Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse, Fort Worth, Texas
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N 32° 44.987 W 097° 19.981
14S E 656169 N 3624777
Completed in 1934 during the Great Depression, the U.S. Courthouse symbolized growth and renewed optimism in Fort Worth. Akin to other buildings of the 1930s, its design and construction fit the pattern of the New Deal-era federal building programs enacted to relieve widespread unemployment. Recognizing that the city’s existing federal building was inadequate for the burgeoning federal agencies, Congress appropriated $1,215,000 in June 1930 for the construction of a new U.S. Courthouse.
Waymark Code: WM5HJV
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/09/2009
Views: 20
The Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse is an impressive five-story building, creating the illusion of a solid limestone mass rising to a height of 94 feet. It is designed in the Art Moderne style, incorporating classical elements. A steel and concrete structure faced with limestone veneer, each elevation adheres to classical principles of symmetry and articulation by a regular rhythm of bays with a centralized principal entrance. Art Moderne elements are embodied by the sharp angles and zigzag surfaces seen in the stacked fenestration of the upper stories, and in the geometric, low-relief abstraction of the ornamentation.
The first three floors of the courthouse form a rectangular block, while upper floors are E-shaped, opening to the south to form two, three-sided light wells. Original access to the building was gained through three sets of bronze and glass double doors, flanked by Art Deco lanterns of aluminum and glass fronting West Tenth Street. Aluminum grilles in Mayan ziggurat, zigzag, Plains Indian arrows, and Egyptian lotus motifs are set over each pair of doors. Metal trim with Pueblo designs accentuates the windows of the second, third, and fourth floors. The smooth stone walls of the first story rise to a flattened, dentiled stringcourse before a shallow setback to the upper-story block. The outer bays of the second story have semicircular balconies of corbelled stone and metal railings. In between, eleven sets of three-story, stacked windows are each angled outward to the central mullion, creating a distinctive zigzag pattern across the surface of the facade. The window spandrels separating each floor feature moldings incised with black designs in Pueblo Indian motifs. The elongated bays are capped by horizontal windows at the fifth story, as the stone walls terminate to a flat roof. The east and west elevations are mirror images of each other and vary little from the facade, except in their width.
Year Built: 1933
Current Use of Building: Federal Bankrupcy Court
Level of Courts: Federal
Architect: Paul Philippe Cret; Wiley G. Clarkson
Dates this building was used to house judicial proceedings: 1934 - present
Physical Address:
501 West Tenth Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Related Website: [Web Link]
Hours: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
At least one original photograph should be added to the gallery. And please describe your impressions and visit to the courthouse.