April 9, 2024

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Today’s Forecast

68º | 90% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 7:06 a.m. | Sunset 7:55 p.m.
Full Weather Report | Traffic Report

Blast from the past

The landmark Fort Worth Recreation Building faces I-30 at 215 W. Vickery Boulevard. | Photo by FTWtoday

Picture this: It’s 1946 and you’ve just been handed a cardboard carton of fresh, salty popcorn. You ascend the bleachers and take your seat to listen to the soulful voice of Mahalia Jackson.

Where are we? In a large red brick, gabled building on West Vickery Boulevard — the Fort Worth Recreation Building.

Commissioned by the City of Fort Worth, “The Rec” was designed by E.W. Van Slyke & Co. in 1927 to serve as a gymnasium and auditorium for music, theater, and public meetings.

FTW-fort-worth-recreation-building-boxing — Featherweight boxers Clyde Daniels and Billy Lawson competed in a practice round for the Golden Gloves District Tournament at The Rec in 1947.
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Photo courtesy of UTA Libraries/Al Panzera

Also known as the South Side Recreation Building, the multi-use space had concessions and ticket offices along its northside, topped with a set of bleachers. The elevated center of the building included courts for basketball, handball, or other sports. A double proscenium concealed the dressing rooms on the south wall and framed the stage.

In its heyday as a community attraction, the 8,000-sqft venue hosted famous visitors including heavyweight boxer Joe Louis and jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

FTW-fort-worth-recreation-center-basketball — Sometimes the steel truss roof leaked and the Texas Wesleyan College Rams had to play around buckets.
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Photo courtesy of UTA Libraries/Wilburn Davis

In the afternoons, school children took baton twirling lessons, and local teams like the Texas Wesleyan Rams men’s basketball dribbled across the court — unless rain dripped through the leaking roof.

Despite its popularity, the community hub didn’t last.

In 1983, the building was sold and used as a factory and warehouse. By 2007, The Rec was empty and for sale once again.

The city designated the building as Highly Significant Endangered in 1999 before it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Currently sitting vacant, The Rec is owned privately by local developer Tom Reynolds, who is working with Bennett Partners on designs to restore the building and return it to a public event space. No formal plans or timelines have been announced.

Asked

Which of the following Fort Worth landmarks was also completed in 1927?

A. Will Rogers Pioneer Tower
B. Tarrant County Courthouse
C. Broadway Baptist Church
D. Petroleum Building

Take a guess

Events

Tuesday, April 9

TCU Baseball | Tuesday, April 9-Wednesday, April 10 | 6-9 p.m. | Lupton Baseball Stadium, 3700 W. Berry St., Fort Worth | $12-$18 | Cheer on the Horned Frogs as they take the plate against the UTRGV Vaqueros.

Wednesday, April 10

Knitting 101 | Wednesday, April 10 | 6-7:45 p.m. | Grapevine Public Library, 1201 Municipal Way, Grapevine | Free | Learn foundation techniques with instructor Linda at this beginner class.

Thursday, April 11

Pints With A Purpose | Thursday, April 11 | 6-8 p.m. | Chicken N Pickle, 4600 Merlot Ave., Grapevine | $30 | Sample a range of beers and seltzers in a fundraiser for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Friday, April 12

Tim McGraw | Friday, April 12 | 7 p.m. | Dickies Arena, 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth | $65-$240 | Get a seated or standing room ticket for the “Standing Room Only Tour 2024.”

Saturday, April 13

Texas Street Food Festival | Saturday, April 13-Sunday, April 14 | 2-8 p.m. | Texas Live!, 1650 E. Randol Mill Rd., Arlington | $13-$70 | Sample scrumptious treats from 30+ food trucks all selling items for $5 or less.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Civic

Help plan the future of Fort Worth by participating in the city’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan. The plan will determine the goals, objectives, strategies, and policies that the city uses to help make Cowtown a better place to live + work. Share feedback during 12 upcoming public meetings.

Edu

To match the elementary schedule for the 2024-2025 academic year, Fort Worth ISD pre-K students will attend school 7:50 a.m.-3:20 p.m. — an extra 50 minutes each day — to help families who have older children enrolled at the same campus. Fall registration is now open.

Transit

Trinity Metro’s new Trinity Railway Express station is open for commuters. Last week, the transit organization cut the ribbon on Trinity Lakes Station, which is one of 10 stops on the rail line between downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas.

Sports

The bracket for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics tournament has been set. Eight collegiate teams will compete at Dickies Arena on Thursday, April 18 + Saturday, April 20 for the National Championship. Grab tickets.

Asked

Did you know that it’s National Poetry Month? If you’re a poet and totally know it, try your hand at our FTWtoday Poetry Contest. The catch? You can only use words found in our Wednesday, April 3 newsletter. Learn more + submit your poem by Sunday, April 14.

Listen

Between the Stars’ skating toward the Stanley Cup, the Mavericks’ dribbling to the NBA Finals, and the Rangers’ swinging away during the beginning of the MLB season, we can barely keep up with all the local sports news. But you can with local experts of Locked On’s daily Dallas Sports podcasts.

Finance

Believe it or not, we’re a third of the way through the year (aka time to assess your progress on your annual savings goals). Need some guidance? Dive into United Texas Credit Union’s best savings tips we shared earlier this year.*

Home

Psst — When’s the last time you replaced your bath mat? Our favorite memory foam bath mat is on sale through the weekend.*

The Buy

Gifts for the bride-to-be. The wedding gift guide features everything from homemade earrings for the bachelorette party to a facial roller for necessary self-care days.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Kate

From the editor

Our readers are getting out and about — last week, we shared the opening day vs. current day entry prices from five local attractions + asked you which attractions you visited in the last year. The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Texas Ranger, and Fort Worth Zoo had the top visitation from our respondents, with over 50% each.

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