University West

HISTORY

The University West neighborhood is located three miles southwest of the Fort Worth Central Business District. Originally part of the University Place Addition, it was included in the 1885 M. J. Arocha Survey, the 1856 A.B. Connor Survey, and on the western end, in the 1887 J. M. Basques Survey. It is bordered by Park Hill Drive on the north, University Drive on the east, Cantey Street on the south and Walsh Court on the west. The neighborhood association includes the area north of Park Hill, but that is listed as Colonial/Bellaire in this book.

Much of the land just west of University Drive was owned and platted by R. L. Rogers and Charles Gorman. The land near Walsh Court was owned by the R. Vickery Estate, with C. W. Gibson as trustee. Some of the land around Shirley and Wabash streets was developed in 1924 by a company called Bryant's School. The president of this company at that time was W. Cullen Bryant.

Some of the street names in this area have been changed from the original names which reflected the owners of this land. Cantey Street was originally Gibson Street, Park Hill Drive, west of University Drive, was West View Street, Highview Terrace was Brandon Street, and Stadium Drive was Archer Street.

Farther south, Stadium Drive was called Edgevale until the TCU football stadium was built on this street in 1929. The other streets had the names they have today by the early 1930s and in fact, may have changed almost immediately before they left the drawing boards. However, the original plats registered at the Tarrant County Courthouse have the earlier names. The surveyor for the platting of the development was Brookes Baker, a surveyor in Fort Worth since 1880.

The City of Fort Worth acquired the land comprising Forest Park in 1909, and Texas Christian University moved to its present location in 1910. After a street car line was routed from the Central Business District to the campus, developers took an interest in the area. Some of the streets were not paved, however, until after 1930.

Originally, children in the area attended elementary school in the Brite College Building at Texas Christian University. TCU Dean, Colby Hall, requested they be moved, and in 1926 after annexation by the city of Fort Worth, the Alice E. Carlson Elementary School on Cantey Street was built for $25,000. This elementary school was expanded in 1934 and 1953, serving University West school children until its closing in the early 1980s. It has again opened as the Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center.

NEIGHBORHOOD DESCRIPTION

Prominent architectural styles in the neighborhood include prairie bungalow and Tudor cottages, ranging on to ranch style homes which filled in the vacant lots in later years. East of Stadium Drive you will find sidewalks and old street lights.

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS

University West has an active neighborhood association participating in the following activities:

Tree planting, neighborhood directories, special events for children, crimewatch, neighborhood newsletter, social and informational programs for the general membership. They successfully prevented a high rise retirement home from being built in their neighborhood, concerned that such a structure would detract from their home values and would cause traffic problems on neighborhood streets.

SCHOOLS

Elementary
Tanglewood, 3060 Overton Park West, 922-6815

Middle
W. P. McLean, 3816 Stadium Drive, 922-6830

High School
R. L. Paschal, 3001 Forest Park Blvd., 922-6600

OTHER INFORMATION

Nearest Fire Station: 3501 South Hills Ave., 871-6800, emergencies 911
Nearest Medical Facilities: All Saints Hospital, 1400 Eighth Ave., 927-6102
Nearest Post Office: Trinity River Station, 4450 Oak Park Lane, 926-3497
Nearest Grocery Shopping: Westcliff Center
Nearest Mall: Hulen Mall
Nearest Park: Forest Park
City Council District Number: 9
School District Number: 5
Voting Precinct Number: 1081

WILLIAMS TREW

FORT WORTH REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE

Williams Trew is a Fort Worth real estate brokerage specializing in residential real estate and offering some commercial real estate properties throughout Tarrant, Parker and Johnson Counties and serving the following cities: Aledo, Azle, Arlington, Benbrook, Burleson, Crowley, Fort Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Haltom City, Keller, Kennedale, Mansfield, Mid-Cities, North Richland Hills and Watauga.