The Chevrolet Assembly Plant was one of three automobile plants built in Fort Worth prior to World War I. Constructed about 1915, it was enlarged in 1920 by Butcher, Sweeney and Friedman, General Contractors and Engineers. At that time a third story was added, without interrupting the business of the production line in the floors below. Chevrolet had been lured to this site by the promise of exemption from city taxes; when county taxes were levied in 1924 for flood control purposes, Chevrolet closed the Fort Worth plant. Montgomery Ward leased the structure before its 1928 building (2600 West 7th Street) across the street was completed. Beginning in 1940, Container Corporation of America used the site for the manufacture of cardboard cartons. More recently, Tandy Corporation and its subsidiary companies purchased the property, using it as a headquarters for their Radio Shack operations. The property was subsequently sold to the Ryan Companies.
The huge industrial building, of reinforced concrete grid construction with brick infill, is of a U-plan with interior courtyards. The front facade is terminated by end bays with decorative cornices. Eleven bays of steel framed, pivoting windows separate the end bays, while the side bays extend south twenty-five bays. Large electhfied signs once topped the east and north sides of the structure, reading “General Motors Company of Texas” and “Chevrolet Motor Company of Texas;” only the framework of the east sign remains. Recent partial abandonment and the varied uses over the years left the structure in poor condition. The building was demolished in January, 1986; it has been retained in this report for purposes of documentation. 3128 W. 7th Street, 7th Street Theater, 1948-49. One of the few single screen movie theaters remaining in Fort Worth, the 7th Street Theater was constructed in 1948-49 for owner Boyd Milligan. The primary significance of the simple, stucco box is its marquee in late Moderne styling.