Downtown Fort Worth Observation/Theme Tower

[CTroyMathis]

Well, why not?

Thoughts?


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Here's my very brief train of thought:

1. Doesn't have to be ridiculously tall or even taller than a current building.
2. Attraction, destination point, focal point, public interest, etcetera.
3. Hell, they're cool. Not everyone's a fan, but, everyone knows to take visitors to them.
4. It's not necessarily 'copying' another city's feature. If it was, it was already done before the majority of this forum was born. People just have to get past that as their only reason to be anti-.
5. Multi-purpose. Just like any modern one, telecom. use/restaurant/cliche revolving if nec./observation/bonus entertainment options not always seen in every observation/theme towers.
6. There's always something someone want's to look at from above, even if it's not a Seattle/a Calgary/and so on... Go back to No. 2.
7. Again, why not?

[freewaytincan]

It does sound like a good idea. The only kind of "observation" Fort Worth had was with Reata, and that's certainly not the case anymore.

[rantanamo]

I know we're talking FW, but I'd like to see one in or on the west/south side of the TRP.

As for FW, I think the same would be cool. Maybe right on the otherside of the Lancaster bridge. Sort of like the Space Needle giving one a good look at DT.

[CTroyMathis]

^That would be a cool location.

(I was actually going to mention a second one in Dallas as well, Rant. Also, I saw this rendering years ago that looked like the "Stargate" - only extremely massive - somewhere online envisioned for a SE Asia city I believe. I always thought in a light-hearted way, hey that we be a cool gateway/observation get-up on the other side of The River from downtown somewhere. A stellar photo-op for downtown and the possible future TRP effects seen through the arches; a possible symbolic gathering point, etcetera.)

[rantanamo]

I've always hoped that the other CityPlace tower would be built with an ob deck on top. Then a twin be built on I-35 on the OC side of the TRP with an observation deck with an arch between them. Though it might just look cool. Would provide great views as condos or as executive offices. Much cheaper land to own right now. Could make someone lots of money in ten years.

[CTroyMathis]

Speaking of this, there is/was one going up (at least proposed at some point) in Mexico. Maybe Monterrey, not sure. I thought that one would look very cool in Fort Worth. I'll try to re-find the images.

[CTroyMathis]

Well that didn't take long - site: http://www.torrena.com.mx/

It was Guadalajara, the other place I was thinking it might've been.

[Geaux Tigers]

What a cool web site. I'm not so sure how something like this would fit into the "down home" feel of downtown Ft. Worth, but perhaps when the new Trinity River plan gets moving, I'll think differently.

[CTroyMathis]

I was considering that point of view as well re: the feel of downtown Fort Worth. I think if done proportionally (scaled down to 550-650ft) and with respect to immdediate surrounds - it could really look good. A good pair of buildilngs for it to be put somewhere near could be the City Center buildings - say a bit east northeast of it.

Or, more secluded (with a more sweeping skyline view) like for instance what rantanamo suggested. I'd have to work it out of my head and into a photoshop project to see how it might look.

[dfwcre8tive]

What a cool web site. I'm not so sure how something like this would fit into the "down home" feel of downtown Ft. Worth, but perhaps when the new Trinity River plan gets moving, I'll think differently.

What kind of structure would fit better in Fort Worth? A giant oil derrick?
Oh, wait, we've already got one of those...

Since they are knocking down the old smokestacks north of the river, why not replace them with something taller and add a new focal point for North Fort Worth... just don't block the view of the courthouse!

[RobertB]

How about something that would echo the Art Deco elements of the Post Office and the T&P station, and locate it across (new) I-30 from the T&P station? That would make it accessible by foot from the station, as well as from the Convention Center. Having Reunion Tower connected to Union Station has been a big plus for me, when taking the kids on a weekend train ride.

I'm imagining something similar to the tower feature at the Will Rogers center, but I don't have enough architectural knowledge to imagine if that would work well when scaled up. I don't think it would be round, though, so you couldn't have a rotating restaurant (though a non-rotating restaurant/lounge would surely be part of the design).

[dfwcre8tive]

How about something that would echo the Art Deco elements of the Post Office and the T&P station, and locate it across (new) I-30 from the T&P station? That would make it accessible by foot from the station, as well as from the Convention Center. Having Reunion Tower connected to Union Station has been a big plus for me, when taking the kids on a weekend train ride.

I'm imagining something similar to the tower feature at the Will Rogers center, but I don't have enough architectural knowledge to imagine if that would work well when scaled up. I don't think it would be round, though, so you couldn't have a rotating restaurant (though a non-rotating restaurant/lounge would surely be part of the design).

I like that idea a lot and I think that would be the perfect location. It could even be in line with Main Street so you would get a nice view toward the courthouse with surrounding buildings. It could have a rotating restaurant set within the square tower... then you'd have a nice overhang to shade as well.

[CTroyMathis]

I also like Auckland's Sky Tower.

On Robert's theme, one interesting idea could be twin art deco-styled, inlayed obelisk-like towers with a semi-rectanglular 4- or 5-level pod up top in between, with sweeping rounded protrusions on the broad sides. The obelisks would be turned 45 degrees vice squared-off w/the semi-rectangular pod. The obelisks would continue to extend up a little further past the pod to a continuously narrower point, a mini Rockefeller-like or mini squared-off set-back vice a smooth rounded spire point. Any antennae array would be on the roof of the pod, however. The obelisks should absolutely make a good engagement with the surrounding street-level architecture with a light or medium shade neutral tone; and, as you look up to the pod, it plays off the glass and steel of other notable and taller downtown towers. Perhaps an opaque blueish/greenish hue with exposed brushed chrome/steel horizontal pinstripes accenting the levels of the pod. . . Uplighting could also be phenomenal across the expanse of the two deco/moderne inlayed obelisk 'towers.'

(Brainstorming. . .)

[sterling]

I have always wondered where the fort in Fort Worth was. What about a hallucinatory take on a fort's "Lookout Tower"? Granted, I'm thinking of the one on F-Troop reruns (but larger), and it might ring truer than another Eiffel Towel (which also seems not to have suffered too much by not being round OR rotating).

[John Peter Smith]

The, "fort" sat on the bluff above the Trinity River, generally right around where the old courthouse sits today. It's my understanding that it was a wooden fort, sort of like on F-Troop. I don't know that it had any type of tower, or if that is even know for sure.

[John T Roberts]

The original "camp" was actually in the river bottoms at the junction of the Clear and West Forks of the Trinity River. That would have put it somewhere in the vicinity of the RadioShack headquarters. The camp did not stay there very long. The soldiers found conditions in the river bottoms to be unbearable. There were bugs, diseases, and frequent floods at that location. Within one year of the setting up the "camp", the army moved to the top of the hill. The bluff offered its own problems -- more wind and extreme temperature changes. It was on top of the bluff where the army facility built more permanent buildings and a city developed around the fort. The approximate location of the permanent fort was just to the west and northwest of the Tarrant County Courthouse. Texas de Brazil, a couple of commercial buildings, a parking lot, and the Tarrant County Criminal Justice and Criminal Courts Buildings site on the site of the old fort. I think your description of the set of F-Troop is probably a good way to convey how the fort looked. In the drawings and models that I have seen of the fort, there hasn't been a lookout tower included. They probably didn't need one. They had the view to the north and northwest afforded by the bluff, so they could see into the river bottoms. That point of land is the highest in downtown, so they could see to the east, south, and west from that point.