Old Building News

Pipe up for your favorite Fort Worth landmark for most endangered list

The Tarrant County Convention Center has made the list in prior years.

UTA/EDU

If you have a favorite old building in Fort Worth that you're worried about, now's the time to speak up. Historic Fort Worth Inc., a preservation group, is seeking candidates for the 2022 rendition of its annual Most Endangered Places list.

The list is a marketing overture that spotlights historic resources in peril.

That peril could be any number of circumstances such as deferred maintenance, no local landmark designation, loss of parking, or lack of awareness of economic incentives to rehab historic buildings.

They've been doing this program since at least 2004. Buildings they've spotlighted over the years include Knights of Pythias Hall, Texas & Pacific Warehouse, Fort Worth Public Market Building, and a Big Boy on Jacksboro Highway. Some have been saved, some not.

The Fort Worth Convention Center has made the list in prior years. They write:

Fort Worth's flying saucer convention center arena was designed in the 1960s as an urban renewal project for the county by a consortium of local architects that included Preston M. Geren, Herman E. Cox, Morris Parker, and the firms of Hueppelhueser & White, and Wilson, Patterson, Sowden, Dunlap, and Everly. Today, this arena that played host to everything from Elvis to the opera deserves a chance to be repurposed for a different function instead of facing demolition.

Hear hear!

There's a comprehensive summary of all the properties that have appeared on prior lists online. There's also a cool map with photos.

For the 2022 list, a wide range of sites will be considered, including commercial, residential, religious, public buildings, neighborhoods, bridges, monuments, and landscapes.

According to a release, properties that are recognized as endangered can benefit from increased public awareness and assistance from Historic Fort Worth to address issues.

They say there is a nomination form you can download, although said form is not anyplace obvious on their website, which you can send to:

Most Endangered Places, Historic Fort Worth Inc., 1110 Penn St., Fort Worth, TX 76102 or via email.

The deadline is March 11. Maybe also try emailing prc@historicfortworth.org.

An announcement of the list will be made May 8 at 12 noon at Thistle Hill, 1509 Pennsylvania Ave. The event is part of National Preservation Month in May.

downtown sustainability urban-renewal

Elite address

One Texas community makes list of the richest small towns in America

Photo courtesy of Compass

Bunker Hill Village is a coveted address in the Houston area.

An upscale community in Texas is among the top 10 richest towns in America, according to a new 2024 report. The community is Bunker Hill Village in Houston, and it's home to the richest residents in Texas. Sorry, Colonial Hills.

The analysis, by loan provider TitleMax, lists the 50 richest small towns — one from each state — using median household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In Bunker Hill Village, the median household income is about $250,000, the report says.

Of course, "small town" is a bit of a misnomer for Bunker Hill Village. Situated 13 miles west of downtown Houston, Bunker Hill joins five other communities – Hunters Creek, HiIlshire, Hedwig, Piney Point, and Spring Valley – to make up Houston's iconic Memorial Villages. In 2023, Bunker Hill was ranked the third-most expensive Houston neighborhood, with homes on the market for upwards of $2.7 million.

Notably, the area is home to Houston's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house.

"We are very proud of our quiet, wooded environment, and as a community, we work hard to preserve it for future generations," the city's website says.

The study found that more than half (56.5 percent) of the 1,250-home community make over $200,000 a year, while the enclave's median household income amounts to $247,188.

To put that into perspective, TitleMax revealed that the national median household income is $67,521. The Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey estimates the median income of a household in Texas came out to $75,780 in 2023.

Bunker Hill joins the likes of Houston's Bellaire and West University Place as some of the most affluent suburbs in America. The North Texas suburb of Southlake also made it on that list.

The No. 1 slot went to Monte Sereno, a suburb of San Jose, California with a median household income of more than $250,000, according to the report.

"While many people consider cities to be the epicenters of the rich, many retreat to small towns that offer safety, beauty, and privacy," the report's author wrote.

These are the top 10 wealthiest small towns in America, with their median household incomes:

No. 1 – Monte Sereno, California ($250,000-plus)
No. 2 – Cherry Hills Village, Colorado ($250,000-plus)
No. 3 – Mission Hills, Kansas ($250,000-plus)
No. 4 – Short Hills, New Jersey ($250,000-plus)
No. 5 – Scarsdale, New York ($250,000-plus)
No. 6 – Belle Meade, Tennessee ($250,000-plus)
No. 7 – Glencoe, Illinois ($248,851)
No. 8 – Bunker Hill Village, Texas ($247,188)
No. 9 – Clyde Hill, Washington ($238,958)
No. 10 – Chevy Chase Village, Maryland ($238,333)

The full report can be found on titlemax.com.

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