Visiting Fort Worth for World Cup 2026? What to know about Hell’s Half Acre
As thousands of soccer fans flock to downtown Fort Worth during the 2026 World Cup this summer, they’ll walk over ground that was once one of the Old West’s most notorious red-light districts.
Hell’s Half Acre defined Fort Worth’s wild reputation from the 1870s until the early 1900s. Today, there’s barely any trace that it ever existed, and very few surviving photos. (It wasn’t exactly a place that people wanted to see or be seen in photographs.)
Here are a few facts about Hell’s Half Acre, compiled from Star-Telegram stories and columns by Richard Selcer, Tiffani Jackson and others.
• Where it was: Hell’s Half Acre was generally bounded by Throckmorton, Jones and Lancaster streets, from 9th to 15th. The Fort Worth Convention Center and Water Gardens now sit on top of the old district.
• What happened here: The Acre was packed with saloons, bordellos, dance halls and gambling dens catering to cowboys, railroad workers and businessmen. Prostitutes charged $5 to $10 at parlor houses, $1 at brothels and 25 cents at one-room “cribs.” Read more here.
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• A cash cow city leaders tolerated: Fort Worth had a love-hate relationship with the Acre because illegal money flowed into the local economy. Houses could be rented for $15 a week and converted into bars, bordellos and gambling dens, with liquor licenses and health certificates optional.
• Famous outlaws passed through: Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Sam Bass and Eugene Bunch are known to have spent time in the Acre. Gamblers Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and Luke Short also visited.
• The legendary gunfight: Luke Short killed city marshal Jim Courtright outside the White Elephant Saloon in a dispute over extortion money — though historian Richard Selcer notes the upscale White Elephant wasn’t actually inside the Acre.
• A church on the edge: St. Patrick Cathedral bordered the district. Legend has it the priest stood on the steps Sunday mornings inviting people heading home from a night in the Acre to come to Mass.
• How it ended: Preacher J. Frank Norris declared war on the Acre in 1911, but it took the U.S. Army’s arrival at Camp Bowie during World War I to shut it down. The Army drove businesses out through evictions and mass arrests between 1919 and 1920.
Read more stories about Fort Worth history.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 1:47 PM.
