{"nrhp_refnum":"01000437","name":"Fort Worth US Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"501 W. 10th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fort Worth","county":"Tarrant County","state":"TX","lat":32.748955514000045,"lon":-97.33411137699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-04-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story (plus basement and penthouse) federal courthouse at 501 West 10th Street in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, constructed in 1933 and dedicated in 1934. It is faced in limestone and designed in a Classic Moderne style.","why_significant":"The nomination ties the building to 1930s federal construction and art programs meant to ease Depression-era unemployment (Criterion A). It also presents the building as a strong example of Moderne architecture used for federal and civic buildings in Texas and Fort Worth (Criterion C). The fourth-floor murals by Frank Mechau are treated as an integral part of the building.","narrative":"Rising five stories above West Tenth Street in downtown Fort Worth, this federal courthouse was built in 1933 and dedicated in 1934. Philadelphia architect Paul Philippe Cret designed it with Fort Worth architect Wiley G. Clarkson, working under the U.S. Treasury Department's Supervising Architect. Its steel frame is faced in limestone, with aluminum grillwork and window moldings drawing on Pueblo Indian, Mayan, Plains Indian and Egyptian motifs. Inside, terrazzo floors, marble wall coverings and ornamental plaster survive in the main public spaces. The fourth-floor court of appeals holds three oil-on-canvas murals by Frank Mechau depicting western themes, including Texas Rangers. The building was a Depression-era project meant to provide jobs and project strength, and it was the only art relief project granted to Fort Worth in the 1930s. Alterations are mostly interior, including a 1994 bankruptcy courtroom on the first floor. It still serves as a courthouse and federal office building.","period_of_significance":"1933-1950","architect_builder":"Paul Philippe Cret (architect, Philadelphia); Wiley G. Clarkson (associate architect, Fort Worth); Louis A. Simon (Supervising Architect, U.S. Treasury Dept.); James Barnes Construction Company, Springfield, OH (contractor); Frank Albert Mechau Jr. (artist)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco/Moderne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a federal courthouse and offices; only the east entrance currently provides public access.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:24.030045-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/9735/40973552/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/01000437.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000437/cb4cd9b71b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000437/cb4cd9b71b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USCourthouse1_(1_of_1).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USCourthouse1_(1_of_1).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973552","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldon_B._Mahon_United_States_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5354019"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/tarrant-county/fort-worth-us-courthouse-01000437/"}