Jul 8, 2010 5

Potential Streetcar Alignments Being Studied

By: Kevin Buchanan

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.

Jun 15, 2010 Comments Off

Hyde Park & 9th Street Improvements

By: Kevin Buchanan

If you’ve been down around 9th Street in Downtown lately, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that the street has been shut down for construction.  Here’s a look at what’s going on.

9th Street itself is being reconstructed to create a more pedestrian-friendly experience walking from the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones into the heart of Downtown.  The length of 9th from Jones to Houston will feature wider sidewalks, brick sidewalk pavers, Cedar Elm street trees, and pedestrian lighting once complete.  Above is an example section.

Where 9th runs into Houston, even more elaborate work is underway.

The long awaited remake of Hyde Park, and the reclamation of a parking lot into public space, is finally happening.  9th Street is going to be straightened out between Houston and Throckmorton into a conventional “T” intersection.  In addition, the parking lot that has blighted the other side of 9th & Throckmorton across from Hyde Park (where once the old Fort Worth Public Library once stood) is going away as well.  Several improvements come along with this:

  • A – Passenger Shelters – The T will be installing new bus passenger shelters on either side of 9th to create a new transit plaza sort of setup.
  • B – Intersection Improvements – 9th ends at Throckmorton in a conventional “T” intersection.
  • C – Panther Fountain Plaza – The space around the Panther Fountain in Hyde Park will be radically expanded, creating a much larger public space around the iconic fountain in the shadow of the Flatiron Building.
  • D – Library Plaza – What’s left of the old library lot, up until now simply a vacant blight with a parking lot, will become another new public space next to the Houston Place Lofts and the Bryce Building.

Something not called out in the above graphic is another significant public space improvement.  What is now a street in front of the Public Safety & Courts Building (the previous Fort Worth City Hall) will be removed, and converted into a plaza in front of the lovely old Moderne structure.

In all, it’s a significant upgrade of public space in Downtown Fort Worth, something that apart from sidewalks is in very short supply.  We’d hope that some thought is being given to doing something to engage and activate all the new plazas – besides the new Hyde Park, Library Plaza, and PS&C Plaza, there’s also the existing Federal Building plaza that’s a bit on the overscaled and empty side.  If the city and downtown stakeholders want to see more use of these plazas, we hope they’d consider encouraging food vendors, etc. to set up shop to make up for the lack of ground-floor retail space around them (and something a bit more interesting than just a hot dog cart).  We’d also hope that the doctor who owns the Flatiron Building would consider leasing its ground floor to a restaurant or other sort of business – with its large, operable ground-floor windows, it could make a great addition to the plazas.

The 9th Street improvements are also welcome, and makes getting to the ITC much more appealing.  The experience of walking along 9th isn’t going to be great for a while, as there’s still the hulk of the Convention Center arena and the underused and flawed General Worth Square, not to mention a swath of parking lots between the ITC and the rest of Downtown that create a lot of dead space to cover.

And this all does beg the question – when, if ever, will Throckmorton (and the other one-way streets) revert to two-way?  It’s a bit of an impediment to westward travel in the new arrangement, and two-way streets are generally better in terms of creating pleasant streets that pedestrians enjoy being on.  There are still far too many one-way speedways in Downtown Fort Worth.

On the whole, though, this looks to be a good improvement.  A parking lot is going away, there’s a lot more (and decently designed) public space coming to Downtown Fort Worth, and 9th Street itself will become a much more pleasant place to walk apart from the dead spots along its length.  We really look forward to seeing the finished product.

May 21, 2010 19

Walkable DFW/Fort Worthology Car-Free Happy Hour – Guess The City

By: Kevin Buchanan

Time for the “free beer” part of the first ever Walkable DFW/Fort Worthology join Car-Free Happy Hour tonight at Houston Street Bar & Patio.  The first person to comment with the identity of this city and arrive at the Happy Hour car-free (walking, bicycling, transit, or some combination of the three) gets a free beer.  Everybody else – still have to pay for beer, but we hope you stop by anyway.  It’s from, oh, say, 5:30 until whenever, Houston Street Bar & Patio in Downtown near the Convention Center.

Not getting a lot of hints today on this city.  It’s in Europe (obviously), and is a beautiful example of human-scaled walkable urbanism.  Plus, they love their bikes.  Guess the city!

May 20, 2010 Comments Off

Tomorrow’s Walkable Dallas-Fort Worth/Fort Worthology Car-Free Happy Hour

By: Kevin Buchanan

Tomorrow marks the first joint Walkable Dallas-Fort Worth/Fort Worthology Car-Free Happy Hour, and it’s being held in Fort Worth.  Downtown, more specifically, due to the proximity of the ITC and timing of trains for Dallas visitors.  Bonus points:  it’s a place that’s outside of the gaping maw of Sundance Square – the Houston Street Bar & Patio, on Houston Street (of course) in “SoDo” near the Convention Center.

