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All the United States Texas Fort Worth Fort Worth Water Gardens

Fort Worth Water Gardens

A modernist landscape of water and sci-fi concrete.

Fort Worth, Texas

Added By
Clinton
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The Active Pool   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
The Active Pool   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
The Aerating Pool   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance to the Water Gardens   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
The Mountain   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
The Quiet Pool   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
The Mountain   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
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Had some extra time while working in Texas in 2017 and took a look   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
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The Quiet Pool at the Fort Worth Water Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas (United States).   Michael Barera / Atlas Obscura User
The Fort Worth Water Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas (United States).   Michael Barera / Atlas Obscura User
The Active Pool at the Fort Worth Water Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas (United States).   Michael Barera / Atlas Obscura User
The Aerated Pool at the Fort Worth Water Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas (United States).   Michael Barera / Atlas Obscura User
  Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
  Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Designed by architect Philip Johnson, the Fort Worth Water Gardens are a modernist landscape of vortex-like pools and futuristic angles.

The park opened in downtown Fort Worth in 1974 on a just over four acre site. The area itself used to be known as Hell's Half-Acre when it was full of brothels and saloons, and the Water Gardens were a way to revitalize the area.

A quiet, meditation pool is surrounded by trees where waterfalls cascade down the walls. Nearby is an aeration pool where 40 nozzles spray 871 gallons of water every minute.  The mist from the nozzles creates the illusion of a water bridge connecting one side of the walkway to the other.  In the middle of the park is a "Mountain" where terraced concrete rises up in a modernist peak.

The centerpiece of the Water Gardens is the Active Pool, where thousands of gallons of water cascades down a 38-foot series of steps and platforms into a vortex. If it appears like a sci-fi landscape, you're not far off, as it was used in a scene in the 1976 film Logan's Run. 

The park experienced a tragedy in 2004 when four people died in the pool attempting to save one another. The pool was closed and safety features were added and the pool's water level was lowered to ensure that the sense of descending into a void in the Active Pool is just an illusion of the landscape. 

Related Tags

Architectural Oddities Fountains Brutalism Architecture

Know Before You Go

There is meter parking available nearby.

Community Contributors

Added By

Clinton

Edited By

ionaswitchblade, cyantoast, Thewanderingmeatball, ctphon...

  • ionaswitchblade
  • cyantoast
  • Thewanderingmeatball
  • ctphon
  • Allison
  • doddmelcher
  • notoriousFIG
  • Michael Barera
  • Darrell Powers
  • Jason Michael Walker
  • jlord7
  • brandybegood
  • carrierossetter1978

Published

December 2, 2009

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  • http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/water.htm
Fort Worth Water Gardens
1502 Commerce St
Fort Worth, Texas, 76102
United States
32.747749, -97.32663
Visit Website
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