Crestwood Place Avoids Wrecking Ball
by Steve Smith
In Fort Worth’s March of Progress, as new shiny buildings go up, little traces of the way things used to be go by the wayside. You get Museum Place where the West 7th Theater and the Wreck Room used to stand. There’s a new Barnes and Noble where the old TCU Theater used to be. We could go on, but you get the idea.
Last fall when it was reported that the Crestwood Place Apartments on White Settlement had a date with the wrecking ball, I was figured that was it. However, a commenter on that thread pointed out that Crestwood Place lives again! A silver lining to the dark cloud that is the swooning housing market? Who knows. I’m just glad the old place will get to stay standing a bit longer.
What are the old places that you wish were still around? What are the old places that you hope can be spared from demolition?
Tags: Crestwood Place
8 Comments, Comments or Pings
Recyclican
I’ll throw this one out there for Kevin: The Medical Arts Building in downtown.
I was not alive to see it, but I would have liked to see more of Hell’s Half Acre survive in place of the Convention Center.
Oct 1st, 2008
John MacFarlane
My dad tells me of the time he and his brother went to see movies at the Berry Street Theater on Hemphill and Berry. I wish someone would purchase that and renovate it. I would love to have an indie theater within 1/2 mile of my home. It would help with the cleanup/renovation of Hemphill. Same thing with the Isis on N. Main.
I also hope that S Main, where the Axis is, would turn into a bunch of cool bars, record stores, etc. I know I’ll get shot for saying this, but a Lower Greenville style strip, w/o the muggings/shootings.
Oct 1st, 2008
Kevin Buchanan
Recyclican knows me too well. In terms of individual buildings, the Medical Arts Building at Burnett Park is my #1 loss, followed by the Aviation Building and old Palace Theater at 7th & Main. All of them were torn down for horrible ’70s/’80s office towers that negatively impact the streetscape where they exist (Burnett Plaza and Carter + Burgess Plaza, respectively).
In terms of greatest overall loss, I’d go for Hell’s Half Acre. An entire neighborhood in downtown wiped out for a bad convention center and a bunch of parking lots. Post-war “urban renewal” at its most vile. I would love to see HHA surviving and reborn today. The convention center eventually did improve somewhat (the current one is much better than the original in terms of design and street interaction), but we’re still stuck with the superblocks and the loss of classic downtown fabric.
Oct 1st, 2008
Steph
There are so many!
Medical Arts Building, Tivoli Theater on Magnolia, Aviation Building, Hell’s Half Acre, the strip of retail/apartment buildings that used to reside across the street from the Markeen Apts. at Daggett and Jennings, the lovely Victorian building they demolished to build our nasty city hall.
Also, I hope the Startlegram Classifieds Building doesn’t have a date with a wrecking ball any time soon. I really wish someone with vision would buy it and restore it to its original googie splendor.
Oct 1st, 2008
Jeremy
All this talk about the old Medical Arts building has got me thinking…Can we please tear down the new “Medical Arts” building on the corner of Magnolia and 8th! That is one of the worst looking commercial building in the Southside and sits on what I would consider a prime piece of real estate.
Now back on track…
I’m a big fan of the old Fort Worth Public Market building on the south side of I30. I think it could become a number of cool things. Although it would probably be best suited for retail/restaurant/bar/nightspot than anything. It would be a shame if it were eventually torn down…
Oct 1st, 2008
poop
The former neighborhood just NE of the courthouse which was standing less than a year ago. Trinity Bluff. 6333 Camp Bowie when it was really a relic of its time when strip malls weren’t so bad. Stripling and Cox, hell it had a post office. Montgomery before it was a plaza. Anyhow, 7th street is a mess of development. I wish I could drive through FW as it was 9 years ago when I moved here with a camera and compare it to how it is now. I know it would make me distinctly sad. Urban development happens. However does it really have to happen at the expense of once kind, happy neighborhoods. Look at what is happening all over Arlington Heights. People want to live in a quaint place, but don’t want to live in quaint houses so they build brick condos. God, I used to love this town oh so much. My opinion worsens every single day. I may pack it up soon, sad to say.
Oct 1st, 2008
Kevin Buchanan
I don’t know if I can really get behind mourning for 7th Street too much. The biggest loss there was the 7th Street Theater. Some folks had an attachment to the Wreck Room and JJ’s Hideaway. Beyond that, though, there hasn’t been an awful lot that was really lost. SoSeven is going up on land that was completely vacant - no loss there. West 7th is taking up land that was primarily vacant industrial buildings (7th Haven was reborn near Montgomery Plaza). Museum Place, besides the aforementioned few things, hasn’t exactly destroyed much of any big importance either (or were people really attached to a run-of-the-mill Texaco station?).
The 7th Street stuff is a case where, IMHO, not much was actually lost, and the end result will be dramatically better. Besides the 7th Street Theater it’s a big win in my book.
Oct 2nd, 2008
John Peter Smith
I miss the smell of freshly baked bread coming from the old Mrs. Baird’s bakery on the West Freeway. Can’t say I recall much about the architecture, but I do miss the smell.
Speaking of indie theaters, does anyone other than me remember The Heights Theater? It was your typical old one-screen movie house like the Berry Street or Bowie that was used back in the late 70’s, early 80’s to show independent films. The architecture may not have been that special but you can’t help but love a place where the owner himself takes your ticket and pops your popcorn.
Oct 2nd, 2008
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