A historic Fort Worth shopping area, which dates back to 1910, will be spotlighted on this year’s Handley Avenue Historic Strip Tour. The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1.
The Handley Avenue Historic Strip Tour highlights the significant commercial district that remains a tourist attraction in East Fort Worth. Earlier this year, Fort Worth named Handley Avenue Historic Strip as one of its seven Most Endangered Sites, a designation the organization gives annually to encourage preservation.
“The buildings are extraordinary and aren’t always on everybody’s list, but they are worth it,” said Jerre Tracy, executive director of Historic Fort Worth.
The area’s history dates back more than a century. Handley was once a town between Fort Worth and Arlington along State Highway 180. Named for a Confederate major, James Madison Handley, the area is now a part of Fort Worth.
According to Historic Fort Worth’s records, the area grew over several years as a connection between the Interurban light rail system and the Texas and Pacific Railway. It was a thriving area for commuters and local customers between 1910 and the late 1920s.
The commercial buildings are examples of early 20th-century American architecture. Details include such features as pressed-tin ceilings and over-the-door transoms. Built between 1910 and 1933, they present a contiguous façade but were constructed over seven different periods. Built in two phases, the shops were commissioned around 1910 by Matt Skeen.
George Steven Carmack designed and built the shopping center. Among the notable buildings with unique architectural features is the O.D. Stevens Commercial Building, built in 1933 with a sandstone façade and a petrified wood band.
Current businesses, housed in these architecturally important buildings, will be open during the Aug. 1 Historic Fort Worth tour. Open for that evening will be:
A limited number of tickets are now on sale for the tour, and reservations are required. The cost for non-members of Historic Fort Worth is $25 per person, and members will be admitted free. Contact Historic Fort Worth at 817-336-2344, extension 108.