Tomorrow, both sites will post images from traditional urban cities and ask commenters to guess the city being shown.  First to correctly guess and to arrive at the Happy Hour location car-free gets a free beer.  Otherwise, join us for urbanism/transit/walkability/bicycle/etc. chat.

Details on the TRE for people headed from Dallas, from Walkable Dallas-Fort Worth:

Departure times from Union Station in Downtown Dallas (if you are catching it somewhere else, you are on your own…fortunately, I have the link):

Westbound from Union Station:
4:35 pm
4:55 pm
5:15 pm *
5:35 pm *
5:55 pm *
6:22 pm
6:57 pm

* recommended

Where we will get off at the second to last stop along the line.

…

Departure times to get back to Dallas unless you drank too much to catch the train and decide to stay on the street in a downtown Fort Worth hotel (you know who you are). And if that is the case, then you are doin’ work and I salute you:

Eastbound from Fort Worth Intermodal:
7:46 pm
9:12 pm
10:38 pm

Fare information:
We will be traversing through 2-zones in the TRE lexicon which equates to a one-way fare of $3.75 or $7.50 for a day pass.

Nov 5, 2009 4

Two Interesting Downtown Design Review Board Items

By: Kevin Buchanan

We were perusing the agenda for today’s meeting of the city’s Downtown Design Review Board, and a couple of items under “New Cases” caught our eye. Here they are, as written on the agenda:

DG09-053
401 West Lancaster Avenue; Texas & Pacific Warehouse
Owner / Applicant: Cleopatra Investments, Ltd./Gromatzky, Dupree & Associates
Requests a Certificate of Appropriateness for rehabilitation of the Texas & Pacific Warehouse building.

DG09-054
1206 Throckmorton Street; St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Owner / Applicant: Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth / OA&ID
Requests a Certificate of Appropriateness for construction of a three-story Parish Hall building and its adjacent plaza and landscaped area; restoration of St. Ignatius Academy building; installation of new sidewalk, new lighting, new sidewalk trees, greenspace and landscaped areas; and installation of new wrought iron fence around certain parts of the campus.

The T&P Warehouse project isn’t entirely surprising, as the project last month went to the Historic & Cultural Landmarks Commission for approval (including the enlarging of the building’s windows), which was granted. Now, they got to DDRB for further approval. We are still rather skeptical, but this is more hope than there has been in a long time that the T&P Warehouse will actually get redeveloped. Stay tuned.

The St. Patrick’s stuff, though, is new. It’s our understanding that the church has plans drawn up to gradually redevelop several of their Downtown land holdings, which are mostly just parking lots at this point. This new Parish Hall looks to go on the parking lot directly across the street from the St. Ignatius building, and is of similar architectural character to St. Patrick’s and St. Ignatius. In addition, the plan we’ve seen shows the current street cut-through, which takes cars on a gentle curve onto Throckmorton, is to be removed and replaced with a plaza. The street intersection there becomes a conventional four-way again.

We did some digging, and found this image taken from a fundraising brochure which shows the Parish Hall proposal and some of the landscaping & street reconfiguraiton:

We always like to see parking lots go away and get replaced with active buildings, and this has a bonus of removing an awkward street design (the current setup encourages cars to barrel through at higher speeds and moves pedestrians to an inadequate little sidewalk) and replacing it with a public space. It will be interesting to see when St. Patrick’s begins work on this expansion.

Oct 13, 2009 5

T&P Warehouse Project Going In Front Of Landmarks Commission

By: Kevin Buchanan

The long, long, long-awaited redevelopment of the Texas & Pacific Warehouse on Lancaster is going before the Historic & Cultural Landmarks Commission this month, seeking approval for changes to be made to the historic Art Deco structure. The list is as follows:

  1. 343 residential spaces on floors 2-8 with additional residential space on the roof (floor 9) that includes removal of current mechanical equipment
  2. Commercial space on the ground floor
  3. Cleaning and rehabilitation of the existing brick façade and decorative elements
  4. Restoration of existing steel frame windows in select locations
  5. Installation of sympathetically designed windows into new, elongated window openings that will be cut into the existing brick walls
  6. Restoration of existing overhead loading dock doors on the ground floor
  7. Restoration of the existing concrete canopies and iron tension rods on the north elevation
  8. Restoration of the existing metal fascia on the canopy at the southeast corner entry
  9. Restoration of the exterior scupper covers
  10. Installation of new membrane roofing
  11. Addition of a retail walkway and seating areas on the north elevation below the existing canopy
  12. Addition of new accessible ramps, stairs, and ground floor entries on the north elevation
  13. Removal of overhead doors and adjacent brick pilasters in the central block of the north elevation for first floor vehicular traffic and pedestrian sidewalk through access
  14. Addition of a bi-level parking garage (below and at grade) located to the rear of the building

The applicant is Gromatzky, Dupree & Associates, a Dallas-based architectural firm presumably hired by similarly Dallas-based Cleopatra Investments (the T&P Warehouse’s owner) to come up with plans for the redevelopment of the building. These plans must go to the Historic & Cultural Landmarks Commission before anything else, as the building is a fully protected landmark.

