Residents of a south Fort Worth neighborhood near the now-defunct Fort Worth Elevator and Warehouse facility want the grain silos on site demolished, describing them as an “eyesore.”
The abandoned grain silos at 3700 Alice St. near the Worth Heights neighborhood were originally constructed between 1924 and 1926. Fort Worth Elevator built the silos with two head houses, one standing 10 stories tall and another 15 stories, according to Fort Worth Architecture.
Office and service buildings were later added to the site in the 1940s and 50s. The property has been abandoned since the 1980s, local residents told Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The site is currently under the ownership of 3500 Alice Trust. However, its trustee, James Gislason, has not taken any action on the abandoned site, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram. City officials say they have been unsuccessful in contacting Gislason.
A code compliance officer appeared before the Fort Worth Building Standards Commission in 2016 to report on the substandard conditions of the four structures on the site. According to the officer, the buildings had broken windows and doors, cracks in the walls, leaking and sagging roofs, rotted wooden steps, holes in the floors, and other hazards, and were covered in graffiti.
City officials voted to give the owner a period of 30 days to fix or demolish the structures on the site. If not adequately addressed within that time frame, the city would tear it down. However, the city has been prevented from taking action because it does not own the property and has been unable to reach Gislason.
Neighbors in the area want the structures destroyed, as they claim the buildings are unsightly and a danger to any who may enter the property. In 2016, a 17-year-old girl fell to her death after climbing on the silos.
“I’m all for history, but some stuff is not worth preserving,” said local resident Richard Gonzalez, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “That is not worth preserving. That needs to come down.”
“It’s just an eyesore,” he continued.
Others, though, have found beauty in what their neighbors call an eyesore. In a 2014 Facebook post by Michael Rice Photography, the poster said the grain silos had “reached the state of decay where [its] entropy has become beautiful.”
“Though the structure was abandoned by industry many years ago, it remained a massive distinguished landmark, a refuge for wildlife and home to more than one homeless soul,” the post continued.
Jeanette Martinez, the Fort Worth City Council member representing District 11, told Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she would like to see the silos demolished and the area developed, but it would be expensive to do so.
According to Cody Whittenburg, Fort Worth’s assistant code compliance director, the estimated cost to take down the buildings and clear the site is about $1.2 million.
