Hell's Half Acre: A CBSN Dallas-Ft. Worth Special

[@consuelor3453]

Proud Fort Worth native. Born and raised. ❤️🤍💙

[@VahidMusictx]

Hells half acre is in Fort Worth. Not Dallas Fort Worth. Just Fort Worth. Stop putting the two cities together. Dallas has nothing to do with hells half acre.

[@LidiaExplores]

I really enjoyed this deep dive. I just visited the downtown Fort Worth area a few days ago, and I wanted to learn more after seeing the Wild Bunch sculpture and the Hell's Half Acre historical markers. Forth Worth has such a multifaceted history. With the Flatiron Building, the JFK Memorial, the Water Gardens, and a couple other historical landmarks, the downtown area is an interesting area to explore.

[@doomscrivener]

I was born at Carswell. Grew up around Ridgmar and the Northside of town. Spent many days wandering around the Stockyards, the museum and Omni on Montgomery, events at Will Rogers, etc. Cowtown is the only home I’ve ever had even though I’ve lived all over. My sister is buried at Mount Olivet. I used to walk there as a kid to see her.

[@ignaciotorres8970]

Kenny never took a sip of that bourbon 🤣

[@MrKramer13]

Molestina

[@johnnyenloe]

It just moved out to Azle on the Jacksboro Highway

[@DSoSJohnH]

A belated Welcome to Azle. I hope it's treated you well!

[@ronn773]

In 1969, at the age of 12, my family moved 2.7 miles south of this area. After my paper route, I could go into the bars, play pool, & have a cold beer. We called the men lingering in Hell's Half Acre, "Wineos." Think Skid Row. I never saw any ladies of the evening. By 2000, the City of Fort Worth had cleaned the city up a lot. Not sure who, but someone deserves a lot of credit!

[@keithbarrett4630]

A neat tidbit I've read was that Short paid for Courtright's funeral...which was very well attended. The White Elephant on the north side of town was considered to be an upscale gambling establishment for gentlemen.

[@OutOfTheAether]

I’ve been interested in this after I read about it online.

[@bobsteadman9728]

This was my old stomping ground. This was home. Although you had other cowtowns there was no other place like it. Still miss the Stock Show & Rodeo followed by a few libations at the White Elephant (It's been there since the beginning of Ft. Worth) or Filthy McNasty's. Now I'm stuck in northern Virginia just outside DC. Other than Civil War history there's really no character here.

[@maxcox7097]

Hattie, Luda and May street in Fort Worth are named after madams.

[@jaylucien669]

Bring it back!

[@OutOfTheAether]

Wtf no

[@D1TemplarKnight]

It is here, you just have to dig a little deeper.

[@billlong9109]

Brothels are still around the metroplex

[@IvanGarcia-eu5un]

@@billlong9109where I can’t find them

[@RustyCrawford-cc1zy]

Have you ever thought about some time in the Is future ur daughter may find out That you were down there, paying women to put their mouth on your wee.Wee. I'm sure it won't. Feel very good being Thought of as a squirrel. By your own kin

[@progrocker2112]

Local history is so fun. Shit I was looking up Pantego today and the fact that it and another city are encapsulated by Arlington but live on is amazing. For me it's the namesake of my alma mater, Lawrence Bell, that produced the Huey, ubiquitous in Vietnam.

[@paulfisher9554]

Too bad they didn't mention all of the natural springs that run through HHA, which is the reason all of the bath houses and brothels were there.

[@AbolishFamilyCourt]

Where's all the natural springs? I live here... They must be tucked far away or dried up

[@JCII100]

Ya. Where we’re the springs?

[@carywest9256]

@@AbolishFamilyCourt They dried up, because of human pressure. Nothing last forever, ya know.

[@irvingcastillo2502]

I’m only here cause of the band Fugitive song called Hells half acre

[@mow4607]

Richard's book is a great read!

[@Wellch]

Location was nowhere near Dallas.

[@carywest9256]

30 miles in Texas is near! That's the distance betwixt downtowns.

