Neighborhood: Central Business District

901 Bennett Street [SAHD(NR)], King-Terry House, c. 1886.  Richard H. King, the first civilian blacksmith in Fort Worth, reportedly built this house on Bennett St., one block west of Samuels Ave., in 1886 to escape the noise of streetcars running along Samuels.  His previous home (no longer extant) was where the house at 915 Samuels … Read more

705 E. Bluff Street [SAHD(NR)], Albert J. Rivers House, 1903.  Albert J. Rivers, an electrician for Armour & Co., bought this lot in 1903 and had his residence constructed here that same year.  The Rivers family owned the property until 1965.  The one-story wood frame house has an unusual double hipped roof central section with … Read more

1309 E. Bluff Street [HPHD], House, c. 1906.  This one story wood frame house was erected as a rental property about 1906.  Etta Jackson, a widow, is the first tenant listed in city directory records.  A succession of tenants, including a fireman, carpenters, and a machinist, followed until 1919 when Amanda Jane Mattox purchased the … Read more

1301 E. Bluff Street, Bluford H. Lawrence House, c.1892.  This house, originally a Victorian cottage with Queen Anne detailing, was built for Bluford H. Lawrence, a bookkeeper and cashier for wholesale druggist H.W. Williams & Co.  The delicate spindle work, scroll sawn brackets, and chamfered gable braces gave the house a distinctive air.  In 1981, … Read more

960 W Bluff Street [WBHD], Mexican Presbyterian Church/Gethsemane Presbyterian Church, c. 1908; 1925; 1943-44.  Gethsemane Presbyterian Church is a Spanish-language church located in a small enclave of folk houses north of Belknap St. and west of Henderson St.  In 1943 the church, then called Mexican Presbyterian Church, moved to W Bluff St. bringing with it … Read more

800 Calhoun Street [NR/WSHD(NR)], Binyon-O’Keefe Storage Co., 1916-17. Designed in 1916 by noted Fort Worth architects Sanguinet and Staats, this warehouse facility was built just after the O’Keefe family joined with Binyon Transfer Co. to form Binyon-O’Keefe [Fireproof] Storage Co.  The firm, one of the city’s oldest, was first established in 1874.  It provided a … Read more

S.W. Corner of Calhoun and E. Eighth Streets, Winfield Garage and Livery Co./ Winfield Place, 1919-20; 1939; 1981.  As plans progressed for the Winfield Hotel (renamed the Hotel Texas y the time it opened in 1921; CBD-122), one block to the east three businessmen were planning to serve Fort Worth’s growing need for automobile parking … Read more

1907 Chambers Street, House, c. 1900. This turn-of-the century rental property was probably constructed about 1900, although changing house numbers on Chambers St. make the property difficult to trace.  The first identified tenant, Joseph C. Darret, does not appear in city directory records until 1909-10.  The one-story wood frame house was distinguished by its bold … Read more

911 Cherry Street, James Welch House, 1909.  James Welch, a molder with Fort Worth Machine and Foundry Co. and his wife Marie hired contractor C.B. Webb to construct this house according to plans by architect Marion L. Waller.  The house was completed in 1909.  During the teens Marie Welch offered furnished rooms here.  The two-story … Read more

114 N. Commerce Street [NR*], Commercial Building, c. 1898-1904; c. 1970s.  This early commercial building, somewhat isolated on the corner of Commerce and Weatherford streets, across the street from the Tarrant County Courthouse, was probably built between 1898 and 1904.  Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for 1898 show a vacant lot at this location, but the … Read more