THE BUILDING
THE CONTEXT:
1924 TO THE PRESENT
In 1924, construction began on Ku Klux Klan Klavern No. 101’s
Auditorium as a monument to hate and terror. Then—as well as now—members of targeted cultural groups needed to pass the building to access the North Side and surrounding areas when traveling to and from downtown Fort Worth.
The building was a daily reminder of power and politics; the looming edifice was yet another form of policing behavior, movement, culture, and proving again how architecture is capable of violence.
Timeline
1924
The cornerstone is laid for Ku Klux Klan Klavern No 101’s Auditorium (then known as 1006 N. Main Street). The building was designed by Earl Glasgow and destroyed by fire when it was either bombed or suffered an electrical fire.
1925
Ku Klux Klan Klavern No. 101
rebuilds the damaged building
with five tall windows on the
front facade and a scenery fly
loft in the rear for theatrical
performances, including racist,
sexist, and anti-immigrant
minstrel shows.
1927
The building was sold to
Leonard Brothers Department
Store and was subsequently
used as a concert hall, a
wrestling arena, and a shelling
and packaging warehouse
space for Ellis Pecan Company.
2004
The building was purchased
by Sugarplum Holdings, L.P.,
a group of private investors,
to be used as the rehearsal
studios for Texas Ballet Theatre.
This building is a spatial manifestation of our national legacy of violence and racial terror. As the United States moves towards dismantling systems of oppression, this project is an opportunity to declare our collective agency in designing a just future for all.
In the map:
One of the last remaining purpose-built KKK buildings.
