Museum Place, the 12-acre, multi-use urban village under development near the Fort Worth Cultural District, will serve as a majestic gateway to the city’s west side by virtue of its location at the foot of Camp Bowie Boulevard – a thoroughfare that figures prominently in the history of Fort Worth.

Established During World War I

Camp Bowie was created by the United States War Department in 1917, as America was mobilizing for World War I. Named for Capt. Jim Bowie, one of the defenders of the Alamo, the camp was home to the U.S. Army’s 36th Infantry Division and encompassed more than 2,000 acres.

Relations between the camp and its civilian neighbors were cordial from the very beginning. When the 36th went on parade in April 1918, more than 225,000 onlookers lined the route, making the event quite likely the largest such spectacle ever staged in Fort Worth.

From Camp Bowie’s opening in August 1917 until November 1918, when the Armistice ending the war was signed, more than 100,000 “doughboys” received their basic training there. After the war, the camp became a demobilization center, processing more than 31,000 men for re-entry into civilian life before it officially closed on August 15, 1919.

From Soldiers to Homeowners

In 1918, a nationally known urban planner – George E. Kessler – mapped out his vision for the future of the area west of downtown Fort Worth. One of the key pieces of infrastructure Kessler’s plan called for was a grand, nine-mile-long arterial street traversing the Arlington Heights neighborhood along a northeast-southwest axis.

Originally, the street’s name was simply Arlington Heights Boulevard. In 1919, it was re-christened Camp Bowie Boulevard, in tribute to the Fort Worth-trained soldiers who fought and died in the war. To reciprocate, the camp’s commanding officer supervised the planting of some 700 trees in the area. It was the first of many beautification projects that would be undertaken in the decades ahead.

When the Army departed, it left behind water, power, sewer and telephone lines. Fort Worth citizens quickly took advantage of these amenities, and home construction on the west side boomed.

Black Gold, Red Bricks

The petroleum industry played a major role in the flourishing of Camp Bowie Boulevard, which formed part of the primary route between downtown Fort Worth and the gushing oil wells of West Texas.  Businesses sprang up to serve the needs of well-paid roughnecks, and in 1925 the street welcomed its first automobile.

The era’s primary mode of transportation, however, was Fort Worth’s trolley system, for which the boulevard was a vital transit corridor. Trolley cars traveled along what has since become the boulevard’s landscaped median, connecting the west side to downtown.

Though the street was very busy, throughout the early 1920s it remained unpaved. That changed in the late 20s and early 30s, when many thousands of red bricks were laid to provide a more durable driving surface. These high-quality bricks were manufactured 70 miles west of Fort Worth in Thurber, Texas. Bricks from these same kilns also came to grace other splendid Texas streets, including Congress Avenue in Austin, Seawall Boulevard in Galveston and Exchange Avenue in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

A Cultural District Blooms

After a period of decline during World War II, the boulevard experienced a revival in the 1950s as dozens of “mom-and-pop” retail establishments and new motels opened for business. The Western Hills Motel, in particular, was a magnet for visiting celebrities and high-rollers from across the nation and around the world.

Also built in the early 1950s were the initial anchors of what would become the world-renowned Fort Worth Cultural District – the Fort Worth Art Center (later to become the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth) and the Children’s Museum (now the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History). The Amon Carter Museum, designed by celebrated architect Philip Johnson, opened in 1961. The Kimbell Art Museum, a Louis Kahn-designed masterpiece, followed it in 1972. The latter two institutions went up just across the street from the Will Rogers Center, an outstanding example of Art Deco design that opened in 1936.

During the decade of the 70s, Camp Bowie Boulevard’s myriad shops, stores and restaurants made it the focus of much of Fort Worth’s retail and social activity. Subsequent decades, however, brought competition from shopping malls and a slowing of growth. The boulevard’s luster again faded for a time.

More recently, however, Camp Bowie Boulevard has experienced a remarkable resurgence. In 2002, the Cultural District expanded with the addition of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and the opening of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth’s magnificent new home. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is near completion of a completely new facility designed by Legoretto & Legoretto of Mexico City. The Kimbell Art Museum recently announced plans for a new building to expand its current facility designed by Renzo Piano of Italy. Ongoing beautification of the boulevard itself, along with a host of new residential and retail developments, has enabled Camp Bowie to regain its former prominence as Fort Worth’s street of dreams.

Museum Place will take this renaissance to a new level, bringing new residents, visitors and businesses to west Fort Worth.