The Historic Northside, the Fort Worth neighborhood that surrounds the Stockyards, is trying to hold on to its identity as development presses in around it.
The Historic Northside District was set up in 2022. It is guided by an advisory board and works with the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fort Worth on revitalization, with a stated mission of backing local businesses and drawing visitors through community projects and business partnerships.
District Chair Nestor Martinez pointed to the vaquero statue at the entrance to the area as a landmark worth protecting. "It represents who we are as a working culture," he said, adding that earlier generations "had the same vision, the same mindset and the same pride, and it's still there."
Neighborhood leader Anita Ramos said the area's reputation has not caught up with how much it has changed. "It was known as 'Murder Worth' back when we were growing up," she said. Martinez and Ramos both recalled gang violence during their school years, and Martinez said he now feels safe walking to the recreation center and the park.
"We're not this gang-infested neighborhood that people still want to describe this neighborhood as," Ramos said, adding that she feels safer on the Northside than in some other parts of the city.
Martinez said keeping money in the neighborhood is part of the plan. "Putting it back into your restaurants, putting it back into your local stores. Creating that economy," he said. "That's important for the long run for us here in the Northside."
