Shelton Building
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Constructed in 1900 for Robert G. Johnson on behalf of the Evans children, this Fort Worth building first housed G.Y. Smith's "Daylight Store," a general merchandise business. After John M. Shelton bought it in 1910 and added a third floor, it was leased for decades to S.H. Kress and Company. A 1937 remodeling brought in another variety chain, McCrory's, continuing its long life as a downtown retail address.
Why it matters
The building charts the rise of the American variety store and the bustling retail heart of an early-twentieth-century downtown.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
At the turn of the twentieth century Fort Worth was moving fast. It had started as an army post and grown up as a cattle town on the trail north to Kansas. Then railroads made it a hub for livestock and trade, and around 1900 the city's economy and population were booming. Its downtown streets filled with banks, saloons, hotels, and stores serving townspeople and visitors alike.
Nationally, these were the years when American shopping was being reinvented. Mail-order catalogs, department stores, and especially chain variety stores were changing how ordinary families bought everyday goods. The "five-and-dime," with its low fixed prices and open counters where customers could see and handle goods, became a fixture on main streets across the country.
By the 1930s the Great Depression had brought hard times, but chain stores kept expanding and modernizing. Many old downtown buildings got updated storefronts in that decade as retailers tried to look current and draw in cautious shoppers. This building's history follows that whole arc, from a turn-of-the-century general store to a Depression-era makeover.
People & events
The building was built in 1900 for Robert G. Johnson, who was acting not for himself but as guardian of the children of Albert D. Evans. It's a quiet detail that hints at a family story: the building was meant to provide for children who weren't yet old enough to manage their inheritance.
The first tenant was G.Y. Smith, who opened a general merchandise business called the "Daylight Store." General stores like his sold a little of everything and were a natural first occupant for a new downtown building. Ten years later John M. Shelton bought the property, which now carries his name. In 1910 he added a third floor to the original two stories, a sign of how much downtown Fort Worth was worth by then.
That same year began the building's longest chapter. From 1910 to 1936 it was leased to S.H. Kress and Company, one of the country's best-known variety chains. After a major remodeling in 1937, McCrory's, another familiar name in the variety-store business, moved in. For decades, then, this was where Fort Worth families went for the inexpensive household goods, notions, and small pleasures these stores were known for.
Its place in the American story
The Shelton Building is a snapshot of how Americans shopped in the first half of the twentieth century. Chains like Kress and McCrory's put standardized, low-priced goods within reach of ordinary families in cities and small towns across the country. For many people, a trip downtown to the variety store was a regular part of life.
The building's tenant history also traces a bigger shift in American business: the move from independent merchants to national chains. A local general store gave way to a company operating stores across many states. That transition reshaped downtowns everywhere and set the stage for the retail landscape that came later.
Variety stores went on to matter in other ways too. Their lunch counters later became flashpoints of the civil rights movement, when sit-ins across the South challenged segregation at chain stores. Buildings like this one are reminders that the everyday spaces of commerce have often been at the center of the American story.
If you visit
Look up when you find the building. The third floor added in 1910 sits on top of the original two-story structure from 1900. See whether you can spot where one era meets the other, and notice how the 1937 remodeling reshaped the building's face for a new generation of shoppers.
Picture the street when this was a busy variety store, with shoppers drifting in for thread, toys, kitchenware, or candy. Downtown Fort Worth still has many historic commercial buildings, and walking the surrounding blocks gives you a sense of how dense and lively the retail district once was.
The building makes a natural stop on a day exploring Fort Worth's history. Combine downtown with the city's famous Stockyards district to see both halves of its identity: the cowtown that grew rich on cattle and the commercial city that money built.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Robert G. Johnson
- · G.Y. Smith
- · John M. Shelton
Themes & tags
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