City of Fort Worth Water Works/ North Holly Water Treatment Plant – 1500 Eleventh Avenue

1500 Eleventh Avenue [NR*], City of Fort Worth Water Works/North Holly Water Treatment Plant, 1891-92; 1917; 1931; 1932; 1952; 1954.  The old City of Water Works, now known as the North Holly Water Treatment Plan, is a complex of buildings beneath the western bluffs of the central business district.  The oldest structure, the pump building, built in 1891-92, was substantially remodeled in 1954, including the removal of a tall smokestack.  The handsome wash water tank, a silo-like brick structure with Romanesque Revival detailing, was built in 1917 and moved, in 1949, across the complex to its present location.  The Mission Revival style filter buildings were constructed in two stages in 1932 and 1952, and are the strongest urban design feature of the group.  They feature a fine use of materials inside and out, including marble slab table tops and tile mosaics.  The 1932 building was designed by Joseph R. Pelich, with engineering work by Hawley, Freese & Nichols, and erected by contractors Frank Parrott and R.E Ball.  The 1952 addition was built by Ottinger Construction Co. under the guidance of chief engineer J.R. Hendrick and Freese & Nichols, consulting engineers.  Their interiors are soothing environments with long open-truss spaces filled with the sounds of running water.  The Holly Water Treatment Plant buildings are located in a manicured, park-like setting.  They represent a municipal design tradition, no longer common, of carefully designed public improvement, and are important to the history of Fort Worth and to the urban design of the central business district.  The plant facility may be eligible for the National Register following further study to assess its historic and architectural integrity.

Leave a Comment

For A Limited Time

Become a New Member or Renew and Existing Membership

Receive either McFarland House or Thistle Hill replica glass ornaments
as your gift.