Ever wondered why this downtown bar has a shoe store sign out front?
The Red Goose Saloon — located at 306 Houston St. next to Reata — actually began as a footwear store. The Solomon family opened Solomon’s Red Goose Juvenile Shoe Store in the 1930s.
The store sold footwear from St. Louis-based Red Goose Shoe Company + used a fluoroscope , a type of X-ray machine, to measure kids’ feet — before medical professionals advised against this.
The building is the last privately owned building on Houston Street.
Photo by John Roberts, Architecture in Fort Worth
Originally a furniture store, the 1903 two-story building features white penny tile in the entry and vintage leaded glass windows. It is listed as a local historic landmark. The neon sign, added in 1948, is a reference to the children nursery rhyme character “Mother Goose .”
Reopened in 1999 as a dive bar and grill, the Red Goose Saloon kept its old Cowtown charm with a pressed tin ceiling and hardwood floors. Swing by nightly until 2 a.m. for a cold one with a hint of nostalgia.