Real Estate Building Development in Fort Worth, Texas by Terri Rimmer - originally published by Associated Content, 2007

Check Out the Coolest Architecture Near Dallas:

I've lived in Tarrant County, Texas since 1995.

Not an eternity, I realize, but long enough to have observed some really cool structures in town, ones that don't necessary make your typical popular architectural lists, but are still worthy of mention.

McCool's Pub at 1700 8th Avenue on the corner used to be an AA group for many years. With its high cathedral ceilings, exposed colorful bricks, and murals painted on walls of two huge closets, it has character, to say the least. It was remodeled to accommodate the bar but has still retained its original allure. When you walked in originally there was a small sitting room and window where a phone rested. A medium-sized kitchen used to serve as a snack bar during Halloween parties and New Year'sEve all-nighters where there would be marathon recovery meetings and the phones would be manned for Alcoholics Anonymous' Central Office on the latter night.

The Texas White House Bed & Breakfast at 1417 8th Avenue also has a rich history. My first girlfriend filled me in on the details. Apparently in the 60s it was called "a crash house" and those coming down from LSD or some other illicit drug could "crash" there until they were up to going home. Hippies galore made up the clientele, nothing like the clients who frequent the place today. The huge white house that looks like it jumped right off the pages of a painting in a book is the perfect place for a bed and breakfast. Enjoy a gourmet breakfast at this massive facility, as well as free soft drinks, and dining recommendations. The phone number is 817-923-3597.

One door down from 1456 W. Allen Avenue to the right if you're coming from McCool's, also off 8th Avenue lies an unusual small apartment complex with gated doors that used to be a bar. Even further back then that it was something like a milk company. The proof is the old neon sign that still hangs outside. You can't read the writing but getting inside the apartments is a trick if you're a visitor. I used to live next door and didn't realize for months that it had been converted into living quarters until I saw some people hanging out and coming and going who lived there. Behind the building it gets even more interesting. A quaint and charming little courtyard rests against a backdrop of large trees and lush grass.

There is an old grocery store on Alton street off Elizabeth Street, the latter road of which is a rich section of town. It is medium-sized but and across from Daggett Elementary School. Looking like an old saloon on the outside, you can see the lettering on the sign over the double doors that reads "Grocery." Back in the 30s and 40s you could buy just about all the food you would need there. Ironically, it too was converted into an AA clubhouse a few years ago but it has since been vacated. It also has high ceilings, tile floors, and in the back is an old-fashioned refrigerator, cooler, and plenty of shelves where canned vegetables and fruit once sat.

At 2740 Lipscomb lies a recovery group - the one that was at McCool's, then the grocery store on Alton. It is in a warehouse section of town. Not the safest, but is also unusual in its appearance inside and out. As you pull up into the parking lot which is in front and on the side of the building only, you will notice a big glass window. Upon entering to your left is a small storage room and to the right is what used to be office space and unusual counter spaces. Go straight ahead and you will find a large room with rafters and a tiny kitchen. You almost have to be a contortionist to get in and out of the bathroom. Okay, well maybe not exactly that much.

The phone number is 817-921-2871.

Lockhart Gables Bed and Breakfast at 5220 Locke Avenue is well-known in the community and has a long history of legendary beginnings. The inn, built in 1893, is a romantic getaway with cottages. One room has a single-room Jacuzzi and all upstairs rooms have themes. The house, registered as a historical landmark as the Messer House in the Fort Worth Registry, is a three-story Victorian brick house that speaks of character and elegance. There is also a separate prayer room upstairs. The entire B & B has five bedrooms with adjoining baths, a conference room, and two suites in the carriage house out back. To make reservations, call 817-735-5969.

At the old Gladney Center, which used to be on Hemphill Street by the railroad tracks, you could tour the grounds as a prospective birth mom and check out where thousands of babies were delivered in the old small hospital on campus. It was like something out of an old movie - bare bones, archaic, and trapped in time. Luckily Gladney wound up using a local hospital years later to have babies delivered - a more modern and comfortable place where birth moms didn't have to share hospital rooms. The Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) bought the building in 2001 and converted it into a montessori school, getting rid of the pool and greenhouse and installing a playground which took the place of a volleyball court.

The new Gladney Center, which is a maternity home, is now located at 6300 John Ryan Drive off Bryant Irvin Road. Built from the ground up in 2002, it is a plush, comfy building that has a pool in the back for the clients to relax in, stylish living room and sitting areas, lavishly decorated interiors and modern kitchen with all the amenities. Long carpeted hallways wind around the huge facility which begins with a covered archway for drop-offs and pick-ups in the front. As you enter the high-ceilinged lobby you will notice an extravagant historical display of the history of The Glandey Center along with framed testimonials of some birth moms, adoptees, and adoptive parents.