The city has been pressuring the building’s owner to start redevelopment of the building or lose out on tax breaks – could it be that the building might finally start to see some redevelopment work soon? Getting the warehouse redeveloped would be a major boon for Lancaster and the rest of the south end of Downtown, so we will set phasers to “cautiously optimistic” on this one.

Sep 25, 2009 1

Weekend Happenings: Michelangelo At The Kimbell

By: Kevin Buchanan

Not intended to be comprehensive, this is just a list of some stuff we’ve noticed for this weekend.

Undoubtedly, the big news is the public unveiling of the biggest news to come out of the Kimbell in some time: Michelangelo’s The Torment of Saint Anthony, the legendary artist’s earliest known painting and widely believed to be the first one he ever did. Created in 1487-88 when he was only 12-13 years old, The Torment of Saint Anthony is one of only four easel paintings by the master known to exist, and one of only two finished ones. It’s the only example of Michelangelo’s work in the Western hemisphere, and it’s now a part of the Kimbell’s permanent collection. This is big, big stuff, folks – get out to the Kimbell and take a look at an incredibly significant piece of history.

And this weekend’s a great time to go, because Saturday is Day in the District, when admission to all the Cultural District’s museums is free. The Modern, the Kimbell, the Carter, the Cowgirl Museum, the Community Arts Center, the Botanic Gardens, and the Log Cabin Village are all free of charge on Saturday.

Don’t forget that Sunday is all-day all-you-can-eat vegan pancakes at Spiral Diner, the best vegan restaurant in the whole universe (and probably the Mirror Universe as well). They’ve also got new Blue Plate specials: the Paul Reuben (thick slice of homemade faux corned beef and a heap of sauerkraut smothered in creamy “Swiss Cheese” Sauce, served on Jewish Rye Bread with Russian dressing, capers, and dijon mustered – with a side of Creamy Pasta Salad and a dill pickle spear), Pasta Salad A-La-Carte (pasta salad featuring organic spiral pasta with red bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, and a creamy-herb dressing), Corn and Potato Chowder, and a Banana Split dessert special (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry I-Scream with a fresh banana, with chocolate, caramel, vegan whipped cream, peanuts, and sprinkles on top). In addition, their next cooking classes are coming up: Holiday Meals Class on October 26th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, and Desserts Class on December 7th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Prepayment of $40 per person per class is required to hold your spot in the class. The classes fill up quickly, so contact them or go by the Diner to register.

Beginning Saturday, our friends at Galery Art Cafe at Jennings & Pennsylvania welcome new art by Jacque Forsher and April Greenlee.

The T&P Tavern has Happy Hour from 4:00 to 9:00, with all Texas beers $2.75. On Saturday, they’ve got No Class performing from 8:00 to midnight.

Lola’s in the Cultural District has The Good Show Live Music Series at 8:00, featuring The Theater Fire, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, and The Southern Sea.

In the Magnolia at the Modern series, the Modern will be showing “Herb and Dorothy” this weekend: Friday 6 & 8 pm, Saturday 5 pm, Sunday 2 & 4 pm.

Sep 24, 2009 4

City Of Fort Worth Issues Streetcar Design Request

By: Kevin Buchanan

Major news on the streetcar front. The City of Fort Worth has formally issued a Request for Qualifications, or RFQ, about the streetcar project. This means that the city is actively seeking a firm to do the finalized engineering & design work on the modern streetcar system, from track design and layout to operating and funding processes. Proposals from prospective firms must be received by the City of Fort Worth Purchasing Division no later than October 22. The city states that once the selected firm receives a Notice to Proceed, they must deliver the complete streetcar design & operations package in no more than 365 days.

The RFQ calls for the selected firm to conduct engineering, design, and operational work for the proposed starter system:

The recommended starter alignment includes a downtown one-way loop (including an extension to Trinity Bluff), a West 7th Street route to the Cultural District, and a Near Southside route to the Medical District and the Evans and Rosedale Urban Village. This starter alignment would connect Fort Worth’s two largest employment centers, numerous world-class cultural destinations, and four urban villages.

The RFQ also notes a planned next phase of the streetcar network:

A subsequent phase of the streetcar network would include a route to Texas Wesleyan University on East Rosedale Street and a route to the Historic Stockyards District on North Main Street.

The RFQ is, in total, 14 pages in PDF format. It can be downloaded from the City of Fort Worth’s web site here.

This is where it starts getting real. The city has just gone from the “talk” phase to the “create a complete system design and select an engineering firm” phase. Fort Worth has made some remarkable progress, and we’re now significantly farther into the process than we’ve ever been. Once this process is complete, the city will have a real, detailed streetcar system design specified, from the routes to the vehicles to the fare collection boxes to the operating procedures and everything in between.

