TA24-J F-Pages - Flipbook - Page 11
Of Note
Fort Worth’s National
Juneteenth Museum
Planned to Open in 2025
RENDERINGS BY BIG-BJARKE INGELS GROUP & ATCHAIN
by Audrey Maxwell, AIA
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021,
155 years after it was first celebrated. The holiday marks June 19, 1865, when Major General
Gordon Granger and his Union soldiers landed in
Galveston and shared with Texans General Order
Number 3, which proclaimed all slaves to be free.
The announcement came two and a half years after
President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
A major force behind the passing of the bill recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday is Dr. Opal
Lee, a long-time resident of Fort Worth and community advocate for the city’s Historic Southside
neighborhood, which is located two blocks south of
downtown. Among her many accomplishments, the
most notable may be her 1,400-mile walk from Fort
Worth to Washington, D.C., in 2016 at the age of
89 to convince lawmakers to recognize the holiday.
In her own neighborhood, she has championed the
preservation of Juneteenth, seeing the celebration
grow from a community picnic to a multiday celebration complete with a parade, 5K run, festival,
job fair, and more.
Dubbed “the grandmother of Juneteenth,” Lee
has also operated a local Juneteenth Museum at
the intersection of Evans Avenue and Rosedale
Street since 2005 and long petitioned for its expansion. Last summer, a design for the new facility
was unveiled. The new 50,000-sf building has big
ambitions as it strives to build on Lee’s legacy, educate the public on Juneteenth history, and serve as
The design for the National Juneteenth Museum mirrors the nova star — representing new beginnings — that can be
found on the Juneteenth 昀氀ag.
an economic boost to the Historic Southside neighborhood. The proposed facility will house more
than exhibit space. The building program includes
a 250-seat theater, black box 昀氀exible space, business
incubator, and food hall. The city of Fort Worth
has pledged $15 million to the project, and longtime backer Jarred Howard — named CEO of the
forthcoming museum this spring — is spearheading
a campaign to raise the balance of the project’s $70
million estimated cost.
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was hired as lead
architect, partnering with the local team of KAI
Enterprises. A few design teams preceded them,
and what began as plans for a modest museum
expansion developed over time into a more ambitious vision. Douglass Alligood, AIA, NOMA,
BIG’s partner in charge on the project, recalls his
team’s first meeting with the community: “How
many promises had the community leaders heard?
I wear black all the time, I talk fast, I’m from New
York — that alone annoys a lot of people. Others
would come in thinking they know something, but
we showed up ready to listen. We wanted to hear
what they had to say, what they’ve been through,
what their viewpoint is on their own neighborhood.” Simultaneously, the design team did their
own research on the neighborhood, learning about
its vibrant history, important Black pioneers, and
its economic decline after highway construction in
the 1960s divided the neighborhood from downtown. Their approach facilitated trust and garnered
important feedback for the museum’s vision.
1/2 2024
Texas Architect 9