T&P Station

skyscraper
art-deco
TX
Fort Worth

About the T&P Station in Fort Worth
1. Building Catalogations
Architect and team
Architectural style
Spaces and uses
Structure and materials

The T&P Station is an Art-deco skyscraper designed by Wyatt C. Hedrick, and built between 1930 and 1931 in Fort Worth, TX.

T&P Station is not the only name you might know this building by though. The building is, or has also been known as Texas and Pacific Station.

Its precise street address is 221 W.Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth, TX. You can also find it on the map here.

The T&P Station is a structure of significant importance both for the city of Fort Worth and the United States as a nation. The building embodies the distinctive characteristic features of the time in which it was built and the Art Deco style. Because of that, the T&P Station was officially declared as a national landmark on May 26^th 1978, and was also included in the Fort Worth Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The building has been restored 2 times over the years to ensure its conservation and adaptation to the pass of time. The main restoration works happened in 2001 and 2006.

Building's timeline

Construction begins

1930

Construction completed

1931

Declared NL

1978

Added to the Fort Worth RHP

1980

Restoration

2001

Restoration

2006

years ago

2024

1999 to 2001 - The old passenger area abandoned since 1967 was restored following the original patterns and passenger service was resumed. The architect in charge was Gideon Toal.
2002 to 2006 - The upper floors were converted into condominiums.

Architect and team

Wyatt C. Hedrick was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design. But there was also one other architect involved, as far as we know. We are talking about Herman P. Koeppe.

That being said, architecture is a complex discipline involving many professionals from different fields, without whom this building would have not been possible. We will surely be leaving out a lot of names here, but here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the T&P Station a reality:

P.O’B. Montgomery as the Main Contractor
Texas and Pacific Railway as the Main Developer

Architectural Style

The T&P Station can be categorized as an Art-deco building.

The Art Deco movement flourished during the 1920s and 1930s, with many historians marking the outbreak of World War II as its final decline. Even though a couple of decades might not seem as much, the Art Deco movement had a great impact on architecture, and it's widely represented in many American cities due to the development boom that happened during that time.

Art Deco marked the abandonment of traditional historicism and the embracement of modern living and the age of the machine. In architecture, that meant leaving behind the ornaments of Beux-Arts and Neo-Gothic buildings and instead favoring simplicity and visual impact through geometric shapes, clean lines, and symmetrical designs. Ornaments were still an important part of the design, but they became bold and lavish, and were often inspired by ancient cultures or industrial imagery, instead of nature.

The T&P Station was completed in 1931, right when the Art Deco movement was at its peak, so it kind of went with the trend at that time.

Spaces & Uses

It has a total of 13 floors, 12 above ground and 1 basements.

In regards to parking space, the building has a total of 351 spots available, which roughly equals 29 spots per floor (above ground).

When it opened its doors to the public in 1931, the T&P Station was primarily used as Transportation space. That however, is no longer the case, and today it mainly provides Residential space, with other complementary uses such as .

About the residences

The T&P Station has a total of 136 residential units throughout its 12 floors.

Materials & Structure

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features a zigzag style ornamentation, with pillars between the windows starting from the second level. The spandrels have decorative reliefs, and the four corners of the building are finished with a tower with a dome at the top.

Other materials found at the T&P Station include, marble, used on lobby's floors, and nickel, found in combination with brass in paneled ceilings that incorporate the classic art deco style of zigzags and rosettes.

Sources

npgallery.nps.gov
atlas.thc.texas.gov