Fry Street Fire

Last updated

On June 27, 2007 the Historic Fry Street area of Denton, Texas was burned down. The area referred to as "Fry Street" is the area between Fry St/Welch St and Oak St/Hickory St. The Tomato, a local pizza place frequented by University of North Texas and Texas Womans University students, was the primary target damaged by the fire but the entire block was demolished by police and firefighters before the next morning. The fire took place the day before the scheduled date for the building's demolition. The area had been at the center of a contentious battle between Save Fry Street and United Equities Inc. [1]

Contents

Background

Houston based developer United Equities Inc. bought most of the commercial lots on and around Fry Street, with plans to raze them in exchange for "upscale" businesses. On May 10, 2006 word began to spread around town of the purchase, and students began to organize a group called Save Fry Street with flyers and the Internet. [2] Protests by residents and current and former University of North Texas students angered by plans to raze and redevelop the area began and would last over a year until the fire.

The Tomato restaurant closed on May 13, 2007 along with Bagheri's Italian Restaurant, Java Flakes, Texas Jive, Naranja Cafe, the Spirit Station and Andy's Hair Spot. [3] On June 22–23, Habitat for Humanity of Denton County hosted an auction of building materials salvaged from buildings slated for demolition. Overnight, vandals defaced a 1980s-era mural, portions of which had been auctioned off for $1,600. [4] [5] On June 25, workers began to clear the buildings, ripping out the insides. [3] Local protesters began to squat inside the emptied-out Tomato, despite the organization "Save Fry Street" asking protesters not to do so.

The fire

The Fry Street Fire was set around 11 p.m. [6] Hundreds of students were at the bars in the area, and watched the fire. More students gathered after the news had reached them. The 22-year-old man accused of torching The Tomato in protest of the redevelopment surrendered to fire marshals and posted bail on July 11, 2007.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aubrey, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Aubrey is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,006 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Draper, Texas</span> Town in Texas, United States

Draper, formerly Corral City, is a town in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 27 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denton, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 20th-most populous city in Texas, the 177th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewisville, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Lewisville is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Denton County with portions extending into Dallas County. As one of the Mid-Cities within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the 2020 census reported a population of 111,822.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of North Texas</span> Public university in Denton, Texas, US

The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. UNT's main campus is in Denton, Texas, and it also has a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas. It offers 114 bachelor's, 97 master's, and 39 doctoral degree programs. Established in 1890, UNT is one of the largest universities in the United States. As of Fall 2023, UNT reached a record enrollment with 46,940 students, making it the largest university in Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the third largest public university in Texas, following Texas A&M and UT Austin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Medical Center</span> Business district and neighborhood in Harris County, Texas, United States

The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a 2.1-square-mile (5.4 km2) medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrated in a triangular area between Brays Bayou, Rice University, and Hermann Park, are members of the Texas Medical Center Corporation—a non-profit umbrella organization—which constitutes the largest medical complex in the world. The TMC has an extremely high density of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Ward, Houston</span> Neighborhood of Houston in Harris, Texas, United States

The Fifth Ward is a community of Houston, Texas, United States, derived from a historical political district (ward), about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Downtown. Its boundaries are Buffalo Bayou on the south, Jensen Drive on the west, Collingsworth Rd on the north, and Lockwood Drive on the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fouts Field</span> Stadium in Texas, United States

Fouts Field was a stadium at the University of North Texas, located in Denton, Texas. Its primary use from its opening in 1952 until 2010 was as the home field for North Texas Mean Green football. Over its 59-year history, Fouts Field was the college home of players such as Joe Greene, Abner Haynes, Steve Ramsey, and Steve Anderson, who would later gain worldwide fame as pro wrestler Steve Austin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Hotel (San Francisco)</span> Residential hotel in San Francisco

The International Hotel, often referred to locally as the I-Hotel, was a low-income single-room-occupancy residential hotel in San Francisco, California's Manilatown. It was home to many Asian Americans, specifically a large Filipino American population. Around 1954, the I-Hotel also famously housed in its basement Enrico Banduccci's original "hungry i" nightclub. During the late 60s, real estate corporations proposed plans to demolish the hotel, which would necessitate displacing all of the I-Hotel's elderly tenants.

