Historic list deeply political

Historic Fort Worth this week released its annual listing of Most Endangered Places, which includes an old underground illegal casino in Arlington, a funeral home in the Polytechnic area and a World War I training field.

The above-mentioned properties are all worthy candidates for the public to consider.

But this year the organization, through its listing that calls attention to neglected or otherwise jeopardized historic sites, has named a couple of places that make more of a political statement than a historical one.

Under a theme of Cowboys & Culture, the group once again names the Fort Worth Stockyards and adds the city’s Cultural District to its list.

By including the Stockyards, Historic Fort Worth gets into the middle of a dispute between some property owners who want to limit changes in the area and those who support a major new development there.

By listing the Cultural District, which in recent years eliminated much free parking, the group wants to reignite the objections to paid parking facilities.

Historic Fort Worth may want to stick to what its name implies rather than muddy the political waters.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Historic list deeply political."