[@VahidMusictx]

@@carywest9256Fort Worth is a completely different city than Dallas. Doesn’t matter how close or far. They are still 2 different cities. Fort Worth is now the 11th largest city. Catching up to Dallas population in about 8 years.

[@ludovicleprinceroyal8721]

@@VahidMusictx Fort Worth ratchet as hell

[@jeffreym.keilen1095]

Reminds me of "The Combat Zone" in Boston.

[@SuperPanther34]

I used to work at a coffee shop in Fort Worth where I got to serve Mr. Smart. This is pretty cool to see him be a historian, much less on this Fort Worth documentary.

[@QuarrellaDeVil]

8:27 Nearly a decade earlier, firebrand evangelist, J. Frank Norris, declared war on Hell's Half Acre and many of the prominent businessmen who owned land there. His mouth had him in trouble for ages, and he claimed self-defense when he shot and killed someone in his office down on Throckmorton. There's a P.F. Chang's there now. The famous Wild Bunch photo was taken in Fort Worth; hence, the sculpture. The story is basically that the gang had their photo taken on a whim, and the studio owner had no idea as to who his visitors were. A bit later, authorities saw this example of the studio's work hanging in the window, and they said "Wait a second ..." Be sure to yell "There is no sanctuary" when you're next in the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

[@Emocar2]

Waiting for the time travelers comments

[@maxcox7097]

I thought Hell's half acre was where the convention center is now. Whatever was where the convention center is now, was totally filthy and gross, I watched them tear it down in the 60's. My father called it the slums, you could see inside the rooms when they tore the buildings down, it was total filth. I remember heavily stained floral wallpaper, probably from tobacco smoke and other things.

[@AbolishFamilyCourt]

Still very true in Fort Worth today

[@progrocker2112]

Mostly at Bucks.

[@ivebeenswank]

how do you know about this? maybe if you spent less time whoring & focused on paying your child support/alimony you wouldn't be so worried about "abolishing the family court"

[@waterywatery]

There probably WASN'T a conscious effort on the part of the fountain designers regarding the water symbolizing the "washing away of past dirt". The Water Gardens were designed by two New York architects. If that was your suspicion, Brendan Smart, why didn't you just interview the fountain designers to verify? If they are not still alive, surely there was a dedication ceremony that may have eluded to this idea. No? Presumptuous.

[@richardcoronado4081]

It's time to start separating Ft Worth and Dallas. Tho, they are very close by 30 miles, they are two very different cities. Start showing some respect to each city. Both are unique in each their own way.

[@mykelltaylor8441]

The way y’all try to make it seem cool. Why not talk about all the terrible things that happen to blacks then.

[@Ambuscade94]

Victim mentality 🙄

[@sweetlanakay]

Yes, I agree with you

[@RR64434]

There were terrible things but that isn’t what this video is about.

[@thehardnesschannel1605]

Do you know if there was bug hole $ex? If so how much? How much was a blowy? Handy? And how much was the fish taco? This video just keeps talking about crap

[@JustinShafer]

Wow!

[@paulenciso]

Ken what????

[@nickbavera362]

if my last name was Molestina , and i was going into sho-biz , i think id change it.

[@TIMMYSIPRANO]

GET A LOAD OF THE HOST'S NAME = KEN MOLES'TINA ..LOLOLOL

[@rowdyyates8626]

Ft.Worth has so much cd history? What is “CD” history?

[@rsh300]

Bless your heart. It's seedy.

[@rowdyyates8626]

@@rsh300 Bless your little heart. You poor thing. You never grew up to become an adult.

[@rsh300]

@@rowdyyates8626 Yep, you're right

[@machinist1958yahooco]

civil defense

[@CourtneyKing-ln7kq]

Seed ee , got it ?

[@Umanflyumanfly]

From North to South , its where The The Convention Center is on 9th - To I-180 is at the Underpass/Lancaster Drive . The Total Space today is - The Ft Worth Water Gardens . ( Still just as useless as it was back then ) . You had to walk a good 2 city blocks to enter into the Area from The Train Station . The Acre was one of Many stopping entertainment off points for Chisolm trailsmen from San Antonio , Waco , Red River Station , And Kansas from 1800 on. Ref: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chisholm_Trail