Tarrant County State Bank Building

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Tarrant County State Bank Building in Grapevine. Now, some buildings just hold space. They go up, they stand there, they come down, and nobody writes a word about it.

But every once in a while, a building lives enough lives to earn a little attention, and this one on the marker? It's earned it. The brick structure you're looking at was constructed in 1897.

That's the starting gun. For its first stretch of existence, it served as retail space; goods moving in and out, the ordinary commerce of a growing Texas town. That went on until 1921, when the Tarrant County State Bank came along, purchased the building, remodeled it, and made it their own.

A bank gives a building a certain bearing, don't you think? A seriousness of purpose. And this one wore it well.

Then came 1947, and the building changed hands and character again; this time becoming the offices of the Grapevine Sun newspaper. From banking to headlines. From ledgers to lead type.

Now, whatever it was holding on the inside, the outside of this building has always made a statement. It's built in Classical Revival style, and it means business about that. Four Classical pilasters march across the facade, supporting a dentilled cornice of stone up top.

The parapet steps upward in brick, finished with stone coping and detail. And right in the center, there's an inset entry (like the building is inviting you in while simultaneously reminding you it was here long before you arrived, and plans to be here long after). Constructed in 1897.

A bank by 1921. A newspaper by 1947. Three lives, one building, and every brick of it still standing to tell the tale.

What the marker says

Constructed in 1897, this building served as retail space until it was purchased and remodeled by the Tarrant County State Bank in 1921. It became the offices of the Grapevine Sun newspaper in 1947. Displaying Classical Revival style elements, the brick structure features a central inset entry, stepped parapet of brick with stone coping and detail, and four Classical pilasters supporting a dentilled cornice of stone.