SAVING STRIPLING’S STONE WALL WINS PRESERVATION AWARD
Moving the vintage stone wall erected in 1934 at the south end of Stripling Middle School’s campus took many months of planning and negotiating to pull off. (Photo by Bob Lukeman)
As soon as AHNA member Juliet George heard that the historic retaining stone wall on Stripling Middle School’s campus was going to be demolished to make way for the school’s new addition, she was determined to save it.
A 1968 Stripling graduate, Juliet located an Ohio stonemason who specializes in historic stone work and who was willing to travel to Fort Worth to dismantle the stone wall. Then, she had to figure out where to go with the stones. Enter Bob Byers from Fort Worth Botanic Garden who agreed to take the dismantled stones since they were identical to the Palo Pinto sandstones used in the garden’s former rose garden built in the 1930s. Funding the project was a long and winding road. Juliet was eventually able to get only partial funding from Tarrant County Historical Society to pay for part of the stonemason’s expenses.
For a longer version of this saga, go to Juliet’s story she wrote in Fort Worth Weekly this past April: https://www.fwweekly.com/2024/04/03/carrying-away-the-stones/.
Juliet and her project will be recognized with a Preservation Achievement Award by Historic Fort Worth on October 10, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. at The Woman’s Club of Fort Worth at 1316 Pennsylvania Avenue. This is a ticketed event, so go to historicfortworth.org for more information.
Bravo, Juliet–your passion and tenacity paid off. If anyone would like to make a donation to this project, please email president@arlingtonheightsna.com.
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