A hotel has operated in this building (opening photo) since 1907, although not always under the same name. The current name, Stockyards Hotel, was adopted after the complete renovation of the historic Thannisch Building on the famous corner of North Main Street and Exchange Avenue, the true gateway to the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District. According to legend, the famous 1930s bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde once stayed here in a room overlooking North Main Street.
Special events held at the Stockyards always try to offer something for children as well. The presence of goats recalls the days when all kinds of farm animals came to the Stockyards for livestock shows. Older children will enjoy the wooden maze located directly east of the Livestock Exchange Building, where the cattle pens once stood.
To a child visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards, this is, of course, a bull that needs to be caught with a lasso! Many special events held at the Stockyards on weekends offer activities for children. Younger visitors can even sit on this bale of hay without falling off.
What a change. Instead of the horses and mules that once filled Mule Alley between the two large barns, tourists now find additional parking spaces here. While the two towers at the entrance to Mule Alley date from 1912, architectural replicas of them are appearing throughout the Stockyards. The newest towers flank the entrance from East Exchange Avenue to Rodeo Plaza, between Finchers' Western Wear and Cowtown Coliseum.
In the early 20th century, although cattle sales were the largest business in Fort Worth, local residents tried to ignore the animal odors—no one paid them any attention. Today, people gather excitedly and wait for nearly an hour along the curb of East Exchange Avenue to see the twice-daily Fort Worth Herd cattle drive make its way down the street. They are not accompanied by too much odor, but they occasionally leave behind a small “gift” as proof that they passed through.
Looking west along East Exchange Avenue, the white building is the old Stockyards National Bank, now Finchers' Western Wear. Just beyond Finchers' is the Stockyards Hotel, located on one of the four famous corners at the intersection of North Main Street and Exchange Avenue. When someone says, “Let's meet at North Main and Exchange,” everyone knows it will be at the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The Rodeo Shop, known for its bronze sculptures and other souvenirs, is located on the ground floor of Cowtown Coliseum. In the late 1970s, these premises served as the offices of the newly established North Fort Worth Historical Society, which was founded in 1976. Members volunteered here and answered questions from tourists, who were gradually beginning to visit.
Police officers working at the Stockyards ride horses, of course! What else would they do in the westernmost part of Fort Worth?
