Walls Within Walls

Pop quiz! Name the Fort Worth public schools in the top three photos.

School 1.

School 2.

School 3.

Stumped? You should be. These are the original buildings of schools that have expanded over the decades until these original buildings have been surrounded. Some history:

School 1 is Richard J. Wilson Elementary. In 1914, when the South Fort Worth school district built South Fort Worth School. Fort Worth annexed the area of South Fort Worth school district in 1922, and the school eventually became Richard J. Wilson Elementary.

Over the years Fort Worth ISD added the wings and the other buildings until today the original building (outlined in yellow in the aerial photo) is almost surrounded, only the top of the second story visible at ground level from certain angles.

School 2 is Hubbard Heights Elementary School on West Spurgeon Street.

The original (1922) six-classroom building of Hubbard (outlined in yellow in the aerial photo) still stands, now surrounded by additions and almost hidden from ground level. I climbed a Dumpster to peek over an addition to see the roof of the original building.

School 3 is R. L. Paschal High School on Forest Park Boulevard.

Originally the school was to be named “Southwest Junior High School,” and, as this 1935 clip shows, the school we know as “Rosemont Junior High” was to be named “McLean Junior High.” But instead the school on Forest Park Boulevard, built concurrently with Rosemont, opened in 1936 as “W. P. McLean Junior High School.” Then, in 1954, the McLean school moved to a new building on Stadium Drive, and the building on Forest Park Boulevard became Paschal High School in 1955 when Paschal moved from what is now the Green B. Trimble Tech building on Cannon Street. With me so far? It’s complicated.

Now the old McLean Junior High building is surrounded by newer buildings of Paschal High. The arrow in the aerial photo points to the gable of the front of the original building (School 3), which now forms a wall of a courtyard behind the entrance of Paschal on Forest Park Boulevard.

Posts About Education in Fort Worth

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3 Responses to Walls Within Walls

  1. Christina Ruiz says:

    I absolutely love this site. My grandfather attended South Ft. Worth Elementary in the early 1920’s and I as well as my mom attended R.L.Pascal High School.

    • hometown says:

      Thanks, Christina. I still remember when I discovered that there even WAS a South Fort Worth school district, much less that its school is now enclosed by newer buildings.

  2. Jay Lindsey says:

    Mike, hometownbyhandlebar has just become my favorite site. I always lookforward to sharing you latest post on FB with my wife. We are both native Fort Worthers but have learned so much about our home town from you.
    Give me a call when you get a chance. I’d like to talk to you about speaking to our Bell Helicopter Office Workers Retirees group.
    Jay Lindsey

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