Hotel Texas

Hilton Fort Worth

Company type	Hotel
Industry	Hospitality
Founded	1920
Headquarters	Fort Worth, Texas , United States
Products	Hotel accommodations
Website	www.hilton.com/en/hotels/dfwhfhf-hilton-fort-worth/

The Hilton Fort Worth stands as a landmark hotel situated in the heart of downtown Fort Worth, Texas.

History

Originally constructed from 1920 to 1921 under the name Hotel Texas, the building was the work of architects Sanguinet & Staats alongside Mauran, Russell, & Crowell, with Westlake Construction Co. serving as the builder. In 1963, a two-story addition was completed on the north side, featuring a bank at street level and a spacious 25,000-square-foot ballroom above. A significant historical moment occurred on November 21, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie occupied Room 850; that same day, Kennedy delivered his final speech in the Crystal Ballroom shortly before his assassination.

The hotel was rebranded as the Sheraton-Fort Worth Hotel in 1968 and underwent extensive remodeling by 1970 to coincide with the debut of the Fort Worth Convention Center, solidifying its role as the convention center’s official headquarters hotel. Renovations transformed the original two-story lobby into two separate floors incorporating additional meeting spaces while reducing guest accommodations to 289 rooms. Additionally, a new eight-story annex with 230 rooms was built above a five-level parking structure across Commerce Street, linked to the main building via a skybridge.

In 1979, the Sheraton closed for an extensive $33 million refurbishment overseen by architects Jarvis, Putty, Jarvis. The lobby was returned to its initial two-story configuration, interiors were entirely revamped including an atrium added between rear wings, and period-style lighting fixtures were installed on upper floors. The property reopened in January 1981 as the Hyatt Regency Fort Worth, later transitioning to the Radisson Fort Worth in 1995. During Radisson’s tenure, lighting on the upper levels was discontinued.

Between 2005 and 2006, further interior upgrades were completed prior to its conversion into the Hilton Fort Worth, which officially launched on April 1, 2006. The annex constructed in 1970 remained unrenovated and was sold while vacant. Presently, Hilton Fort Worth offers 294 guest rooms and has restored illumination to its upper-level lighting.

This property earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1979; an expansion of its boundary in November 2014 incorporated the annex. In 2016, it became part of the Historic Hotels of America program.

An interesting historical note is that famed American writer Jim Thompson worked as a bellboy at Hotel Texas during Prohibition while still attending high school.

Annex

Plans were introduced in 2015 to repurpose the vacant annex built in 1970 into a residential complex containing 140 apartments. By 2020, these plans evolved toward reopening it as a hotel under Marriott International’s Le Méridien brand. The Le Méridien Fort Worth Downtown officially began operations in August 2024.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Tarrant County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Tarrant County

External links

• Hilton Fort Worth
• Hotel Texas – Fort Worth Texas Historical Commission
• Architecture in Fort Worth: Hilton Fort Worth Hotel (Archived)