It is conceivable that, due to the time frame of the RFQ and the federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant Fort Worth applied for to get some “jump start” money, we could be stepping on to the first phase of a Fort Worth modern streetcar in less than three years.

Below, we’ve copied the text of the main part of the RFQ for easier searching and reading. Read the rest of this entry »

Sep 18, 2009 2

More South Downtown History – The Old Post Office And Fort Worth City Hall

By: Kevin Buchanan

In the comments to yesterday’s post about the destruction of Hell’s Half Acre, reader Doug wrote the following:

You forgot to mention the impact of that massive sink-hole of a structure known as City Hall.
Having only begun coming to Foat Wuth in the mid 90’s (and moving here to live in 2000) I’ve never known anything different in that part of town (except for the flying freeway). Those pictures and descriptions sure explain the lack of life in this section and the massive disconnect between anything from around 9th south to Lancaster (i.e. the post office, T&P, etc.)
Thanks for the history lesson.

City Hall is indeed a rather depressing structure. The previous City Hall, now the Public Safety & Courts Building, is – in our opinion – a lot more attractive, in that slightly severe “Government Moderne” style so popular in the late ’30s into the ’40s. It could use a stout powerwashing:

Have you ever seen the photos of the old Post Office & Courthouse demolished for the current City Hall? It was a beautiful structure – sort of reminiscent of Old Red in downtown Dallas. Here’s some views from the Jack White collection:

It was demolished for the current City Hall:


View Larger Map

Doesn’t seem like a fair trade. Ironically, City Hall might wind up moving, of course, to the Lancaster Avenue Post Office building.

Sep 17, 2009 37

Fort Worth's Greatest Preservation Loss

By: Kevin Buchanan

We’re often asked what we think the biggest loss, in terms of architecture & historic preservation, has been in Fort Worth’s history. The answer depends – are you talking about a single building, or something bigger?

If it’s a single building, there are many worthy candidates: the demolition of the beautiful Medical Arts Building on Burnett Park to construct the lifeless, depressing concrete slab of Burnett Plaza; the demolition of the incredible Art Deco gem known as the Aviation Building to build the blank glass box of Carter + Burgess Plaza; the Fort Worth Club knocking down the lovely Worth Hotel & Theater to build their ugly, gritty parking garage & office tower; the demolition of the Westbrook Hotel across the street from the Burk Burnett building for a Sundance Square parking lot that’s still there despite long-standing plans for a public plaza. There is no shortage of choices.

If you’re talking cumulative loss, that’s different. In our view, if you’re talking the greatest overall preservation loss in the city’s history, we’re going to go with the massive wave of demolition in southern Downtown that removed an entire district: Hell’s Half Acre.

Hell’s Half Acre was Downtown’s “red light” district. It was known for its bars and flophouses. In the 1960s, it was decided – in the spirit of “urban renewal” at the time, which basically amounted to “demolish everything and build concrete boxes and parking lots” – that the entirety of Hell’s Half Acre would be removed and replaced by a big new convention center and seas of parking for it.

So it was.

It’s sad, because photos from Hell’s Half Acre prior to demolition show an area that had massive potential. If it had survived mostly intact until the present day, with our more sensitive attitudes about preservation and the growing demand for cool urban neighborhoods for redevelopment, Hell’s Half Acre might have turned out to be an honest-to-goodness gem. Here was block after block of small, easily-walkable blocks, filled with tons of lovely, historic buildings of a classically urban style, in heights that allowed for a mix of uses without being inhumanly-scaled. It might have wound up as Fort Worth’s Sixth Street, or Deep Ellum (but denser and with more uses), or Pearl District. Instead, it was removed from the surface of the Earth. Today, only a small plaque near a Water Gardens entrance mentions it.

This aerial image, from HistoricAerials.com, shows the south end of Downtown Fort Worth in 1956. The area was nearly completely intact. It’s amazing how dense and built-up it was. The lower edge of the photo is Lancaster Avenue.

This aerial image, from Google, shows a relatively recent view of the south end of Downtown Fort Worth. The biggest change you’d see now is the completed Omni Hotel, which is just under construction in this image. This shows the amount of change and destruction brought to the south end: block after block after block of urban, humanly-scaled buildings, replaced by massive superblocks (such as the Convention Center) that impede walkability, overscaled architecture, and seas of storage for cars. The loss of density and walkable fabric is incredible.

(The Convention Center is better than it used to be, thanks to a remodeling that brought the building up to the sidewalk apart from the arena and gave it a more urban form, along with a pedestrian-and-bike-only plaza between the CC and the Water Gardens connecting Houston and Commerce, but it’s still a superblock. As is the Omni, actually – at least the Omni only takes up two blocks, instead of the Convention Center’s 12-14.)

In local historican Jack White’s amazing collection of old Fort Worth photos, he has several street scenes showing the incredible density, classical urban architecture, and street feel of Hell’s Half Acre. Here’s a few choice examples:

Were it not for some recognizable landmarks, it would be hard to believe that those photos were even taken in Fort Worth.

