Plus, new places for drinks + gelato.
 
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Sunrise 6:24 a.m. | Sunset 8:41 p.m.
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🛍️ Shop ‘til you they drop
The top floor of a mall with several dark or closed storefronts. A small group of people can be seen walking, and the second level opens up to make room for the top of a trampoline-like structure that is coming up from the bottom floor.
This central hub of the mall was once bustling with people. | Photo by Glubin39 via Wikimedia Commons
Shopping malls across America have been left in a state that not even Paul Blart could save, and Fort Worth is no exception.

Known as “dead malls,” these abandoned, dilapidated, or mostly vacant shopping centers have become a subject of fascination — especially thanks to the online popularity of liminal space aesthetics.

Let’s go to the mall

Ridgmar Mall was once in its heydey.

Though it’s still catering to shoppers today, Fort Worthians may remember when the ~1.3 million-sqft mall was home to over 120 retailers + a movie theater that opened in the 2000s — a far cry from what it looks like today.

FTW-baby-competition-ridgmar-mall

In 1979, Ridgmar Mall hosted a “Father-Baby Olympics” at Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth.

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Photo courtesy of the UTA Libraries/Rodger Mallison

Back to the future

Now, most of the mall’s remaining ~30 tenants are located on the bottom floor of the two-story building. However, JC Penney, which opened at Ridgmar Mall in 1976 as one of the mall’s anchor tenants, is still rocking two levels of shopping.

Earlier plans to redevelop the mall into a mixed-use space seem to have disappeared, but in 2021, the mall’s former H&M site was turned into a COVID-19 vaccine administration center.

In 2023, the White House also released a guidebook on commercial to residential conversions. And in cities like San Diego, former shopping centers are being converted into mixed-use developments, with plans including a 40-story residential building where Macy’s once sat. Who knows what the future holds?

Though Ridgmar has changed, Fort Worth still has a number of other thriving shopping centers or districts where you can make like NSYNC and buy, buy, buy:
  • Hulen Mall | The decline of malls hasn’t hit the southwest shopping center yet. It’s still going strong with 125+ retail and restaurant tenants.
  • The Shops at Clearfork | Fort Worth’s premiere destination for luxury goods boasts Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Burberry, and more.
  • University Park Village | The outdoor shopping center is a great place for clothes + home goods with stores like Madewell, Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, and Williams-Sonoma.
 
Asked
 

Share your mall memories
Do you have memories of a local mall from back in the day? Share them with us and we may feature your story in a future newsletter: First date at the food court, trying on prom dresses at the department store, hitting up Orange Julius before picking up the perfect graphic tee at Hot Topic — we wanna hear it all.
 
 
Events
 
Thursday, June 27
  • Toro Toro Tequila Sampling | Thursday, June 27 | 5-7 p.m. | Toro Toro Fort Worth, 200 Main St., Fort Worth | Cost of purchase | Enjoy $10 off horizontal tequila or mezcal flights as you learn about the history of tequila brands.
  • Bookish | Thursday, June 27 | 6-8 p.m. | Amon Carter Museum of American Art, 3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth | Free | Try not to blush as you discover the inner workings of Hollywood’s glamorous Golden Age through the stories of dozens of actresses pursued by Howard Hughes.
Friday, June 28
  • Celebrity Chef Dinner & Fundraiser: Chef Juan Rodriguez | Friday, June 28 | 6-8 p.m. | Taste Community Restaurant, 1200 S. Main St., Fort Worth | $150-$750 | Join Fort Worth’s award-winning Chef Juan Rodriguez of Magdalena’s Catering and Events as he prepares a multi-course menu..
  • Housekeys | Friday, June 28 | 6-9 p.m. | The Planetarium at UT Arlington, 700 Planetarium Pl., Arlington | $30 | Housekeys blurs the lines between genres like ambient, post-rock, and neoclassical.
Saturday, June 29
  • Family Field Day | Saturday, June 29 | 10 a.m. | Globe Life Field, 734 Stadium Dr., Arlington | $30-$50 | Bring the kiddos for an action-packed day of family-friendly activities at the home of the World Series Champions.
  • “The Halfway House” | Saturday, June 29 | 8-9:30 p.m. | Ridglea, 6025 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth | $40-$80 | Misfit angels get expelled from heaven, and thus, hilarity ensues.
Click here to have your event featured.
 
 
News Notes
 
Development
  • The City Council unanimously approved the Phase II plan for Stockyards development at their last meeting before August, with chef Tim Love even saying: “I employ 600 people in Fort Worth right now, and this plan will allow me to employ another 600.”
Biz
  • Fort Worth’s TPG Inc. acquired German real estate software company Aareon AG for $4.2 billion. The deal helps TPG solidify its property management businesses.
Community
  • The Fort Worth Community Land Trust was designated as the first community land trust in the city’s history this week. A land trust is an affordable housing mechanism whereby an organization owns the underlying land and leases it at low-cost. (Fort Worth Report)
Coming Soon
  • Drinks N’ Such will open this fall at 2736 Stanley Ave., near TCU, from the team behind spots like Reservoir and Whiskey Garden. It will use a food hall concept, with three chefs running mini-kitchens that patrons can choose from.
Legacy
  • Ryan Place Triangle Park (3001 Fifth Ave.) has been renamed Joan Kline Park, in honor of the late community advocate who helped revitalize West Magnolia Avenue and the Near Southside in the 1980s.
Outdoors
  • The Texas State Park Pass price is increasing to $95 beginning Sunday, Sept. 1. The pass gives you and your guests in the same vehicle unlimited access to every state park. It’s currently $70 — get it while you still can.
Open
  • Following the near-immediate success of the H-E-B Alliance location, the chain is now live with its second Tarrant County store. The Mansfield location opened to throngs of customers at 6 a.m. on Wednesday; browse a photo gallery.
Edu
  • The Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) board approved a memorandum of understanding that allows Catholic Charities, a long-time partner of FWISD, to place certified counselors on school campuses to work with students from families resettling in Fort Worth. (Fort Worth Star Telegram)
Eat
  • Sweet, sweet twilight years: Spurs Gelato opened at 5601 Basswood Blvd. in north Fort Worth. The owner is 70 year-old Jim Garrigan, a former San Francisco police sergeant. Try one of 12+ flavors or authentic Sicilian cannolis filled with ricotta and mascarpone.
Sports
  • How can Sonny Dykes and the TCU coaching staff improve the secondary this year? And could that secondary be a potential Achilles’ heel in a generally favorable schedule? Get the biggest stories every day from the local experts of the TCU Horned Frogs with Locked On’s daily podcasts.
Plan Ahead
  • Need weekend plans? Fat Daddy’s Mansfield hosts live music every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night featuring acts across genres and time periods — 70s, 80s, rock, alternative, country, dance, and more. Here are five acts we’re adding to our calendar.*
Finance
  • This card is a cash rewards dream, ft. unlimited cash rewards on purchases, a $200 bonus after spending $500, and a long intro APR on purchases + balance transfers. Reward seekers, say it with us: Cha-ching.*
Eat
  • Looking to dine out this weekend? According to OpenTable, top-loved restaurants this month include Paris 7th for food and Café Modern for ambience.*
 
 
The Buy
 
A great basic baseball cap to keep the sun off your face all season long, like ones from Life Is Good or Adidas.
 
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The Wrap
 
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Today’s edition by:
Ted
On Monday, we shared the city’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan + asked readers three questions about their views on Fort Worth’s growth.

As for the question: “Is Fort Worth getting too big?,” 71% of readers answered “Yes, I like where we are now.”

Stay tuned for a summarization from the rest of our poll.
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