Knights of Pythias Building
a.k.a. Knights of Pythias Castle Hall
315 Main St., Fort Worth, TX"On June 6, 1881, a procession of the Order of Knights of Pythias formed at the corner of 4th and Main Streets and marched to Weatherford Street, down Houston, Fourth Street, to Main Street, and thence to Third Street. This impressive ceremony was for the purpose of laying the corner stone of the first Pythias Castle Hall ever erected in the world, and the only Castle Hall ever dedicated by the founder of the order, Justis H. Rathbone of Washington, D. C.", said D. B. Alexander. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines the Knights of Pythias as "a fraternal and benevolent order of secret character, founded in Washington, D. C., on February 19, 1864, and chartered by a special act of Congress. In the 1950's the order maintained more than fifty grand lodges or grand domains in the a states of the United States and in the provinces of Canada.There were also about 3,000 local or subordinate lodges.(Encyclopedia Britannica, XVIII,p.804)." Today the Knights of Pythias Castle Hall in Fort Worth, Texas is the object of concerned preservationists within the dodge itself as well as within the membership of Historic Fort Worth, Inc. Both of these groups hope to restore the old Castle Hall so that it will maintain its architectural uniqueness and cultural importance in downtown Fort Worth. Members of the local lodge want to make part of their building into a museum about the international fraternal order. The Texas State Historical Survey Committee recognized Castle Hall in 1962 for its cultural and historical significance.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.