One of the largest losses was the gorgeous Majestic Theater, demolished for – not kidding – the air conditioning plant for the Convention Center:

Down it went:

For this:


View Larger Map

So by our estimation, the demolition of Hell’s Half Acre is the largest loss in Fort Worth’s preservation history, especially from the standpoints of architecture and urban fabric. Imagine the possibilities had Hell’s Half Acre not been plowed into the ground – it would have been a potentially incredible redevelopment district.

Aug 12, 2009 5

Molly The Trolley Succeeds, Program Extended

By: Kevin Buchanan

Molly the Trolley, the new circulator project in Downtown, has succeeded beyond initial expectations. When the project first launched, we’re told that ridership of 50 per day was to be considered a success – instead, Molly’s been attracting 300+ riders per day, and monthly ridership is now over 10,000.

Thanks to the success of the program, it’s getting extended – originally planned to run through August 22nd, Molly will be rolling now at least through Thanksgiving.

FORT WORTH (August 11, 2009) – The T announced today that it will continue to operate Molly the Trolley’s free downtown route through November 28, seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. following a decision by the pilot project’s partners.

The decision by the Molly the Trolley founding partners – The T, the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. – was based upon ridership of more than 10,000 a month and the fact that more than 95 percent of riders consistently rated the service excellent or good for meeting their transportation needs. Molly the Trolley has been extremely popular with downtown employees, residents and local visitors, as well as tourists.

“In addition to tourism, it was very gratifying to learn that people who live and/or work in downtown Fort Worth used and appreciated the Molly service for meeting their business, shopping and entertainment needs,” said Bob Jameson, chairman of the board of directors of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc.

Molly’s success bodes well for another transportation project – the modern streetcar system. Here’s the primary Molly route, the “Downtown Get-Around,” running on a loop through Downtown with vehicles arriving every 15 minutes. Note how similar the Molly route is to the Downtown segment of the modern streetcar proposal:


Molly the Trolley “Downtown Get-Around” route


Rough draft of Downtown segment of Fort Worth modern streetcar network

The similarity, we’re told, is not coincidence. The city is watching Molly’s success with a keen eye as planning for the modern streetcar goes on. The route is similar to the rough draft streetcar plan for Downtown, and the 15 minute headways are similar to the 12-15 minutes one can expect of the streetcar. Mayor Moncrief made the connection clear in a speech at the launch of the project:

“Molly the Trolley is definitely a look into the future,” he [Mayor Moncrief] said. “One day we hope to have a comprehensive modern-day streetcar system here in Fort Worth.”

The city is taking regular count of riders on Molly, so getting out and taking her for a spin when you’re in Downtown is an easy way to help support the modern streetcar project. Molly’s Downtown Get-Around route is free to ride and runs 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, seven days a week, with vehicles arriving at each stop every 15 minutes.

Jun 26, 2009 8

Scenes from the "Avenue of Light" Ceremony

By: Kevin Buchanan

Lancaster Avenue “Avenue of Light” Ceremony from Kevin Buchanan on Vimeo.

The official lighting ceremony for the “Avenue of Light” sculptures by Cliff Garten Studio on Lancaster Avenue in Downtown was finally held last night. We shot some video (with a humble Flip Mino HD) and took some photos of the festivities. Lancaster was partially blocked to car traffic, and a large crowd assembled around food, water, and live music in the twilight.

Once it got dark enough, Mayor Mike Moncrief, Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks, District 9 City Council representative Joel Burns, and artist Cliff Garten all gave speeches about the sculptures and the revitalization of the south end of Downtown Fort Worth (Councilmember Burns remarked that the Lancaster Avenue area will become as active and beloved as Sundance Square as new infill occurs around the remade street). The mayor announced that Cliff is participating in the design of the new 7th Street bridge linking Downtown and the Cultural District (which will be a part of the Fort Worth Streetcar network). Finally, Mayor Moncrief and Cliff Garten led the crowd in a countdown to illumination, which kicked off an extended light show by the six sculptures along Lancaster accompanied by the band.

Above is the video we shot, and below are our photos. Enjoy! Anybody else attend? What were your thoughts on the sculptures, the lighting, and the ceremony?

Firefighters on hand to watch the ceremony.

Artist Cliff Garten talks with attendees.

Crowds gather around the music stage at Lancaster & Throckmorton.

Visitors enjoy observing the sculptures from the temporarily-closed-to-traffic Lancaster Avenue.

The crowd in front of the new Omni Hotel & Condos, one of the most noticeable signs of the beginning revitalization of Downtown Fort Worth’s south end.

More visitors arrive as the sun goes down.

Crowds gather around one of the Avenue of Light sculptures in front of the Texas & Pacific Lofts/train station.

More visitors arrive, with the Omni Hotel & Condos in the background.

Looking at one of the sculptures in front of the Omni Hotel & Condos.

