THE STOCKYARDS RUINS |
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That may be true. Semi-credible sources say the Stockyard Ruins are the remains of the Swift-Armor meat packing factory. This seems likely the truth as a stairway with a big S marks our entry to the Stockyard Ruins. And now rumor has it that the Stockyards Ruins are being used as a prison, housing mostly Panamanian prisoners and a few Americans. The prison is called Sona. We discovered the prison on Thursday, November 1, 2007 after having a nice lunch of chile rellenos at Esperanzas in the Stockyards zone. We had no clue while enjoying lunch that we were about to discover a prison. |
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Outside Sona Prison in the Stockyard Ruins, formerly the Swift Armor Meatpacking Plant. We are looking at the main prison here with the concertina wire enclosure which prisoners can walk into to speak to visitors. |
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Go to our Blog to read about
BIG plans for the Stockyard Ruins in Will The Heritage Conceptual Plan Improve Or Destroy The Fort Worth Stockyards? |
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The main guard tower by the visitor's entry station. There was only one guard on duty when we took these photos of the "prison". And he appeared to be sleeping in a late model American made vehicle. | |||
"OFFICINA DE VISITA" says the sign on the visitor's entrance building. The chain link fence has a sign saying "CORRIENTE ELECTRICA" with an English version below it saying "ELECTRIC CURRENT". | |||
Water had to be pumped in from the
Stockyards via a temporary pipeline that crosses the road that runs on
the west side of the prison. The temporary pipeline was not our first
clue that something was going on in the Stockyard Ruins. Before the
pipeline we saw a tower that we'd not seen before, a lookout type
tower that we later realized was a guard tower. The water must be
needed for the palm trees you see in this photo. The prison must have
wanted palm trees to make the Panamanian prisoners feel more at home.
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A cement stairway with a big 'S' still clearly visible, as if someone regularly freshly paints the old emblem. Long ago, cattle was brought to the Stockyards and processed at this Swift-Armor plant. It is not known if hot dogs were made here. Or corn dogs. |
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The classic Stockyard Ruin. It is not known what brought these buildings to this sad state of total ruin. Or why they are allowed to remain this way, so close to Fort Worth's most famous tourist attraction. Perhaps it is because the Stockyard Ruins have become an attraction in their own right. Does any other major city have such a monument to its past? |
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Between the ruin on the left and the ruin on the right we see the most recent ruin in the Stockyards, the now closed Spaghetti Warehouse, a longtime Stockyards restaurant which was housed in the old Swift-Armor offices. | |||
Update: The old Spaghetti Warehouse has now been renovated into offices for one of the many gas drilling companies poking holes in Fort Worth. |
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This Stockyard Ruin would appear to be a bit dangerous. | |||
This part of the Stockyard Ruins doesn't look all that different from still viable industrial areas of Fort Worth. |
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The Stockyard Ruins cover what appears to be a large amount of land, going unused, with big open spaces between the ruined buildings. All this unused land would seem to be a great place to move the Fort Worth Stock Show, out of its current location in the oddly named 'Cultural District' and into Fort Worth's real Cultural District, where it belongs, and where it used to be. |
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It's time to leave the Stockyard Ruins, before we get caught trespassing, exiting down the stairs we entered on. |
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Visit our Eyes on Texas Blog
to make a comment about the Stockyards Ruins |
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HOME TEXAS TOWNS PARADES | |||
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Fort Worth's Lost Heritage | |||
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