Shelton Building

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Shelton Building. Now, some buildings just sit there. This one kept reinventing itself, and the story starts, as so many good ones do, with a man acting on behalf of somebody else.

Back in 1900, a fellow named Robert G. Johnson had this building constructed right here in Tarrant County. He wasn't building it for himself, mind you; he was acting on behalf of his wards, the children of Albert D.

Evans. So right from the very beginning, before a single customer walked through the door, there's a layer of responsibility baked into the bricks. The first tenant was G.Y.

Smith, who leased the place and opened what he called the Daylight Store, a general merchandise establishment. You can almost picture it. Two stories of goods and commerce, sunlight pouring in, the whole operation humming along.

Then came 1910, and with it a new owner and a new ambition. John M. Shelton purchased the property, and apparently two stories weren't going to cut it anymore; he went ahead and added a third floor right on top of the original structure.

Bold move. And that same year, 1910, S.H. Kress and Company moved in as tenants and stayed put for twenty-six years, all the way through to 1936.

That's a long run. Then 1937 brought major architectural remodeling, not just a coat of paint, mind you, but a real transformation of the structure itself. And when the dust settled, another variety store moved in: McCrorys.

One building, one corner of Tarrant County, and a whole string of lives and businesses that called it home. The Shelton Building kept changing, and somehow, kept standing.

What the marker says

This building was constructed in 1900 for Robert G. Johnson, who was acting on behalf of his wards, the children of Albert D. Evans. It was first leased to G.Y. Smith, who opened the "Daylight Store", a general merchandise establishment. In 1910, after the property was purchased by John M. Shelton, a third floor was added to the original two-story structure. From that same year until 1936 the building was leased to S.H. Kress and Company. Following major architectural remodeling in 1937, the structure was occupied by another variety store, McCrorys.