Did old-school design protect Fort Worth’s Sandman hotel from worse explosion damage?

The Sandman Signature Hotel in downtown Fort Worth sustained significant damage from Monday’s explosion, however, over-engineering of the building’s steel frame may have protected it from the worst impact of the blast.

Other buildings surrounding the 20-story building at 810 Houston St. should be inspected if they sustained any exterior damage, architects told the Star-Telegram.

Concrete from the first floor pancaked down into the basement and sub-basement of the recently renovated W.T. Waggoner Building building, Fort Worth fire chief Jim Davis told the City Council on Tuesday.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation. While natural gas played a role, Davis said, investigators are trying to find out whether an explosion caused the gas leak or the gas leak caused the explosion.

There is no indication the blast was intentional, Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes told the council.

The key to determining whether the hotel is structurally sound will be the impact on the interior columns, said Simon Chao, who teaches civil engineering at UT Arlington.

Judging from the photos of the exterior of the building it is clear there was damage to the facade, but Chao said he didn’t see any evidence of damage to the exterior columns. Those columns are load-bearing, meaning damage could put the building at risk of collapse, he said.

Historic skyscrapers, like the W.T. Waggoner Building, were typically built with more steel beams closer together, making the frame much stronger than they need to be to support the weight of the building, said John Roberts, a Fort Worth architect with the firm Halbach-Dietz Architects.

A 1919 Star-Telegram article reported the building would be a “model” in “durability of construction” with 1,500 tons of steel and a reinforced concrete skeleton from the basement to the top floor.

Roberts stressed it is still too early to know how Monday’s blast impacted the building, but noted its foundation is anchored into bedrock.

He did express concern for some of the older nearby buildings. Several were built with load-bearing construction techniques, meaning the exterior masonry walls support the weight of the building with wooden joists bracing the floors and ceilings, Roberts said.

Those closest to the hotel could have been impacted by the blast and should be inspected, he said.

The city hasn’t heard any concerns about the surrounding buildings, but is working with investigators to determine whether the Sandman Signature Hotel is structurally sound, city spokesperson Reyne Telles said.

The city hopes to complete its assessment of the building by the end of the day Tuesday before turning it back over to its owners, fire chief Davis said.

This story was originally published January 9, 2024 at 2:58 PM.

Harrison Mantas

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

817-390-7040

Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.