Fort Worth Club Building - Ft. Worth, TX - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"The building follows the 3-part vertical block building type and displays Classical Revival stylistic influences with Arts and Craft detailing. The first floor of the 6-story building is clad in granite (added in 1974) with the upper five floors retaining the original window openings, red brick, cut stone and terra cotta tiles capped with an ornate cornice and parapet. The original rooftop balustrade has been removed. The Winfree Building Armex (built 1890; joined 1937) was originally a Victorian era commercial building now clad with a stucco storefront acting as a base from a second story stucco facade. Today, the Fort Worth Club Building (1916) and its annex, the Winfree Building, fiinction as a single commercial unit. Despite the loss of the original storefront and the replacement of the east and south facades, the building retains a moderate degree of integrity, particularly in the upper floor detailing, with missing elements restorable or replaceable.

In 1915, Fort Worth Club members, Samuel Burk Burnett and Amon Giles Carter led the campaign for a larger, more prestigious Club home to reflect of the booming economy and accommodate the Club's growing membership. Carter spearheaded construction of the 6-story Fort Worth Club Building completed in 1916 to replace the previous 3-story building at the same site. The club occupied floors three through six and leased the lower floorst o conunercial tenants. Built at a cost of $180,000, the building housed one of the finest libraries in the state, club rooms, and a dining room on the sixth floor described as, "the most attractive and complete in every respect to be found in the Southwest"

While the Commercial Club was "off-limits" to women, the new Fort Worth Club Building space allocated space for members' wives to use for bridge parties, small dinner parties and teas. Later in 1916, the Club's Board of Governors passed a resolution that served as an example of the progressive, broad-minded attitudes of the group. They agreed to extend limited membership privileges to women residing in Tarrant Coimty. Specific requirements applied to female members - they could only join if they had no male in their family eligible for membership. Females were required to pay a $25 fee at application, followed by annual dues of $25 due in advance payable quarterly. Any woman's membership could be terminated at will by the Board of Governors. Many prominent women moved into the club after the death of their husbands and continued to lead active social lives as well as being influential in many civic projects. Although restricted, female members strongly influenced the Club by ushering a new era of social and cultural events to the forefront of the Club's activities. Many of the prominent families in Fort Worth used the club as an elegant setting for social soirees. Officers of other clubs such as the Daughters of the American Revolution looked forward to staying at the club or being entertained there."