On June 27, 2007 the Historic Fry Street area of

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

was burned down. The area referred to as "Fry Street" is the area between Fry St/Welch St and Oak St/Hickory St. The Tomato, a local pizza place frequented by

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

and

Texas Womans University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...

students, was the primary target damaged by the fire but the entire block was demolished by

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

and firefighters before the next morning. The fire took place the day before the scheduled date for the building's demolition. The area had been at the center of a contentious battle between Save Fry Street and United Equities Inc.

Background

Houston based developer United Equities Inc. bought most of the commercial lots on and around Fry Street, with plans to raze them in exchange for "upscale" businesses. On May 10, 2006 word began to spread around town of the purchase, and students began to organize a group called Save Fry Street with flyers and the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. Protests by residents and current and former

students angered by plans to raze and redevelop the area began and would last over a year until the fire. The Tomato restaurant closed on May 13, 2007 along with Bagheri's Italian Restaurant, Java Flakes, Texas Jive, Naranja Cafe, the Spirit Station and Andy's Hair Spot.Consequences of Fry Street
- Denton Record Chronicle On June 22–23, Habitat for Humanity of

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establis ...

hosted an auction of building materials salvaged from buildings slated for demolition. Overnight, vandals defaced a 1980s-era mural, portions of which had been auctioned off for $1,600. On June 25, workers began to clear the buildings, ripping out the insides. Local protesters began to squat inside the emptied-out Tomato, despite the organization "Save Fry Street" asking protesters not to do so.

The fire

The Fry Street Fire was set around 11 p.m. Hundreds of students were at the bars in the area, and watched the fire. More students gathered after the news had reached them. The 22-year-old man accused of torching The Tomato in protest of the

redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include: ...

surrendered to fire marshals and posted bail on July 11, 2007.

References

{{coord, 33.2152, -97.1453, type:event_region:US-TX, display=title Culture of Denton, Texas Fires in Texas 2007 fires in the United States 2007 in Texas Urban fires in the United States