The site of Monday’s incident, the 20-story, 245-room Sandman Signature Fort Worth Downtown Hotel, is located in a building that reflects both the cattle and energy industries key to the city’s fortunes.
The W.T. Waggoner Building was built by Texas rancher and oilman W.T. Waggoner (1852-1934). Waggoner’s family began what eventually became the 535,000-acre Waggoner Ranch near Vernon. It was sold for an estimated $725 million in 2016 to Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams.
Waggoner had already built a sizable cattle empire when oil was discovered in 1903 on his ranch about 75 miles north of Fort Worth. Eventually, he had a home in Fort Worth and was involved in various business affairs here, including as a director of the First National Bank.
He also dabbled in real estate and began plans for a 16-story building in 1918. Four stories were eventually added before the building opened. The building was designed by Fort Worth’s Sanguinet and Staats firm, which also built the Burk Burnett Building at 500 Main St. and the Hotel Texas at 815 Main St. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Many buildings at that time were “overdesigned” for the period, said John Roberts, project architect at Halbach Dietz Architects.
“Steel was a relatively new technology at the time for buildings, particularly in Texas,” he said.
That could help the building withstand the force of the explosion, Roberts said, though he emphasized he has not seen the site since the event.
Waggoner also built the Arlington Downs horse racing track in Arlington before pari-mutuel betting was outlawed in Texas.
W.T. Waggoner’s granddaughter, Electra Waggoner Biggs, also left a mark in Fort Worth. She was a sculptor and created the “Into the Sunset” bronze that depicts Will Rogers on his horse, Soapsuds, that stands in front of the Will Rogers Coliseum.
From 1920 to 1957, the Waggoner building was the home of the National Bank of Commerce and, through a merger, the Continental National Bank. In 1986, Cross Timbers Oil Company, led by Bob Simpson, Jon Brumley and Steve Palko, purchased the building and made it the headquarters of the renamed XTO Energy. The company became a leader in the growth of shale energy and unconventional resource development.
When Exxon Mobil acquired XTO Energy for $41 billion in 2010, it was one of several downtown buildings owned by XTO that was eventually sold off. In 2018, it was acquired by Tom Gaglardi’s Vancouver-based hotel firm, Northland Properties. Gaglardi, who also owns the Dallas Stars hockey team, opened the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Downtown Hotel in March 2023. The architects for the redesign were Merriman Anderson Architects of Dallas. Also opening there in June 2023 was contemporary Asian fusion/sushi restaurant, Musume.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.
