance tickets are $10, while tickets the day of the event are $15.  An order form for this year’s Home Tour t-shirt can also be downloaded.  In addition, the Home Tour committee is clearing out some stock of previous years’ shirts:

If you are interested in purchasing 2007 (white with silver design), 2008 (maroon shirt), 2009 (yellow shirt) Home Tour shirts, we have some available. Shirts are $5 and Fairmount hats are available for $3. Limited sizes are available. Please contact the Home Tour Directors if you would like to purchase any of these items.

Contact info for the Home Tour directors is available on the Fairmount site.

The Massad House, a large home-turned-office-space that had lived on W. 7th Street for years, has been relocated to its new home on Montgomery Street near the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and the Fort Worth Community Arts Center.  The home was moved this past Saturday, transported in one piece.  These photos of the move come to us courtesy of Phillip Poole of local development firm TownSite Company.

The move of the Massad House clears a major obstacle in the path of the next phases of the Museum Place mixed-use development.  With the historic home now out of the way, the only buildings left standing on the site of what will be a new mixed-use building featuring apartments over ground-floor retail are the former JJ’s Hideaway and Norma Baker Antiques buildings (the old Post Office, floral shop, and strip mall previously located on the site have of course already been demolished).  Two more sites for Museum Place development adjacent to this site are already cleared.

Things have been slow in the world of Museum Place in the Cultural District, but we are finally about to see some progress on the next phase of the large mixed-use development.  One of the obstacles to construction of that next phase has been the Massad House, a large Victorian home (now office space) that occupied a lot across the street from what was once Four Star Coffee.

Word was that the house would be moved to Montgomery Street, but news has been hard to come by for a while now.  Positive development at last, though: the house is now raised up in preparation for its move.  The move will be handled by H.D. Snow and Sons House Moving.

The move of the Massad House means only a couple of smaller-scale demolitions are in the way of the next phase of Museum Place, including the former JJ’s Hideaway building.  Once the Massad House is out of the way, we may see the Hideaway come down and work begin on the next part of the development.  The upcoming phases of Museum Place will include apartments over retail spaces in mixed-use buildings.  Two new tenants, Café San Miguel and Social House, have been announced for the upcoming buildings and will be located on ground-floor retail spaces on 7th Street, centered around the planned central plaza space of the development.

According to an ad in this issue of the Sundance Square Insider (PDF link), Cowtown Diner will be opening in the former La Madeleine space at 305 Main on the 11th.  (Insert rant about the over-reliance on the “Cowtown” thing here.)  Cowtown Diner will feature a gourmet deli/take out market serving salads, sandwiches, prepared entrees and casseroles as well as full service, off-site catering and a home delivery family meal program.

During the holidays, XTO Energy’s restoration of 714 Main made great progress, and the nearly-finished facade is exposed along Main Street.  The re-created lower levels of the building feature tall arched windows, warrior heads atop the arches, logos for the building’s original owner (Farmers & Mechanics Bank), and a re-creation of the original grand entrance in the center of the Main Street facade.  The 7th Street facade appears to be just a short distance behind the Main Street facade.

It remains to be seen how XTO’s recent acquisition by Exxon will affect its ability to buy and restore historic Fort Worth buildings.  For now, let us enjoy the work XTO’s done to 714 Main, built in 1921.  The building was the tallest in the city until the construction of the now-demolished Landmark Tower in 1957, and for a time after its opening it was also the tallest building in Texas.

XTO Energy’s restoration of 714 Main continues at a steady pace. As we previously noted, the building’s original main entrance has been recreated in the center of the Main Street facade, and now the warrior heads atop the window arches are uncovered as well. A closer look reveals more new, interesting detail.

XTO’s started installing these “F&M” logos atop the first floor windows. These are a recreation of the logos that originally adorned the building – the “F&M” stands for “Farmers & Mechanics Bank,” who built the building in 1921. Thanks to the restoration, another long-gone piece of Downtown Fort Worth history returns to the streetscape.

Click the images for a larger view.