Crowds in the median of Lancaster Avenue as the lighting approaches.

Gathering around one of the sculptures, with the Post Office in the background.

Silhouettes of two of the sculptures along with the Post Office, Texas & Pacific Warehouse, and visitors on Lancaster Avenue.

Crowds gathering on Lancaster. The Fort Worth Water Department brought out fresh drinking water for the attendees.

Gathering in front of the Texas & Pacific Lofts/train station, one of the first revitalization efforts on Lancaster Avenue.

The crowd gathers to hear speeches by Fort Worth city officials and the artist.

Mayor Mike Moncrief expresses the importance of the Avenue of Light sculptures and the revitalization of Downtown’s south end.

Crowds listening to Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks.

District 9 City Council representative Joel Burns talks about bringing life and activity back to the south end of Downtown Fort Worth, undoing the mistakes of the I-30 overpass and the decimation of South Downtown by parking lots and historic demolitions.

Artist Cliff Garten discusses the meaning and significance of his Avenue of Light sculptures in creating a meaningful sense of place for the south end of Downtown Fort Worth.

Crowds gather and take photos of the sculptures after the lighting was switched on.

Visitors watch as the color combinations change and cycle.

People walking around Lancaster, getting views of the Avenue of Light sculptures from different angles and distances.

Colors change as the crowd enjoys the show.

Visitors watch the lights of the Avenue of Light.

Still more people watch the shifting color schemes.

Attendees getting up close & personal with the Avenue of Light sculptures.

More variety in the lights as visitors enjoy the evening.

May 28, 2009 2

Quiet Pool

By: Kevin Buchanan

Took this one day whilst wandering through the Water Gardens. Thought you, The Readers, might enjoy it.

Apr 24, 2009 Comments Off

Eddie Vanston hosting Happy Hour tonight at T&P Tavern & Grill

By: Kevin Buchanan

If you’re looking for something to do tonight, why not come by the awesome T&P Tavern & Grill for a Happy Hour event with The Carillion Group‘s Eddie Vanston. Stop by from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Chat with one of Fort Worth’s most prolific urban developers and check out the excellent T&P Tavern & Grill. Located in the ground floor of the Texas & Pacific Lofts/rail station on Lancaster Avenue in Downtown Fort Worth, in the covered breezeway between the lobby and the train platforms.

Apr 20, 2009 3

Streetcar News Updates – $2 million in funds approved

By: Kevin Buchanan

While we’ve got streetcars on our minds, here’s some good news about the Fort Worth Streetcar project: the North Central Texas Council of Governments has approved using $1.6 million for a grant to the City of Fort Worth to fund a design consultant and study on the project. The city and The T will kick in funds to bring the total up to $2 million. The city will be bringing on a consultant to do detailed design schematics and operational details, which means that we’ll then start to see some concrete Fort Worth streetcar design plans.

This is a big step forward – the current streetcar plan doesn’t have specific design and operation details like actual track layouts, etc. so once this consultant and study are complete we should get a real, detailed plan for the streetcar network. It will be interesting to see how the specifics of track alignments, etc. all pan out.

Apr 13, 2009 1

Fort Worth Streetcar Now Part of Regional Mobility 2030 Plan, Eligible for Federal Dollars

By: Kevin Buchanan

Gordon Dickson at the Star-Telegram has the story – the Fort Worth Streetcar is now an official part of the FW/D region’s Mobility 2030 plan, and thus is now eligible for federal transit funding:

Fort Worth’s proposed streetcar system and a commuter rail line to Mansfield are now officially part of the region’s plans and eligible for federal funding.

The two projects were added to the region’s Mobility 2030 plan Thursday during a meeting of the Regional Transportation Council, North Texas’ congressionally recognized planning body.

Adding the Fort Worth Streetcar to Mobility 2030 is a smart move that should open up new doors for the system, and further reinforces the streetcar’s place as a part of a well-rounded regional transit system covering not only longer-distance mobility through commuter and light rail, but also mobility within neighborhoods and connections from the larger rail systems.

Apr 1, 2009 Comments Off

Fort Worth Public Art and AIA Presenting Symposium Tonight, Ribbon Cutting Tomorrow

By: Kevin Buchanan

Tonight, at the Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth Public Art and the Fort Worth chapter of the American Institute of Architects are presenting “It Takes Two to Tango: Artist and Architect Shape Fort Worth Skyline.” This symposium will explore the opportunities and challenges that come into play when an architect and an artist collaborate in the early stages of design. Donald F. Gatzke, AIA, dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington, will moderate a discussion with Brent Byers, FAIA, LEED AP, Jacobs, and artist Christopher Janney as they reflect on their experiences working together to create the new Fort Worth Convention Center Parking Garage.

The symposium is tonight, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, in the Fort Worth Convention Center, meeting room 201 A & B. Tickets including dinner are available at the door for $30, first-come, first serve. Half-price tickets are available for those not wanting dinner. Cash bar will be available. Afterward, there will be a tour of the garage with the artist and architect.

