201 S Main St
Fort Worth, TX 76104

The Sawyer Building is an excellent local example of the Two-Part Commercial Block constructed in Fort Worth’s Near South Side. It was built in 1909 following the Great Southside Fire of April 3, 1909. Two-Part Commercial Block Buildings are so named because their facades are divided into two distinct segments, reflecting different uses. Generally two to four stories tall, the first floor was the public area, containing retail stores and the like. The upper floors’ functions were more private, housing such establishments as hotels, apartments, offices, or meeting halls. The Sawyer Building is illustrative of this division of spaces and usage. The 2-story building contained storefronts on the first floor and apartment/hotel rooms on the second. Because the building is located on a corner of the block, it has a third storefront near the east end of the north elevation. The Sawyer Building is located at 201-05 S. Main Street, an important late 19th and mid- 20th century gateway to downtown Fort Worth. It and the neighboring Joyslin Building at 207-11 S. Main Street are the earliest extant examples of the Two-Part Commercial Block on this street that have not had their brick exterior painted. The Sawyer Building is eligible locally for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for its architectural significance. The period of significance is 1909, the year the building was constructed. The Sawyer Building is an excellent example of an early 20th-century Two-Part Commercial Block constructed on Fort Worth’s Near South Side. Typically, these buildings are two- to four-stories high although the extant examples on South Main Street are all 2-story with the exception of one 3-story building at 219 S. Main Street. As the name suggests, a Two-Part Commercial Block is a building with a façade that is divided into two distinct parts. Typically, retail or other types of public-oriented activities were accommodated on the first floor. The upper stories typically were used for less-public activities such as offices or residential space. In examples from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries, the first floor generally contained one or more storefronts with large window openings surmounted by clerestories. This allowed for natural illumination and often created a display area where merchandise could be exhibited. Window openings on the upper floors are smaller and generally featured 1/1 double hung wood windows. Wall surfaces are often embellished with decorative brickwork and upper story windows frequently had segmental arched lintels if constructed before 1910. The Sawyer Building follows this design pattern. The first floor façade was divided into two storefronts. Because of the building’s location, it may have had a beveled entrance at the corner, allowing access to the commercial space located at 201 S. Main. The second storefront accessed 203-05 S. Main. The second floor has segmental arched window openings with stone sills. A corbelled brick cornice highlights the parapet.