West 7th Street construction uncovers century-old remnants of Fort Worth history

An excavator positioned in the middle of West 7th Street tears through the roadway’s concrete as cars pass by, their drivers unaware that a piece of Fort Worth history is peeking out beneath the rubble.

Red bricks and traces of streetcar tracks were revealed during recent construction work on West 7th Street, which has long been a thoroughfare to and from downtown Fort Worth.

Photos from the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries’ Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection show West 7th Street had a brick roadway in the 1950s, similar to those seen on Camp Bowie Boulevard and Main Street.

One photo from the 1920s shows a streetcar line on West 7th from downtown headed west and in photos from the 1930s the tracks can be seen in the middle of the roadway.

Fort Worth’s brick roadways are part of the city’s culture, said Jerre Tracy, Historic Fort Worth executive director.

“Students in Fort Worth high schools and universities still ‘Hit the bricks’,” she said. “That phrase passes from generation to generation.”

In the 1980s and 90s a San Francisco-based architectural firm who led historic surveys of the city suggested Fort Worth’s downtown brick streets could qualify for a National Register Historic District designation, Tracy said.

The designation would likely mean federal grants for maintenance work, however the segment on West 7th Street has not been registered, said Chris Florence, Texas Historical Commission communications director.

The portions of the street under construction will not be preserved and the bricks will be removed, said Jeffrey Allen, Department of Transportation and Public Works communications specialist.

Roadway improvements on West 7th started in late May 2021 and are expected to be complete at the end of October.

The project includes the construction of landscaped medians and bike lanes from University Drive to Trinity River Bridge along with two new traffic signals and five upgraded signals.