Fort Worth has countless yoostabes—things that used to be other things. And the older we get, the more yoostabes we recognize as we drive down the street. From all four sides of town, these buildings yoostabe something else:
This 1938 art deco building on Henderson Street was a Dr Pepper bottling plant. The clock and bell tower featured the Dr Pepper logo of a clock with the numerals 10, 2, and 4 numerals. The bells chimed at those three hours. Today the building houses Trinity Pain Management Associates.
Across Henderson Street, of course, this grand building yoostabe Fort Worth Public Market. After being vacant for years, the building is being renovated.
This building (1910) on East 8th Street housed Charles E. Nash’s wholesale hardware company. Today the building houses the Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Clip is from the December 11, 1910 Star-Telegram.
On 8th Avenue this was a city water booster station.
On South Beach Street this yoostabe Atlantic Mills during Fort Worth’s first wave of big-box discount stores (Atlantic Mills, Clark’s, Spartan Atlantic). This wave occurred way, way back during the 1960s. Remember? The earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of consumers. And the Spirit of High Prices moved upon the face of cashiers.
The South Beach Street property is now the campus of Uplift Meridian Preparatory School.
Likewise Billy Bob’s Texas on Rodeo Plaza yoostabe a livestock barn, an airplane factory, and a Clark’s Discount Store.
From the 1968 city directory.
Cox and later Stripling-Cox Department Store on East Lancaster Street.
On East Rosedale Street, this house was Pair’s Fin and Feather pet store.
On Park Hill Drive a Cities Service gas station opened in 1930. The building today houses Parkhill’s Jewelry & Gifts.
On Davis Boulevard.
Likewise on Camp Bowie Boulevard Winslow’s Wine Café yoostabe Hillcrest Service Station (1924).
Giao Xu Duc Me Fatima (Our Lady of Fatima) Catholic church on East Lancaster Street yoostabe a Skagg’s supermarket.
This 1927 building at 2673 East Vickery Boulevard made a career of housing grocery stores: first a Helpy-Selfy, then an A&P, a Safeway, and Lee’s Food Market. (Update: This building has been demolished.)
This big brick barn on West Vickery Boulevard yoostabe the city recreation building (1927).
At 3021 East Rosedale Street, this yoostabe First State Bank of Polytechnic, founded in 1919 by S. S. Dillow. The duplex building later housed dentist offices. It now belongs to Texas Wesleyan University. In 1930 John Frank Alsup attempted to pull off the perfect crime with a daring robbery of the bank. It did not go well.
Across the street from the bank, let us end with an entire half block of Cowtown yoostabes. In 1957 the south side of the 3000 block of East Rosedale consisted of, from right to left, a branch post office, Varsity Theater (demolished), Mott’s dime store, Ashburn’s ice cream, a small furniture and appliance store, dentists’ office, and L&H Rexall drugstore. TWU now owns most of that real estate.
