{"nrhp_refnum":"14001035","name":"Sanger Brothers Building (1925)","other_names":["Meacham's Department Store"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"515 Houston St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fort Worth","county":"Tarrant County","state":"TX","lat":32.754061000000036,"lon":-97.33122099999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2014-12-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story department store building at 410-412 Houston Street in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, built in 1928-29 and designed by architect Wyatt C. Hedrick. It is also known as the Sanger Brothers/J.C. Penney Building.","why_significant":"The building reflects the economic and physical growth of Fort Worth in the late 1920s, driven by oil and railroad investment, and represents Sanger Brothers, a leading Texas retailer. It is also a well-preserved example of a 2-part commercial block with Spanish Colonial Revival detailing, designed by one of the region's top architects.","narrative":"Built in 1928-29 at 410-412 Houston Street in downtown Fort Worth, this five-story reinforced concrete building was designed by Wyatt C. Hedrick as a second downtown store for Sanger Brothers, a leading Texas retailer. Its ground-floor storefronts have decorative metal entry canopies, and four upper floors are faced in smooth ashlar with Spanish Colonial Revival details around windows, atop pilasters and at the cornice. It was built during a boom fueled by oil and rail trade, when the city promoted a five-year construction program. Sanger Brothers closed the store in 1931 during the Depression, and the building sat vacant until 1943, when it became a large USO center for World War II servicemen. J.C. Penney bought it in 1946 and operated a store there until 1970. The exterior retains a high level of integrity, and the building is recognized for its role in Fort Worth commerce and as a strong example of its commercial building type.","period_of_significance":"1929-1943","architect_builder":"Hedrick, Wyatt C. (architect); Wohlfield and Witt (builders)","architectural_style":"Commercial Style: 2-part commercial block, with Spanish Colonial Revival detailing","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as a department store use; the form states it was undergoing rehabilitation for retail space and multi-family housing units.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.969015-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/9734/40973498/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/94000542.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/14001035/e7eb7c9e18-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/14001035/e7eb7c9e18-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SangerBrothersBuilding3_(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:SangerBrothersBuilding3_(1_of_1).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":null,"wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999987"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/tarrant-county/sanger-brothers-building-1925-14001035/"}