Fort Worth

Fort Worth’s lost history: Stores, landmarks and a seedy district that vanished

Stories by Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporters and columnists, with AI summarization

Fort Worth has plenty of history to explore today, but there's so much we've lost to time.

Few people remember some of these popular grocery stores, iconic restaurants and downtown department stores.

One story recalls when city leaders ordered the demolition of 14 blocks in downtown, including parts of Hell’s Half Acre. Another shows how West Berry Street used to look through the decades, using archived photographs. And the long-gone Greater Southwest International Airport was a symbol of an era that shaped the Metroplex.

Read the stories below.

April 25, 1953: An aerial view of the Greater Fort Worth International Airport after its completion.

NO. 1: THE LONG-GONE GREATER FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’S 1953 GRAND OPENING

A sliver of runway is all that remains today of Amon Carter Field, which became Greater Fort Worth International (and later Greater Southwest) just south of today’s DFW. | Published October 10, 2022 | Read Full Story by Matt Leclercq

May 18, 1942: The nations of the world flag display in Leonard Brothers department store.

NO. 2: LEONARDS DEPARTMENT STORE IN 1940S-’50S

This long-gone department store, now the site of the Worthington Renaissance hotel, had an incredible Christmas “Toyland” and operated its own subway for shoppers. | Published November 17, 2022 | Read Full Story

May 21, 1982: The exterior of Casa Bonita, a multi-level Mexican-style buffet restaurant in Fort Worth, during construction prior to its opening. (The location, 4786 Hulen Park Drive near I-20 behind Hulen Mall, is today a Rooms To Go outlet.)

NO. 3: LONG-GONE FORT WORTH RESTAURANTS REVEALED IN PHOTO TROVE FROM STAR-TELEGRAM ARCHIVE

How many of these Fort Worth-area restaurants do you recognize from the 1940s to 1990s? Some are long gone (remember Casa Bonita?). A few survive today. | Published July 13, 2023 | Read Full Story by Matt Leclercq

The Texas Brewing Co. opened in 1891 and was Fort Worth’s first heavy industry. It later closed due to Prohibition.

NO. 4: PROHIBITION FORCED THIS THRIVING FORT WORTH BREWERY INTO COLD STORAGE

Fort Worth was an attractive place for the beer maker because of its quality water. | Published August 26, 2023 | Read Full Story by Richard Selcer

Dec. 18, 1952: The opening of new Buddie’s Super Market No. 3, at 6825 Camp Bowie Blvd. (This address is near the split between Camp Bowie and Camp Bowie West.)

NO. 5: FORT WORTH GROCERY STORES THAT DISAPPEARED DECADES AGO

If you grew up in Fort Worth, you may remember Buddies, Worth Food Market, A&P, Safeway or any of the scores of other long-gone markets where your family shopped. Only a few of their buildings survive today. | Published September 29, 2023 | Read Full Story by Matt Leclercq

Como Park, shown here in a postcard drawing from 1908, was the site of an event in 1936 celebrating African American history.

NO. 6: FORT WORTH’S 1936 FRONTIER CENTENNIAL IGNORED BLACK HISTORY. THIS EVENT FILLED THE VOID

Fort Worth’s Frontier Centennial of 1936 left out Black history and Black people. | Published November 11, 2023 | Read Full Story by Richard Selcer

May 6, 1953: Looking toward the bar and kitchen from the Campbell living room. Mrs. Campbell, and her daughters Melissa and Melinda, sitting on bar stools.

NO. 7: KNOTTY PINE ALERT! FORT WORTH KITCHENS CONSIDERED ‘MODERN’ IN THE 1950S

These photos will bring back memories! Here are Fort Worth kitchens that were considered “stylish” in the 1950s. (Many trees were harmed in the making of ALL that wood paneling... ) | Published December 4, 2023 | Read Full Story by Matt Leclercq

July 28, 1972: Construction on West Berry Street in Fort Worth.

NO. 8: WEST BERRY STREET IN FORT WORTH OVER THE DECADES

How many of these scenes from West Berry Street bring back memories? | Published December 14, 2023 | Read Full Story by Matt Leclercq

This historical sketch, though not of Hell’s Half Acre in Fort Worth, shows the kind of activity someone may have witnessed there.

NO. 9: THE DEBAUCHERY OF FORT WORTH’S HELL’S HALF ACRE TOOK NO HOLIDAYS

Here’s what a reporter saw when he toured Hell’s Half Acre on Christmas night in 1906. | Published December 16, 2023 | Read Full Story by Richard Selcer

One block of downtown Fort Worth was demolished on June 29, 1965, as a publicity spectacle. West Texas Demolition had removed the building roofs and strung a cable around the structures. The idea was that one tug from a crane and bulldozers would topple all of the buildings.

NO. 10: THEY ONCE DEMOLISHED 14 BLOCKS OF DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH, SALVAGING 8 MILLION BRICKS. WHY?

The first block was pulled down all at once using bulldozers, a crane and a one-inch-thick cable. | Published October 26, 2024 | Read Full Story by Carol Roark

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.