Fort Worth's Mule Alley and Historic Horse & Mule Barns

Built in 1912, Fort Worth's historic Horse & Mule Barns are part of a brick barn complex perpendicular to East Exchange Avenue near the Fort Worth Stockyards. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District, the two brick barn buildings once housed horses and mules who were sold at market or who belonged to the staff at the nearby stockyards. "Mule Alley," the street that runs between the two brick barn buildings, was recently updated as part of an adaptive reuse project completed in 2022. The design for the project included a reimagined "streetscape" with ambient lighting, restaurant patio dining, office and retail space, boutique shopping, and music venues that would attract both tourists and locals.

Designed by the St. Louis-based architectural firm of Klipstein & Rathmann, the Fort Worth Horse & Mule Barns were built along "Mule Alley" in 1912. The barns once housed animals who were sold at market throughout the city, state, and country. Mules are a hybrid equine species that emerged from breeding a horse with a donkey; they were often used as pack animals or for agricultural labor. On Mule Alley in the early 1900s, companies such as the Ross Brothers and the W.O. Rominger & Co. lodged horses and mules before shipping them to various parts of the southwest and beyond. A faded commercial sign preserved on the rear of one of the brick barns overlooking Mariner Creek behind Mule Alley still states: "W.O. Rominger & Co." Some of the animals also belonged to the staff who worked at the nearby Fort Worth Stockyards, containing cattle, hogs, and sheep. In the twentieth century, millions of horses and mules who resided here were sent overseas for military purposes during World War I and II.

In 2019, a sculpture depicting four American Paint Horses (a popular breed in Texas and other parts of the world) was relocated to Mule Alley. Titled Legacy of Color, the larger-than-life bronze sculpture of a stallion, two mares, and a foal was created in 2002 by the artist Marrita McMillian Black for the 40th Anniversary of the American Paint Horse Association (APHA). The APHA hosts the largest single-breed horse show in Texas, an annual showcase of American Paint Horses. The adult horses in the sculpture are each seven feet tall (or twenty "hands" tall) at their withers. From 2002 to 2019, Legacy of Color was on display in front of the APHA's Fort Worth office building on Meacham Street. After the bronze sculpture was relocated to Mule Alley, it was installed in the grassy median of the street. In conjunction with the sculpture’s relocation, the offices of the APHA were also moved to the historic Mule Alley in 2019. They are now located in one of the original brick barn buildings, updated through an adaptive reuse project completed in 2021.

The two brick barns are jointly considered a Texas Historic Landmark, as well as a Fort Worth Highly Significant Endangered Landmark. In addition, they are contributing structures within the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District, which has been designated as a City Historic District and also as a National Historic District, with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The updated Mule Alley was reimagined by Bennett Partners, an architectural firm hired by Stockyards Heritage Development. The adaptive reuse project has since won multiple awards. Mule Alley has been described as a heritage landmark similar in significance to San Antonio's River Walk. After each barn building was redesigned for new commercial uses, artisanal signage was added to highlight the history of the buildings. The brick barns each have a tower with a red tile roof, connected by a roof bridge. Mule Alley currently contains offices, restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, music venues, and other entertainment. String lighting illuminates the area at dusk to create a unified streetscape, and carriage rides invite visitors to enjoy the ambiance by day or night.

APHA 2002 Annual Rport, APHA. Accessed April 20th, 2023. https://ads.apha.com/Sitefinity_Website_Images/forms/PDFFiles/annualreports/02annualreport.pdf.

Fort Worth Stockyards Horse and Mule Barns, Bennett Partners. Accessed April 20th, 2023. https://bennett.partners/portfolio/fort-worth-stockyards-horse-and-mule-barns/.

History, Fort Worth Stockyards. Accessed April 20th, 2023. https://www.fortworthstockyards.org/history.

Horse & Mule Barns, Fort Worth Architecture. Accessed April 20th, 2023. https://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/north/horse-mule.htm.

Stockyards Historic Resources Survey, Historic Fort Worth. July 1st, 2016. Accessed April 20th, 2023. https://historicfortworth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Stockyards-Historic-Resources-Survey-reduced.pdf.