The Flatiron Building is located in downtown

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, at the corner of Houston and West 9th streets. At the time of its completion in 1907 it was one of the city's first steel frame buildings and the tallest building in north

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

History

Fort Worth's Flatiron Building was commissioned by local physician Dr. Bacon Saunders, who reserved the top floor for his offices, at a cost of $70,000. The building was to be located on a

flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron *Hair iron Places *Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named after ...

shaped corner and was originally known as Saunders' Triangle Building. Early in the construction nearby merchants complained about the shadow that such a tall structure would cast over the downtown area, but their objections were eventually pacified by thoughts of the publicity the building would bring and Police Chief Maddox's promise to watch the construction site lest strong winds bring the girders down on them.

William Jenkins Worth William Jenkins Worth (March 1, 1794 – May 7, 1849) was an American officer during the War of 1812, the Second Seminole War, and the Mexican–American War. Early military career Worth was commissioned as a first lieutenant in March 1813, s ...

, the man for whom the city of Fort Worth is named, is buried in

Worth Square Worth Square, or General Worth Square, is a public square in Manhattan located at East 25th Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue directly west of Madison Square Park. The location was designated as a public park in 1847, and since 1857 the squ ...

whose obelisk points to the base of Manhattan's Flatiron Building, which inspired the design of the Fort Worth building.

Architecture

The building was designed by Fort Worth's top architectural firm

Sanguinet & Staats Sanguinet & Staats was an architectural firm based in Fort Worth, Texas, with as many as five branch offices in Texas. The firm specialized in steel-frame construction and built many skyscrapers in Texas. The firm also accepted commissions for res ...

in the

renaissance revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

style. It is constructed of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

over a

steel frame Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...

. The facade is divided into a two-story base supporting a five-story body capped by a heavily ornamented cast iron

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. The east and west facades are further divided into bays by

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

which rise to

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es in the top level. The building carries further ornamentation in the form of carved panther heads above the second story and brick lozenges. Interior design included open floor space to facilitate flexible division into offices. Additionally, "The elevator lobby of the Flatiron, with its handsome Classical details, ceramic tile floor, and marble

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity t ...

, as well as the ornate iron work of the elevator..." serves to illustrate the attention paid to the public areas of the building in order to entice clients. The original design specified ten stories, but this had to be scaled back to seven due to budget concerns following the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...

. The building is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In 1989, the building was purchased by George Cravens III, and renovated by the architectural firm O'Connor Architecture & Interior Design Management Co., L.L.C. As of 2021, the building has commercial rental space on the second, third, and fourth floors, and the first floor is used to host events.

References

Architecture in Fort Worth: Flatiron Building
Retrieved May 25, 2007. *

Retrieved May 25, 2007.

External links

{{NRHP in Texas Buildings and structures in Fort Worth, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Fort Worth, Texas Office buildings completed in 1907 Renaissance Revival architecture in Texas Sanguinet & Staats buildings Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Chicago school architecture in Texas Flatiron buildings

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links