The Flatiron Building {Fort Worth}

About The Flatiron Building

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Completed in 1907 by Dr. Bacon Saunders, Dean of the Fort Worth Medical College at the time, the Flatiron Building is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Fort Worth, and the only survivor of the early skyscrapers that appeared on the skyline in the first decadeof the 20th century. Designed by the local firm of Sanguinet and Staats, the building mirrored on a smaller scale, the Flatiron Building that Dr. Saunders saw when in New York at a medical convention.

 

Incorporated into the design were carved panther heads commemorating Fort Worth’s nickname of “Panther City.” The legend of the sleeping panther originated when during an economical slump in 1873, it was reported that things were so quiet in Fort Worth that a panther was seen sleeping in the middle of Main Street. Rather than find the story insulting, Fort Worth embraced the panther as the city’s mascot, even including it on police badges.

 

The Flatiron Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Texas History Registry and the Local Registry. It has undergone extensive renovation before reopening in 2003.

 

The Flatiron Building is located in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, at the corner of Houston St. and West 9th St. At the time of completion in 1907 it was one of the city’s first steel frame buildings and the tallest building in north Texas. William Jenkins Worth, the man for whom the city of Fort Worth is named, is buried at the base of Manhattan’s Flatiron Building (in New York City), which inspired the design of the Fort Worth Flatiron Building.

 

The ground floor of the Flatiron features a large mural done by Italian artist Franco Alessandrini. The piece is painted on plaster in such a way as to give it a 3D effect when viewed. The large side doors can be opened up for access to Hyde Park.