Every May, during National Preservation Month, Historic Fort Worth, Inc. releases a list that’s equal parts love letter and distress call. The nonprofit’s “Most Endangered Places” program — more than a decade strong — isn’t just about aging buildings. It’s about memory, place, and the stories that make Fort Worth Fort Worth. The 2025 list, announced this month, is particularly pointed: a full half of this year’s designations are Fort Worth public schools — many of them architecturally and historically significant, all of them facing uncertain futures.
Historic Fort Worth bills the list as an educational and marketing tool, but its impact runs deeper. The idea is simple: raise awareness before it’s too late. Properties that make the list are often suffering from extreme neglect, lack of landmark protection, or looming development pressure. Once highlighted, these places receive increased attention, potential assistance, and a better chance at survival. Past campaigns have helped rally support for the Fort Worth Public Market, the Ridglea Theater, and parts of the Stockyards.
But this year’s entry is unusual for another reason: schools. Five Fort Worth ISD campuses—some slated for closure, others simply at risk — join churches, a historic cemetery chapel, and a New Deal-era stadium in a sobering inventory of what could be lost.
The Fort Worth ISD announced in February that it was considering multiple school closures amid declining enrollment and state budget cuts. At least one of those — S.S. Dillow Elementary — will close after the 2024–25 school year. Built in 1937 with Public Works Administration funds, Dillow was named for Samuel S. Dillow, a civic leader and bank president in the Polytechnic area. The school’s Mediterranean Revival architecture, with additions by Easterwood & Easterwood Architects, reflects New Deal optimism in brick and tile…