The R. Vickery School survived at least half a dozen fires in 2023, including two within two days.
The building is one of seven properties to land on Historic Fort Worth’s 2024 Most Endangered Places list.
The endangered list is meant to raise awareness and support for structures that represent a significant piece of local history and are at risk of demolition — either intentionally or by neglect — or are worthy of a historic designation. The preservation nonprofit first presented its list of at-risk properties in 2004 and took a brief hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This conversation does generate results,” Cara Kennemer, a construction attorney and chair of Historic Fort Worth’s board, said at a press conference announcing the organization’s 19th list.
Getting a local historic designation for the Stockyards, local and national designations for the Ridglea Theater and the W.I. Cook Memorial Hospital’s addition to the National Register of Historic Places are all examples of successful advocacy, Kennemer said.
Community members nominated sites for this year’s list in hopes that raising the profile of a specific property will help its preservation efforts.
R. Vickery School
The elementary school, 1905 E. Vickery Blvd., was built in 1910 and added a new wing in 1937. Eventually, the building became the site of a nightclub after the school’s closure.
Most recently, the building has sat vacant, frequently attracting people experiencing homelessness.
The city of Fort Worth gained possession of the building following a tax foreclosure from its previous owners.
Alpha Phi Alpha, a Black fraternity, has plans to purchase and redevelop the property through its nonprofit the Livingston Community Development Foundation.
“I’ve seen the school building in its glory when it was still open and children were still going into the school,” Glen Harmon, the foundation’s executive director, said. “And it broke my heart to see that it’s turned to the condition that it’s in. And I want to make it my life’s work to inject new life into that building and have it as a resource for the community.”
The Fort Worth Community Arts Center
The Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St., also made the list.
The building, which is owned by the city of Fort Worth and managed by Arts Fort Worth, needs upward of $30 million in repairs, according to a recent condition report.
In 2023, the city asked community members to share their hopes for the future of the building and solicited bids for its redevelopment.
However, some community members raised concerns when historic preservation was recommended but not required of prospective developers.
After narrowing the pool of respondents, the city asked developers to tweak their plans and submit their final and best proposals in April.
Those proposals are currently being reviewed.
Civilian Conservation Corps campsites at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge
Within the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, there are several projects constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The corps was part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program that aimed to revitalize the economy and create jobs in response to the Great Depression.
The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed three parks named Broadview, Rest-a-While and Long Point within the center during the 1930s.
Eric James is a preservation architect and a member of the city’s historic and cultural landmarks commission. He nominated the park sites.
“Time and nature have taken its toll on the site,” James said. “The stone picnic tables, large banquet table, the picnic shelter have all seen better days, with spruce missing from past fires, stone tables and benches broken, missing or just in ruins. But there are some campfires that still remain, reminding everyone what this site was in its heyday.”
In 2013, the groundwork was laid for preservation of these sites, James said, however, no work has been completed — something he hopes will change if funding is allocated in the next city bond, which will be on the ballot in May 2026.
“It takes advocates to speak up about some of these unknown gems and bring them to life,” James said. “I encourage everyone here to be an advocate and reach out to your City Council representative about public funding for restoration of these sites.”
To see the full list, click through the interactive map above.
Marcheta Fornoff covers arts and culture for the Fort Worth Report. Reach her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board. Read more about our editorial independence policyhere.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.