Architect Wyatt Hedrick designed two of Fort Worth’s most photogenic buildings: the Texas & Pacific passenger terminal (1931) and, next door, the old central post office (1933). Inside and out, the passenger terminal is a showcase of art deco a la Cowtown: art decow.
GREAT photos.
Thanks, Paula. That grand old building, like Norma Desmond, is always ready for its close-up.
My dad worked out of a 9th floor railroad office. We boarded trains here and at the old Santa Fe/Union Station on Jones Street.
The T&P building is a very special part of Cowtown history. It was built to be the corporate center of a transcontinental rail empire. The lavish overstated decor was intended to reflect the powerful ambition of the company. Such opulent imagery came out of the wealth and optimism of the Roaring Twenties, when the building was planned.
That wealth had greatly diminished by the time the T&P opened in 1931, however.
That’s when all that artwork took on a new meaning that the designers did nor envision.
Impoverished workers and stressed capitalists could view the bold Art Deco and see old symbols expressed in a shiny futuristic manner.
The images gave hope; a reminder of the American spirit that said, “Yes, times are bad now, but we have overcome before and we will rise again to be a greater nation than before.”
As a tiny tot, I was in awe of the T&P every time I saw it. I still am.