If you leave the Las Vegas Trail off I-30 and head south, you will see many low-income apartment complexes and housing for people below the poverty line. The street isn’t as busy during the day as it is at night, with a mix of mostly black and Latin American adults and teenagers hanging out in front of grocery stores, vacant parking lots, or neighboring apartment windways.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
Although the Las Vegas Trail itself is only about a mile long, it plays a large role in Fort Worth history and in most of our psyches. In a series of stories from 2017, the Star Telegram summed up the Westside area with the simple phrase “drugs, guns, abuse – and a glimmer of hope”.
Once you pass Drummers Inn, continue west on the highway. 80 Strip, a giant neon sign from the 1960s lights up the Landmark Lodge Motel. The motel remains private property and photography is not permitted on the premises. Most Yelp reviews describe it as cockroach-infested, dirty, and not well-maintained, but they’re not all necessarily negative.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
LVT, or simply “The Trail” as it is called today, has not always been like that. The first houses were built in 1956, and by the mid-1980s this part of the West Side was almost entirely white and white, marked by the promise of living in Western Hills. This is what this LVT neighborhood was called during the drafting and master planning. A 1957 advertisement on Star Telegram reads, “You will be pleasantly surprised at the prices after seeing the extraordinary additional qualities you will enjoy in … Western Hills Homes.” The advertisement goes on to say that Western Hills residents would play an important role in the development of community life in the new addition. As the area grew, many Western Hills residents watched their community grow, but not always for the best.
Reyna Terra describes her two years at the Drummers Inn as not the best time of her life. The average weekly rate is $ 130.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
Most of the Native Americans worked at nearby General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin), and many of the homeowners in the area are retirees from GD or Naval Air Station (formerly Carswell Air Force Base). The area fell into disrepair after GD closed. In the area beyond Alta Mere Drive to the west, the lovely homes stretch along and border a cluster of low-income homes built between 1967 and 1985 over a period of 18 years, other brands of cigarettes line the streets on that side the tracks. Along the highway. 80, the relics of the Western Hills are held together by old motels and inns. The Landmark Lodge Motel’s bright retro sign lights up the Strip along with cabarets that cater to local motel guests and other passers-by. Many nonprofits see the area as the place where they are most needed. Food Not Bombs is just a charity group whose volunteers regularly try to spruce up the trail by handing out food at the LVT laundromat every Friday.
Like Sydnee Dunagan, Reyna Terra said she had roots on the Hwy. 80 and spent most of her early years in the area. In 2013 she lived at the Drummers Inn and paid a weekly fee with her then boyfriend. Terra said the experience of living in the inn was something she would never want to do again. She gives back to her community by distributing food to those in need on Friday afternoons with charities like Food Not Bombs. Photo by Juan R. Govea
The area has been depressed by neglect, demographic changes, and a severe lack of investment in infrastructure such as parks and community centers. The cheap motels and dilapidating apartments attracted travelers, and over time the neighborhood has become a haven for gangs, drug dealers, and ubiquitous crime.
Reyna Terra volunteers every Friday at the laundromat on the corner of Trail and Cimmaron, where Sydnee Dunagan is.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
A closer look at LVT shows that despite all the problems there are also glimmers of hope. There are still many people who care about their community and even more who see the light in the dark. There is also the fascinating architecture from the period which cannot be compared in density to anything else in Fort Worth.
Behind Sydnee Dunagan’s house, a stream divides her garden and the surrounding neighbors. Dunagan says many homeless people visit the low flowing creek to sleep or share illegal substances. Dunagan said she felt unsafe in some cases and called the police.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
Since the Star Telegram series that exposed myriad problems along the LVT – particularly many malnourished and unsupervised single children, high unemployment and drugs – city officials have begun to take notice. Two years ago, the city bought the Westside YMCA and turned it into the Rise Community Center. Just a mile east of the trail and a short walk from the Western Hills Elementary and Elementary Schools, the building is across from a public library in a nearby apartment complex and section of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth. The center provides food banking, professional training, after-school childcare, and health resources through LVT Rise, a nonprofit created to consolidate services for the troubled Las Vegas Trail area.
Sydnee Dunagan lives down the street from the Las Vegas Trail and grew up a few blocks down near the Cimmaron Trail. Dunagan describes the area as a place to watch out for all of her life, which has become more of an instilled trait. She currently lives with her family and a roommate and said the area is nothing new but it is disheartening to see crime happening in the poor and underserved areas with families in broken homes.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
The Golden Gate Motel is one of the smaller establishments in the midst of a cluster of motels and inns that are just a few minutes’ walk from each other. Most motels look the same because most of them were built in the 1950s and early 60s when the Western Hills Master Plant community was under construction.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
Adult lounges like Corsets Cabaret welcome customers and customers from the nearby motels. Terra said many of the guests at the Drummers Inn were traveling construction workers who rented a room for the weekend and usually spent their nights in the lounges.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
Along the highway. 80 Strip, the first of many adult lounges, Stars Cabaret (formerly Illusions), is across from the Drummers Inn.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