Tomorrow, April 2nd, is the public grand opening of the new garage. A ribbon cutting will take place at 4:00 PM, with a reception to follow in the COnvention Center’s 12th Street Lobby. At 6:00 PM, artist Christoper Janney will give a talk on his work and sign copies of his recently published book, “Architecture of the Air.” This event is free to the public.

For more information, visit fwpublicart.org.

Jan 29, 2009 4

Update On Streetcar Project Status

By: Kevin Buchanan


Image by the City of Fort Worth.

EDIT: For readers joining us from the Streetsblog Network or Streetsblog itself, check the bottom of the post for an overview map of the starter system and the areas it will serve.

Things have been a little quiet on the streetcar front since the presentation to the City Council in December, but that’s not to say there’s nothing going on. I’ve done some asking around and have some updates on how things are going for the Fort Worth Streetcar – steps towards both funding and more detailed planning are well underway. We are assuredly moving forward on this. Here’s the latest:

- Work is underway to get access to regional toll revenue that NCTCOG (North Central Texas Council Of Governments) wants to allow for partial funding of the project. This may require some work in Austin, but from what I understand, signs are positive. The hope is for everything to be lined up by late spring/early summer, with those NCTCOG funds available by the end of the year.

- In the meantime, the city is determining the feasibility of issuing an RFP (Request For Proposal) for a smaller study about economic development, ridership, and operational details in the spring, depending on available funding.

- The city is in the process of scheduling meetings with the boards of the three affected TIF districts as soon as possible. The TIF boards need to determine whether to amend their project plans to include the streetcar project.

- The city’s community relations department is working on a dedicated web site for the streetcar project, for public education & outreach purposes.

Things are definitely still moving towards getting the streetcar project fully designed & funded, and I’m sure that there will be plenty more news to come.

EDIT: For those of you joining us from the Streetsblog Network or Streetsblog itself, here’s a map of the proposed starter system:

The Fort Worth streetcar starter system would create a Downtown loop, linked via two major lines to the Cultural District and the Near Southside, and via a couple of smaller spurs to Uptown and Evans & Rosedale Village.

Jan 13, 2009 3

Omni Rising – A Video By "Hawkeye" Louis

By: Kevin Buchanan

After Montgomery Plaza was redeveloped, we featured a video here showcasing the work done to the historic Montgomery Ward building over the course of its redevelopment. It was a popular entry and a very nifty video.

Now, its creator has returned with another Fort Worth architectural video. Mark “Hawkeye” Louis, morning show host of Big 96.3 KSCS, has created a brief (under 30 second) video showcasing the construction of the newly opened Omni Hotel in Downtown. It’ll be premiering Thursday at KSCS’s web site, but Hawkeye has graciously allowed us to give you a sneak peek at it here at Fort Worthology. Enjoy – and thanks again to Mark “Hawkeye” Louis for another very cool Fort Worth architecture video.

Jan 12, 2009 8

Omni Hotel Opens Today

By: Kevin Buchanan

A new chapter in Downtown’s development starts today: the Omni Hotel is opening at long last.

After more than a decade of studies, proposals and a public petition, the city is finally getting its convention-center hotel.

The 614-room Omni Fort Worth, directly across Houston Street from the Fort Worth Convention Center, will open its doors Monday with its first guests expected Saturday.

I have to say, I’m a fan of the Omni. It’s glassier than I usually like, and that glass condo tower won’t be fun when the westward sun starts bearing down in the summer, but on the whole it’s an attractive building and a fine addition to Downtown. It’s got proper urban orientation and ground-floor retail, which is better than a great many modern hotels I’ve seen elsewhere. My biggest problem with the hotel is that they built it on a superblock, which are bad for pedestrian circulation in urban environments. On the whole, though, it’s a win.

I’m also excited for what it might be able to do for the revitalization of the south end of Downtown. Between the Omni and the T&P are plenty of newly and long-vacated lots just ripe for infill. It may take time, but I look forward to seeing some of those get replaced with new development.

Dec 19, 2008 Comments Off

Omni Hotel & City Parking Garage

By: Kevin Buchanan

It’s been a little while since we checked in on the progress of the Omni Hotel & Condos, and the new city parking garage next door, in Downtown. Since our last visit, the Omni has really been moving quickly towards completion. As seen above, about the only thing left on the condo tower portion of the building (on the exterior, at least) is the completion of balconies.

The Omni Hotel signage is now going up as well. I’ve also heard from a few sources that the building may have a more elaborate night lighting scheme than originally intended – perhaps even including the backlighting of the building’s glass crown, similar to the Pier 1/Chesapeake Energy building.

Next door, the new city parking garage has made rapid progress as well. You can see the brick and stone portions of the facade are very complete, and work is beginning to turn to the glass corners and the heavily ornamented parts of the Houston and Throckmorton facades.