The Victory Arts Center, which used to be a convent, sits behind a Catholic school on Hemphill Street across from Bewick Street. At one point it was a Catholic theatre but before that a junior college was added on to the building. Now it's a home for artists to showcase their work. The building at 801 Shaw Street is a City of Fort Worth landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. It consists of 46 spacious loft apartments and artists' studios. Features include high ceilings, hardwood, terazzo, and stained concrete floors, period light fixtures, extraordinary natural light, exterior courtyards and decks, oversized elevator, and loading dock.

La Paloma Tortilla Factory, where my late boyfriend Ruben loved to go buy the freshly homemade treats, is located at 3027 Hemphill Street and the phone number is 817-207-9457. The adobe-looking building is well-known for its original ingredients and hard-working staff as well as authentic foods you can enjoy in the heat coming from the ovens. True tortilla fans go here.

Parker Commons Apartments at 1015 S. Jennings Avenue used to be a huge old high school. Abandoned for years, it was gutted but kept its original shell to be molded and shaped into beautiful new apartments for low-to-mid income families and singles. A gated community, the building features balconies, is centrally located in the medical district, and you can view the history lesson online at the website, homesofparkercommons.com. In some of the old pictures you will see old blackboards that used to make up the classrooms. The school opened in 1911 as Fort Worth School. Huge white columns still stand on the front steps as you pass by making your way to the apartment office.

The Coffee House Gallery at 609 S. Jennings was an old abandoned building next to a gay bar for years until someone saw potential in the old warehouse and made it into a shiny new thing in 2002. Popular for brunch, weekday lunches with the nine-to-five crowd, the restaurant's desserts are divine and the reading material is plentiful in the makeshift library you will spot as you walk in. Internet access is free with purchase of a menu item and is limited to 30 minutes. In cooler weather or at night, sit out on the patio and bask in the Christmas lights no matter the time of year as you visit with friends and watch the locals go by. They may be reached at 817-335-4646.

At 101 S. Jennings where I used to work, stands a cool, tall, three-story building with hardwood floors, pitched ceilings, and long, shiny hallways where many day-timers click-clack up and down with important matters at hand. The building houses several businesses including a restaurant called The Wild Bunch, named after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The building is nearly 100 years old. Children's Lighthouse, an educational day care service, recently bought the facility.

The old post office in downtown Fort Worth at 251 W. Lancaster is a monument to history. The lobby runs the entire length of the five-story building in this monumental masterpiece. With its hardwood floors, multiple old-fashioned ceiling fans, and tiny windows that line each hallway, you better be in shape to walk this way.

At 1701 E. Lancaster Avenue at Halloween, the place to be is the Cutting Edge Haunted House which takes over a huge, old 1920s warehouse and makes you scream with chills. The spook house is open through Nov. 3rd. Doors open at 7 p.m. and close at 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and midnight Friday, Saturday, and Halloween night. Cost is $23 plus tax. It's considered the largest haunted house ever.

At 6025 Camp Bowie Boulevard people used to line the block waiting for the latest first-run movie to start at Ridglea Theater. Now, kids who have to have their "Raves" go there for unusual live band performances and occasionally showings of Pink Floyd's "The Wall." Known for its gorgeous marquee and exquisite lobby, bands like The Forever Machine and other local groups can be seen giving it their all for the young crowd. Considered unique and state-of-the-art still, the theatre may be reached at 817-738-9500.

At Lemon Tree Art & Books, 804 Pennsylvania Avenue in the hospital district, the treasures of junk will make your eyes pop not to mention the architecture of the stately white house that houses such goods. Going into this store is like visiting an old friend who will display all her wares for you to see in a fascinating array of colors and back stories. Called an oddments shop by a local newspaper, its owner Betty Kelly takes great pride in these trinkets and troves of undiscovered treasure. You can find rare books, dolls, tea party items, old Fort Worth historical products, and just about anything you might have dreamed of looking for.

There are some other buildings, too that earn accolades for being coolest, among them a big cathedral on Stadium Drive with its high arches and awe-inspiring steeples, an old beauty salon turned successful artist's studio at the corner of W. Devitt and Greene, the old electric building downtown converted into apartments, and a tiny, old Catholic school on the TCU campus which is now used for storage space.