Urban Black House in Fort Worth’s Rock Island Merges Future And Past

More than half the battle in bringing an interesting Fort Worth Friday is in the hunt. Sometimes I pore through hundreds of listings to find a property with something distinctive. Something that separates a property from the rest.

This week’s exhaustive search paid off and I lucked out with a listing that is a stand-out in so many ways.

On the market is the iconic (sorry, there was no better word) Black House at 1105 Peach Street in Rock Island, one of the oldest residential areas of Fort Worth.  Rock Island, in this case, refers not to geography but to a railway that once ran through the area. Amazingly the Black House, built in 1915, is in a cluster of other survivors within walking distance of downtown Fort Worth, whose skyline is visible from the front porch.

After the austere Victorian, almost Bates Motel look of the exterior, the interior comes as a shock. The experience is one of time travel from a distantly remembered past into a modern urban loft. There is a prevailing rusticity throughout the 2,040-square-foot house. Can’t you hear the creak of those 107-year-old floors?

The ground floor has been completely opened with only the contrasting directions of the century-plus floorboards remaining to demarcate the original rooms. In opposition to the dark exterior, white predominates in the interior. 

The space has been stripped to the essentials, with exposed ductwork, industrial light fixtures, and track lighting completing the urban loft ambiance. Obviously not an ideal family home this, is the domain of a romantic bohemian with imagination. 

One of the beneficiaries of the rework is the large kitchen, which is large enough to accommodate a commercial range. This space is so unique both in location and atmosphere that it would convert, city permit permitting, into a romantic restaurant.

A wide staircase leads to the three bedrooms and one full bath and one half bath upstairs.  Off the landing is a balcony with views of downtown Fort Worth. The principal bedroom is another surprise with deeply saturated, all-over elephant hide painted walls, ceilings, and floors. Both baths have been updated.

The house is attractively priced reflecting the transitional character of the neighborhood which seems to have hooked at least one urban pioneer as the status of this property is “pending.”

Desirae Cruz Su Kaza Realty, LLC has priced  1105 Peach Street at $375,000.