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Fort Worth Then and Now
Text by Carol Roark
Contemporary photographs by Rodger Mallison
Fort Worth evokes fond memories of its places, people,
and events. Residents and sojourners alike have
favorites that help define what makes the city special
for them. Perhaps the favorite site was a downtown inter-
section where the "people-watching" was grand, or some
remember a school playground with its impressive array
of jungle gyms and slides. Although the details fade
with time, memories of a location don't change sub-
stantially—the way the place looked, a sense of how people
used it, or the feelings it evoked. In reality, though,
things do change, whether the alterations involve only minor
details or major changes to the landscape, movement patterns,
and buildings.
Fort Worth Then and Now explores the changes that have taken
place in the city by comparing a historic photograph with a
contemporary image taken at the same place or in the same
setting. Over time, some scenes have changed so substantially
that they are scarcely recognizable, yet others retain many of
the elements that would have made them familiar to current re-
sidents and to past generations. This approach allows the
reader to compare memories with a view made generations ago
and evaluate the two.
Take down the overhead freeway, and most people familiar with
Fort Worth would recall a Lancaster Avenue that was more human
in scale and flanked with buildings that are local architectural
landmarks. Yet, the historic photographs of this gateway boule-
vard show an odd mix of pleasing urban design and gritty
commercial practicality. The pictures lead to speculation: will
the Lancaster Avenue of memory be-come a reality once the proposed
landscaped boulevard is substituted for the concrete hulk that
has defined the corridor for the past forty-four years?
Fort Worth Then and Now follows the tradition of "repeat photography"
projects that have examined the working methods and images of Western
explorer photographers such as William Henry Jackson and Timothy
O'Sullivan. Historians, preservationists, cultural geographers, and
genealogists have also become interested in the technique to document
the effect time has had on the urban landscape. Richly illustrated with
historic photographs and new images destined to become benchmarks for
Fort Worth in 2001, Fort Worth Then and Now is certain to work its own
magic in shaping memories of the city.
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CAROL ROARK is the manager of the Special Collections Division
at the Dallas Public Library and the author of Fort Worth's
Legendary Landmarks (TCU Press, 1997) and the Catalogue of the
Amon Carter Museum Photography Collection. She has a special
interest in both historic preservation and photography and the
ways in which historic photography enriches our understanding
of the built environment. Rodger Mallison is a photographer for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He, too, has a passion for historic
images, and his personal work centers on architectural photography.
Mallison took the photographs for Angels on High (TCU Press, 1999). Both
live in Fort Worth.
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