Leonard's Department Store Museum

Tucked away on Carroll Street, near the Montgomery Ward Plaza (another Fort Worth building with a history) is the Leonard's Department Store Museum. The store was long gone when I arrived in Fort Worth in the early 1990s, but the subway was still running, which once led from the parking lot, through a tunnel and emerged below the Leonard's store. In the 1990s it was known as The Tandy Center with shops surrounding an ice rink. Downtown workers continued to use the free parking and the subway trains until it was closed around 2002. Entry to the museum is through the M&O Station Grill. I found the artifacts reminiscent of department stores I visited as a child and it was fun to browse.
The Leonards brothers were very influential around Fort Worth (the Jr. High School is named after them) and during the depression when banks were closed, Leonard's began printing its own store currency and minting coins. They cashed paychecks with a combination of store currency and cash so that people could purchase things they needed. At the time they were baking over 7,000 loaves of bread a day.
Before the Civil Rights Act the Leonards Brothers chose to desegregate and removed any signs separating races. One young black man was unaware that the cafeteria served people of all races and sent a letter to the Fort Worth Star Telegram stating that he intended to sit in the cafeteria until he was served. When he arrived he was surprised that he was welcomed and a cup of coffee sat waiting for him.

Historic East Side Fort Worth Tour

Last week-end we joined Dr. Richard Selcer and other tour guides on a Fort Worth East Side Tour. There's lots of interesting history surrounding Fort Worth.

Fort Worth Texas

Fort Worth has an interesting history and sometime ago I attended a class by Quenton McGown which included a walking tour of Hell's Half Acre once a red light district but now includes hotels and the Water Gardens (you may remember them in Logan's Run)

There is a collection of Fort Worth maps online that shows how the town grew mostly due to the railroad and cattle drives. Quenton McGown has many pictorial books of Fort Worth.

Fort Worth Maps