What Fort Worth looked like in the 1960s

Fort Worth in the 1960s was a city on the move. Neighborhoods expanded, new buildings replaced old ones, major institutions grew, and national events touched the city in ways that left permanent marks on its history. From the busy streets of downtown to the quiet residential blocks spreading outward in every direction, Fort Worth showed all the signs of a city with confidence in its future. The photos below capture that decade in remarkable detail — a visual record of a Texas city building itself up block by block.

Downtown Fort Worth in the early 1960s was a dense mix of banks, hotels, retailers, and office buildings. The skyline was still relatively low compared to what would come later, but construction activity was constant. Streets like Main Street buzzed with foot traffic, and the city’s financial institutions competed for prominent corners and visible signage.

Banking was serious business in Fort Worth during this era. The Fort Worth National Bank and the Continental National Bank both made major investments in the downtown core. The Continental National Bank building, designed by local architecture firm Preston M. Geren & Associates, stood 30 stories tall and was the tallest building in the city from its 1957 opening until 1974. By 1961, it was already a defining feature of the skyline.

Retail anchored downtown life in ways that shopping malls later replaced. Leonard’s Department Store was one of the biggest draws in the city, while smaller shops filled in the gaps along the main commercial corridors. Hotels like the Blackstone and the Downtowner Motor Inn served business travelers and visitors passing through a city that was increasingly connected to the wider region.

The Western Hills Hotel served the city’s west side and was a well-known gathering spot during the decade. Alongside these larger establishments, local businesses like the Blue Star Restaurant on Camp Bowie Boulevard and Motheral Printing Company on South Main Street kept the city’s commercial fabric alive at the neighborhood level.

Construction was everywhere. The Tarrant County Convention Center project required tearing down existing buildings, including the Victor Hotel at 1312-1/2 Main Street, which was demolished in 1965 to clear the site. Road work expanded the city’s capacity for cars, and new overpasses and freeway connectors changed how residents moved through Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram building at 7th and Taylor Streets was one of the most recognized structures in the city. As the home of one of Texas’s most prominent newspapers, it stood as a symbol of Fort Worth’s media presence throughout the decade.

Fort Worth and Dallas both operated competing airports during this period. Meacham Field served Fort Worth for general aviation, while the Greater Southwest International Airport — also known as Amon Carter Field — positioned itself as the region’s major commercial hub. The airport held a grand opening in 1963, with aerial views showing three planes on the ramp ready to welcome passengers.

Rail travel remained a part of Fort Worth life well into the 1960s. The Texas & Pacific Railway Station was still in operation, and named passenger trains like “The Texas Eagle,” the “Texas Zephyr,” and the “Sam Houston Zephyr” continued to pass through or originate from the city. Families like the Balcoms were still boarding trains as late as 1969.

The Carling Brewery was one of Fort Worth’s notable industrial operations during this era. By the mid-1960s, it was a major employer with a sprawling facility that included a brewhouse, powerhouse, cereal feeders, packaging lines, and warehouse rail docks. The brewery represented the kind of large-scale manufacturing that gave the city a stable economic base.

Defense manufacturing was another pillar of Fort Worth’s economy. Convair’s factory in the city produced the B-58 Hustler, a supersonic jet bomber that was cutting-edge military technology at the time. Carswell Air Force Base sat on the city’s west side and maintained a strong military presence throughout the decade. Bell Helicopter, operating under Textron, built UH-1 Iroquois helicopters — known widely as Hueys — that shipped directly to U.S. troops fighting in Vietnam.

The Fort Worth Stockyards remained active through the 1960s. Aerial views from 1960 and 1961 show the full scale of the complex, with pens of sheep and cattle, auction facilities, and surrounding infrastructure all still operating at capacity. The 1960 Fort Worth Auction Market opening at the stockyards marked another chapter in the city’s long cattle trading history.

