{"nrhp_refnum":"94000542","name":"Sanger Brothers Building","other_names":["Sanger Brothers","J.C. Penney Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"410--412 Houston St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fort Worth","county":"Tarrant County","state":"TX","lat":32.75434297500004,"lon":-97.33230330099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-06-03","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, with builders Wohlfield and Witt.","why_significant":"It reflects the late-1920s commercial and building boom in Fort Worth driven by oil and railroad wealth, and it housed one of the leading retailers in Texas and the Southwest. It is also an excellent example of a 2-part commercial block with Spanish Colonial Revival detailing and retains a high level of integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1928-29 at 410-412 Houston Street, this five-story reinforced concrete building in downtown Fort Worth was designed by Wyatt C. Hedrick for the Sanger Brothers department store. Ground-floor storefronts with ornate metal canopies sit beneath four upper floors, faced in smooth ashlar and decorated with Spanish Colonial Revival details such as pilasters, shell motifs, balconets and a heavily detailed cornice. The store opened during a citywide building boom fueled by oil and railroad trade. Sanger Brothers closed it in 1931 during the Depression, and it 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. Later it continued in retail use, with a bank lobby and a Pier 1 store added in 1986. Its commercial importance and well-preserved exterior supported listing for commerce and architecture.","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":"Undergoing rehabilitation at the time of nomination, with plans for retail space and multi-family housing units; previously used as retail space and a bank lobby.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.784081-05","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/94000542/6f9fa25047-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000542/6f9fa25047-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanger1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanger1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973498","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q130642437"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/tarrant-county/sanger-brothers-building-94000542/"}