On the Houston facade, the framing in the center is where the tall black columns, inspired by the Public Safety & Courts/former City Hall building, will be installed.

The Art Deco-inspired Throckmorton facade is making good progress as well. This side will be finished out with giant multicolored glass fins projecting out from the facade.

Also on the Throckmorton side, one of the colored glass corners is being installed as well.

If you’re thinking the Houston and Throckmorton facades of the parking garage look like they have storefronts, that’s because they do – both side will feature ground-floor retail. Vehicular entrances and exits will be on the side streets.

The Omni Hotel itself is supposed to open by the end of the year, and the condos in January, based on the last timeline I was told. They’re definitely putting in the work to get the building finished out. It’s made a dramatic impact on the Fort Worth skyline and even though I’m more of a traditional architecture sort, I have to say I really like the way the Omni has turned out.

Nov 12, 2008 5

A Further Refinement Of The Streetcar Starter System Route

By: Kevin Buchanan

EDIT: I have updated the map based on additional information with a simpler alignment from Magnolia up 7th Avenue to Terrell to link Plaza Medical, Cook Children’s, and Harris Methodist.

Based on further bits of information I’ve gathered from multiple places, I’ve refined the map of the streetcar starter system a bit further. For the usual disclaimers: this map is not official, and is based on the routes solidly identified thus far along with my own speculation about the more vaguely-defined portions of the system. It is subject to change based on engineering and other factors and should not be taken as gospel.

So, here’s what’s changed:

The Cultural District route looks like it won’t be following the big loop down to Harley Avenue as was depicted in the initial whitepaper. Instead, the line runs down 7th to Montgomery, south on Montgomery to Lancaster, east on Lancaster to Currie, north on Currie to 7th, then back to downtown (and the actual direction of travel isn’t set in stone – it could very well go the other way ’round, but it looks like this is the path of the tracks that will be recommended).

The Near Southside route is pretty unchanged – South Main and Magnolia are still the prime corridors. I changed to a simpler route on the 7th Avenue to Plaza/Cook Children’s/Harris Methodist portion of the route. Previously, the map showed a loop around the block bounded by 7th Avenue, Terrell, 6th Avenue, and Humbolt, but I’ve refined this to a simpler 7th Avenue to Terrell to 6th Avenue back to Magnolia loop.

The Downtown “core” has been left fairly vague by the committee pending engineering reports – it’s only been described as using Lancaster on the south boundary, Commerce or Calhoun on the east boundary, Belknap, Weatherford, 1st, or 2nd on the north boundary, and Throckmorton or Houston on the west boundary. Based on that, I’ve drawn a pretty simple core loop of Lancaster, Commerce, 1st, and Houston, with a brief jog over to Jones on 9th to reach the ITC. This is just speculation on my part based on the boundaries laid out and the fact that I figure the line will physically go to the ITC. It is entirely possible that I’m way off on the downtown routing compared to what will actually get built, but this image works for discussion purposes.

Something new I’ve heard from a few people is that a Samuels Avenue link will be part of the downtown core. This is something totally new to me, and I have no idea how it might be accomplished. In this map, I’ve drawn it as a line down 1st to Pecan, up to Bluff, and over to Samuels and back. I base that solely on my knowledge of downtown streets and the fact that there has been discussion of installing traffic signals at the intersections along Pecan at Belknap and, I believe, Weatherford. This alignment also links the Pecan Place developments. This part of the route is pure speculation on my part and may not bear any resemblance to the finished product.

The reasons for wanting a connection to Samuels are at least twofold. One, the area is booming in its own right thanks to the Trinity Bluff developments, and these developments are exactly the sort that would be well served with streetcar service. Two, there is apparently still a discussion as to the nature of a later extension of the streetcar system to the Stockyards. The initial whitepaper showed the line going up North Main from downtown, but there is talk of using Samuels to get to the Stockyards instead. Bear in mind that any future extension to the Stockyards is definitely a “future business” sort of thing and won’t be happening any time soon, so there will be plenty of talk about that route later.

Lastly, there is the short line running to the Evans & Rosedale Village area along East Rosedale. This is being presented as part of the starter system. There is a mixed-use development in the planning at Evans & Rosedale, which is part of the reason for this extension (along with the fact that Evans & Rosedale is a designated Urban Village site). It’s also important to show that the streetcar is intended to serve the often-neglected east side, and this short line will be the basis for a later expansion down East Rosedale to Texas Wesleyan University.

A note on the map: where exact routing is not yet specified, I tried to keep the lines no more than two blocks apart, based on the design of the Portland Streetcar which similarly never has two directions more than two blocks apart. In addition, I make no proclamations yet about how much single vs. double tracking will be used. These questions will be determined in the design and engineering phase of the project.

So there you have it. There will be three public meetings on the streetcar routes this month, on the 17th, 18th, and 19th. I will have the exact locations and times in a later post. After that, I believe the proposal goes before the City Council for a vote in December. This map, while it may not be 100% accurate to the system that will get built, should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

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