Residential growth pushed outward in all directions. New subdivisions like the Hi-Crest section of Western Hills Addition offered model homes designed to appeal to young families. Neighborhoods like Westwood, Everman Park, and Arlington Heights had distinct characters, from modest ranch-style homes to larger properties like the Van Zandt Mansion on Penn Street. The city’s housing stock in the early 1960s was diverse — from Dutch Colonial residences to modern brick construction.

New construction around Ridglea Country Club in 1960 showed how affluent neighborhoods were expanding, while aerial views of Seminary South captured the growth of suburban shopping. The city was also investing in infrastructure beyond roads — the Trinity Park dam project began construction in 1969, and freeway systems like the north/south freeway and the famous Fort Worth Mixmaster interchange were already defining how the city moved.

The arts and culture scene in Fort Worth was growing alongside the city’s physical expansion. The Amon Carter Museum of Western Art was under construction in 1960, and Casa Manana produced popular theatrical performances throughout the decade, including a 1961 staging of the Wizard of Oz and a 1965 show titled “An Enchanted Evening.” The Fort Worth Opera Association staged ambitious productions, including a 1968 performance of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” featuring Placido Domingo and Raina Kabaivanska. Will Rogers Coliseum hosted everything from livestock shows to rock concerts, including the Rolling Stones arriving in an armored car for a 1965 performance.

The Fort Worth Children’s Museum added its own charm to the city’s cultural life. In 1967, director Helmuth Naumer was photographed riding an old-fashioned bicycle, a light moment that reflected the museum’s spirit of playful education. Across the city, schools, hospitals, and civic institutions were also expanding to keep pace with a growing population.

Sports gave Fort Worth residents shared moments of excitement and community. TCU Horned Frogs football drew large crowds to Amon G. Carter Stadium, and in November 1960, Texas Longhorn fans famously climbed the goalposts after their team beat TCU 12 to nothing. Fort Worth also had its own minor-league hockey team, the Fort Worth Wings, and River Crest Country Club hosted nationally recognized golfers like Betsy Rawls.

Social life in Fort Worth took many forms. The Assembly Ball at Ridglea Country Club was a fixture of the city’s social calendar in both 1961 and 1968. Congregation Ahavath Sholom on West Myrtle Street represented the city’s religious communities, and community events like the 1968 Cub Scout Olympics at Harmon Recreation Center brought neighborhoods together. Farm worker strikers picketed at Buddies Grocery in 1969, reflecting labor tensions that reached even into everyday Fort Worth commerce.

The holiday season brought its own traditions. Downtown buildings were outlined in Christmas lights in 1967, and lightning strikes were captured over the Fort Worth community Christmas tree in Burnett Park in 1966 — dramatic photographs that showed nature upstaging the festivities in spectacular fashion.

Two national political figures with strong Fort Worth ties made significant appearances in the city during the decade. On September 13, 1960, then-Senator John F. Kennedy and his running mate Lyndon B. Johnson rode together through Burnett Park after a campaign rally, greeted by cheering supporters. Seated between them in the convertible was Judge Sarah T. Hughes, who would later administer the presidential oath to Johnson following Kennedy’s assassination.

On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy made his last public appearance in Fort Worth before flying to Dallas. He arrived at Carswell Air Force Base with First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Congressman Jim Wright, Governor John Connally, and Mrs. Connally. The next morning, Kennedy addressed a large crowd gathered outside Hotel Texas, then attended a breakfast in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom. Hours later, he was assassinated in Dallas.

Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was himself a Fort Worth native. After Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby two days after the assassination, he was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fort Worth. The funeral drew mostly reporters rather than mourners, and the photographs taken there are among the more somber images in the city’s historical archive.

Lighter moments existed alongside the serious ones. Castleberry High School seniors hoisted a live heifer cow onto the roof of their school building in 1962 — a prank that made the news and captured the mischief of a generation. The Fort Worth Club underwent remodeling, with workers hauling rugs up to the 12th floor in 1960. The Worth Theater used a fire truck to adjust its marquee sign in 1964. These small scenes give texture to daily life in a city that was always in motion.