| |
The
Firestone Service Building &
The Smith-Swinney Motor Company Building
Fort
Worth, TexasSaved
building faces another with an uncertain fate.
Photos and Text
by Sam Fenstermacher
|
| | The
Firestone Service Building
Built 1929 - Remodelled 1997 |
The
Firestone Service StoreSeventh
and Henderson Streets near downtown Fort Worth.
The Firestone building
was constructed in 1929, and was part of Fort Worth's original “Automobile Row.”
In the "Roaring '20s" car dealerships lined Seventh Street from Henderson
Street west to Summit Avenue. |
| | A
closer look reveals former bays.
Photo January 2006 |
| The
Firestone Building was saved in a 1997 project to develop the 350-unit Firestone
Community. The building was repaired and today functions as the office and community
center for the Firestone Apartment Complex. Notable are two original Firestone
signs that were left intact. |
| | One
of the original Art Deco Neon sign.
Photo January 2006 |
| Unfortunately
other old buildings in the neighborhood, many dating back to the 1920s and 1930s
have been demolished. In January of 2006, demolition was delayed on the former
Smith-Swinney Motor Company building.. |
| | The
Smith-Swinney Motor Company Building
Photo January 2006 |
The
Smith-Swinney Motor Company Building1927
- 2006?
This
building is directly across the street from the Firestone Building. It was constructed
in 1927 to house the Smith-Swinney Motor Company which sold Hudson and Essex automobiles.
It was one of the car dealerships that lined Seventh Street for several blocks
between Summit Ave. and Henderson Street.
The current owners of the
property sought permission from the City of Fort Worth to demolish the building.
The building lacks a roof and is generally in bad repair. According to an article
in the January 12, 2006 (page D1) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the city delayed
demolition of the building for six months in hopes of finding a use for the property.
|
| | Detail
Photo January 2006 |
| According
to the newspaper article, the prospects for this building are not good. My own
observation is that quite often historic buildings like this one get torn down
to make way for parking lots and fast-food restaurants. That will very likely
be this building's final chapter. ©
Sam Fenstermacher, February,
2006
More Photos
& Articles by Sam Fenstermacher |
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