Bryce Building

The Bryce Building is closely connected with the professional career of its namesake, William J. Bryce. Bryce was a prominent figure in Fort Worth, establishing himself as a contractor and later as a political leader. He served the city as mayor from 1927 until 1933. He maintained personal offices on the first floor of the structure, and leased out the second floor to a number of local groups and organizations. William J. Bryce, the builder and chief tenant of the small office building that bears his name, was born In Lanarkshire, Scotland, on February 14, 1861. Bryce's father was a masonry contractor who, in 1869, Immigrated with his family to Canada. William J. Bryce moved to the United States in 1881, and settled In Fort Worth in 1883. In 1887 he married Catherine Roberts, a native of Wales. After a decade of residence in the city, Bryce had become established as a successful builder, and erected a substantial residence from designs prepared by the city's most noted architect, Marshall Sanguinet, partner in the firm of Sanguinet and Staats. This house, called Fairview, is also being nominated to the National Register. In 1907, the Bryce Building Company was founded, with its offices located in the Bryce Building after its completion in 1910. Among the many major buildings in Fort Worth constructed by Bryce's firm are the Armour Packing Plant, located in the Stockyard Historic District, the Texas Brewery, and the Burris Grain Mill and Elevator. In addition to the design and construction of Falrvlew, Bryce and Sanguinet were Involved with the Knights of Pythias Hall and the Exchange Building. This level of collaboration suggests that Sanguinet may also have been Involved in the design of the Bryce Building, although there is no documentation that has been located that would prove such a claim. Bryce's business career was to expand beyond the realm of contracting. He would also serve as president of such diverse Interests as the Denton Press Brick Company, the Fort Worth Battery Company, and Mount Olivet Cemetery. He was also on the board of the Fort Worth State Bank, and was a director of the Chamber of Commerce. Bryce's political career began in 1924, when he became a member of the commission charged with drafting a new city charter that would initiate the council-manager form of government. On April 7, 1925, Bryce was elected as a member of the first city council to be seated under the new charter. Two years later he was elected mayor, a position he held until his wife's falling health caused his resignation in 1933. While Bryce ran his business Interests from the ground floor of the building, the upper story was leased out to a variety of tenants. The Order of Aztecs, a local fraternal organization, occupied the second floor until 1914. Subsequent tenants Included the Tarrant County Democratic Party organization, presumably linked with Bryce and his political career, and the Fort Worth Real Estate Board. Bryce retained ownership of the building until his death in 1944, and the property was then acquired by C.B. Grafa, a business associate of Bryce. The present owners purchased the property in March of 1983, the structure being vacated by the last tenant, the Hamburg House restaurant, following a fire in late 1982. The current owners have begun the process of renovating the structure, which is now surrounded by massive structures that are Indicative of the commercial growth of the downtown area in recent years.