The Selwyn School is an independent, coeducational day school located in Argyle, Texas. Founded in 1957, the school educates grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12. An individualized, experiential approach to education is the cornerstone of a Selwyn education.

Christopher Jon Largen was an American award-winning journalist, novelist, social satirist, public speaker, and filmmaker, known for his iconoclastic writings on health and public policy, and his efforts to reduce child abuse. Largen's work is featured in hundreds of news outlets and literary journals, including: Village Voice, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Nashville Scene, The Hill, Lone Star Iconoclast, Creative Loafing, Fort Worth Weekly, LA Weekly, and a syndicated column for The Washington Post. He died of a heart attack in December 2012 at the age of 43.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Building implosion</span> Method of demolition

In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings. Despite its terminology, building implosion also includes the controlled demolition of other structures, like bridges, smokestacks, towers, and tunnels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Texas Mean Green football</span> College football organization

The North Texas Mean Green football program is the intercollegiate team that represents the University of North Texas in the sport of American football. The Mean Green compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the American Athletic Conference. They are coached by Eric Morris, who was hired as the new head coach of the Mean Green on December 13, 2022. North Texas has produced 24 conference championship titles, with twelve postseason bowl appearances and four appearances in the former I-AA Playoffs. The Mean Green play their home games at the DATCU Stadium which has a seating capacity of 30,850.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drag (Austin, Texas)</span> Street in Austin, Texas

The Drag is a nickname for a portion of Guadalupe Street that runs along the western edge of the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DATCU Stadium</span> College football stadium in Denton, Texas, United States

DATCU Stadium is a college football stadium located at the north junction of Interstate 35E and Interstate 35W in Denton, Texas. Opened in 2011, it is home to the University of North Texas (UNT) Mean Green football team, which competes in the American Athletic Conference. The facility replaced Fouts Field, where the school's football program had been based since 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denton Community Theatre</span>

The Denton Community Theatre was a local theatre company located in Denton, Texas in the United States. It serves as one of the oldest community theatres in the North Texas area having been in existence since 1969. It is located at the historic Campus Theatre on West Hickory Street. In 2020, it merged with another local theatre company to form a new company - Theatre Denton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of North Texas College of Music</span> Public school

The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school among the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. It developed the first jazz studies program in the nation, and it remains one of the top schools for jazz. As one of thirteen colleges and schools at the University of North Texas, it has been among the largest music institutions of higher learning in North America since the 1940s. North Texas has been a member of the National Association of Schools of Music for 85 years. Since the 1970s, approximately one-third of all North Texas music students have been enrolled at the graduate level. Music at North Texas dates back to the founding of the university in 1890 when Eliza Jane McKissack, its founding director, structured it as a conservatory.

The Folk Music Club was an organization founded in 1963 at the University of North Texas that attracted student musicians, several of whom went on with other performing artist to define a Texas music and cultural movement in Austin that grew to national prominence and left a legacy that endures today. Its student members included Spencer Perskin, Steven Fromholz, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Michael Martin Murphey, and Eddie Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Nicholas Croatian Church (Troy Hill, Pennsylvania)</span> Former Catholic church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Saint Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church was a Roman Catholic church located at 1326 East Ohio Street in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Croatian Catholic parish of St. Nicholas was established in 1894 as the first Croatian Catholic parish in the United States, in the city of Allegheny, now Pittsburgh's North Shore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinn Hall</span> Building in Denton, Texas

Guinn Hall is an American residence hall at Texas Woman's University, and is the tallest building in Denton, Texas. Named for the 6th president of Texas Woman's University (1950—1976) the co-ed dormitory faces University Avenue.

References

  1. "Set ablaze, then razed: Bulldozers move in after arson destroys Fry Street landmark". Denton Record-Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  2. Emotions mix over changing neighborhood Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine - Denton Record Chronicle
  3. 1 2 Consequences of Fry Street Archived 2008-04-20 at the Wayback Machine - Denton Record Chronicle
  4. Saving Faces Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine - Denton Record Chronicle
  5. "Fry Street mural has new home". North Texas Daily. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  6. "Cause of The Tomato fire still unknown". North Texas Daily. Retrieved 2009-09-26.[ permanent dead link ]

33°12′55″N97°08′43″W / 33.2152°N 97.1453°W / 33.2152; -97.1453