engineering

S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas)

S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) rather than just read about it. In short: The Kress Building, also known as S.H. Kress and Co.

Key takeaways

S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Kress Building, also known as S.H. Kress and Co. Building, is a Classical Moderne Art Deco building in downtown Fort Worth. Designed by New York architect Edward F. Sibbert, the five-story Kress building served the “five-and-dime” chain from 1936 through 1960 and was one of the only major construction projects in Fort Worth built using private money during the Great Depression. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. In 2016, the building was converted into downtown housing.

1905-1960: Background and Kress Ownership The S.H. Kress company had a long-established presence in Fort Worth prior to 1936. The national chain of five-and-dimes first arrived in Cowtown in 1905 and since had moved into its third space in 1924. In 1936 it was determined a new structure was needed to handle growing business. Kress architect Edward F. Sibbert's design mimicked much of the flagship New York store’s design while making room for Meso-American accents (such as the stylized Mayan caps above the upper windows) popular throughout Fort Worth’s Art Deco buildings. Other key decorative features included an Italian marble floor and suspended second story ceiling that allowed for an expansive, pillar-less ground floor. A technological marvel for its time, the Kress building was one of the first buildings in Fort Worth to be equipped with a central air-conditioning system. Additionally, a vermin-proof refrigerated room for the store’s confections drew considerable attention from the public. The Kress Company relocated at the end of December 1960 for the suburbs.

1960-2004: Transition Following the relocation of five-and-dime business to a shopping center, the Kress Building housed Heritage Hall (a museum), a religious display, two women’s clothing stores, and the offices of Continental National Bank. In 1973 the building was purchased by Evelyn Clay O’Hara. In 1989 the short-lived “Kress Club” was located on the first floor, followed by the more successful Hyena Comedy Club in 1993. In 2001 the Club relocated to the larger basement of the tower to make room for a growing audience; the Fox and Hound sports bar took over the street level space.

2005-Present: The “Kress Mess” and Mixed-Use Development In 2005 plans to renovate the upper floors of the Kress Building for conversion into downtown loft housing began. The multimillion-dollar project met a considerable financial and logistical challenge early on when a contractor blocked an incinerator shaft. The long-vacant upper floors of the building had been home to thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats, which became trapped between the walls. Dubbed the “Kress Mess” and “Nightmare on Houston Street” by the local press and animal rights activists, 1,800 bats perished while hundreds more, hungry and terrified, flooded through the Hyena Comedy Club and Fox and Hound restaurant, causing thousands in damages and inciting chaos. Volunteers managed to save several hundred stranded and injured bats, which were transported and released at Mineral Wells. Renovations were complete in 2006, although the building was later sold as part of a bankruptcy settlement. In 2007 the Kress Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The tower is currently owned by Mike Karns, CEO of the Firebird Restaurant Group.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas)

In research: S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 1936, National Register of Historic Places in Fort Worth, Texas, S. H. Kress & Co., so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) in simple terms?

The Kress Building, also known as S.H. Kress and Co.

Why does S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Fort Worth, Texas).