Last summer, we told you that the 100-year-old grain silos in Worth Heights could be demolished this year. One permit was already issued back in July to tear down a portion of the silos, but four more need to be approved by the city to remove all of the structures on the 2.9-acre lot. While we wait for the approval, let’s unpack the silos’ century-long history.
Origin
Between 1924 and 1926, Fort Worth Elevator & Warehouse constructed the 12-story grain silos. A grain silo (or elevator) is a tall, cylindrical structure that is used to store grain such as corn, wheat, barley, and oats. They usually have an advanced temperature control system to manage the quality of the stored grain.
Bunge North America, an agribusiness company that buys, stores, and sells agricultural commodities operated the Worth Heights silos, which relied on the city’s status as a transportation hub for major rail lines for the business’s success.
Throughout the years
During World War II, the demand for flour milling and grain storage grew. In the 1930s and 1940s, farmers started transporting material by truck via the vastly improved US highway system. The local silos were still seen as a prime spot for agricultural growth due to their proximity to highways, allowing Fort Worth to become one of the south’s largest milling and grain storage locations.
Throughout the 1960s and 1980s, truck transport became the dominant force of grain distribution. The Fort Worth silos remained in use, but business slowly declined as newer and modernized grain distributors popped up in rural areas.
Decades of disuse
According to property records, the silos changed hands four times between 1988 and 2004 and were purchased by 3500 Alice Trust in 2007.
Beginning in 2000, the grain silos fell into disuse and became a destination for criminal activity — such has drug use, illegal dumping, and trespassing.
Today, the Worth Height silos stand idle. Last March, the Building Standards Commission announced that the structure is “substandard and hazardous.” If the current owner does not arrange its own plans for a demolition or renovation, the city will take down the landmark.
