Aluminum grates have been removed from all sides of the tower so it can be relit from within.
The iconic Pioneer Tower at Will Rogers Memorial Center is ready to reveal a high-tech facelift to coincide with the opening of the nearby Dickies Arena.
After decades of darkness, the tower will once again light up and serve as a beacon for Fort Worth’s Cultural District. A relighting ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at 3401 W. Lancaster Ave. Guests should gather on the lawn between Lancaster Avenue and the ticket booths at the foot of the tower. Parking is available onsite.
The celebration culminates about a year of construction on the tower. Crews have removed the aluminum grates from all sides of the 208-foot tower so it can be relit from within. The grates were installed sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The tower’s new LED lights can be changed to celebrate local events, such as purple for a Horned Frogs victory or red, white and blue for the Stock Show.
Infrastructure-related work on the tower included replacing a limestone band, which was determined to be structurally unsound, and the lower glass blocks on the north side of the tower.
Total cost of the project is $4.7 million.
In addition, Fort Worth Public Art is developing video projection mapping at Pioneer Tower. The technology turns building facades into surfaces for video projection.
About Pioneer Tower
Noted Fort Worth architect Wyatt C. Hedrick designed Pioneer Tower and the adjacent theater and auditorium buildings for the Texas Centennial celebration in 1936. Hedrick used a mixture of Classical Revival and Moderne styles. All three buildings are constructed with buff-yellow brick and are significant as one of the most outstanding examples of Art Deco architecture in Texas.
