Rising 268 ft (82 m) above the corner of Fifth and Main Streets, the Blackstone Hotel towers as the tallest hotel in downtown Fort Worth, right in front of you. Its 23 stories and 284 rooms welcomed guests at the official grand opening on October 10, 1929; the building was constructed in 1929 by cattleman C.A. "Gus" O'Keefe and designed by architects Mauran, Russell. Look up and you’ll see the Art Deco design: terracotta ornamentation and the setbacks on the top floors that give the tower its stepped crown.
For over fifty years the Blackstone operated as a city landmark; its guest list includes Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon, alongside stars such as Bob Hope, Clark Gable, and Elvis Presley. After more than fifty years of use it sat vacant for nearly twenty years before being added to the National Register of Historic Places (Building #84001961) on February 2, 1984 and later restored in the late 1990s. Today it remains in use as the Courtyard Fort Worth Downtown/Blackstone, though locals still call it the Blackstone Hotel.
The terracotta ornamentation and the setbacks on the top floors crown this corner of Fifth and Main, just above you.