By Gordon Appleman
I have been part of the Westcliff neighborhood for almost as long as I can remember.
My family moved here in 1946. I left for college and law school, spent a short time away for work and lived in a few other parts of Fort Worth over the years. But I kept coming back. My wife, Louise, became a Fort Worthian by marriage in 1964.
Westcliff has changed considerably during those eight decades. In some ways, so has Fort Worth. But many of the things that first made this neighborhood special have stayed with me.
When I arrived in 1946, Biddison Street was about as far south as development went in this part of town. New homes were still going up, and night watchmen rode through the neighborhood on horseback to keep building materials from being stolen. In the evenings, neighbors would gather outside in their yards and visit with one another.
As Fort Worth grew, Westcliff grew with it. Bellaire Circle eventually marked the neighborhood’s western edge, before the Edwards Ranch was developed into what became the Overton area.
Some of my strongest memories are of the everyday places that made Westcliff feel like its own little community.
The Westcliff Shopping Center had just about everything we needed: Moreland’s Drug Store, Worth Food Market and Mott’s Five and Dime. Later came a barber shop, a movie theater and a bank. At either end of the original row of stores were two enormous Green Stamp signs. One of those signs eventually found its way to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
School was another part of the neighborhood’s identity. Before Bluebonnet Elementary opened, children in the area attended Alice E. Carlson. McLean was the junior high school. Then, in 1955, Paschal High School moved from Cantey Street to its present area along Forest Park.
And there were the Saturdays.
I would ride my bicycle to the tennis courts at TCU, then stop for a hamburger at the Spudnut Shop on University Drive next to the TCU Theater.
Those are small memories, maybe, but they are the kind that make a neighborhood a home.
Westcliff has never stood still. TCU expanded southward, acquiring land that included the old Worth Hills Golf Course. Today, that area looks completely different, with athletic facilities and student housing where the golf course once stood. Homes have changed, too. Some of the original houses have been torn down and replaced by much larger ones.
When Louise and I returned to Fort Worth, we looked at several neighborhoods before deciding where to settle. In the end, we came back to Westcliff West.
Something felt right about returning.
The stores at Westcliff Shopping Center are different now, but it remains a place where people can shop, eat and take care of the necessities close to home. The neighborhood itself has remained predominantly residential, even as the city around it has grown and changed.
Of course, growth brings things I could do without. Traffic. Speed bumps. Some places I remember fondly have disappeared, including the golf driving range and putt-putt course on University Drive and the Forest Park stables on Rogers Road.
But Westcliff still has what drew people here in the first place. It is close to downtown, Foster Park and Trinity Park. It is convenient without losing the feeling of a residential neighborhood.
I have watched this neighborhood evolve for most of my life. Buildings have come and gone. Streets have gotten busier. Generations of families have moved in and moved on.
Through all of that change, Westcliff has remained a neighborhood people choose.
I know I did.
Westcliff West
Total population: 4,230
Male: 48.5% | Female: 51.5%
Age
- 0-9: 18.6%
- 10-19: 12.1%
- 20-29: 3.9%
- 30-39: 19.2%
- 40-49: 7.6%
- 50-59: 12.3%
- 60-69: 13%
- 70-79: 7.5%
- 80 and older: 5.9%
Education
- No degree: 0%
- High school: 4%
- Some college: 18.1%
- Bachelor’s degree: 38.4%
- Post-graduate: 39.4%
Race
White: 89.2% | Black: .5% | Hispanic: 7.1% | Two or more: 1.8%
Click on the links to view the Texas Education Agency ratings for schools within 2 miles:
Source: Census Reporter
Gordon Appleman is a Westcliff West resident and lawyer. He is married to Louise Appleman, who’s served on multiple boards, including Tarrant County College.
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