The Fort Worth Stockyards national historic district: An illustrated history and guide

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isbn号码:9781575020051

具体描述

Reality for Fort Worth was in the beginning a scratching, clawing,

never-say-die hunger for survival. Reality was Hell s Half Acre, a law-

less section of downtown Fort Worth that attracted cowboys, railroad

workers and buffalo hunters.

Reality was the Indians who were here, the soldiers who came and

the settlers who survived. Reality was the heartbreak of many failures

and the heart-thumping elation of an occasional success. Happiness was

the coining of the railroad and the vestbustin pride during the short life

of the Texas Spring Palace. Reality was the booming prosperity brought

by the big Armour and Swift meat packing plants.

Fort Worth from the start has been an oasis for cowboys.

In the 1860s and 1870s, the cowboys came during the trail drive era

to rest their herds, to buy their provisions -- and to be entertained.

Through the 1880s, the cowboys came to the new railroad to ship

their livestock, and stayed to buy their supplies-- and to be entertained.

In the 1890s -- and for another 50 years after establishment of

the Armour and Swift meat packing plants -- the cowboys came to

market their animals,to buy their hats, boots and saddles--and to be

entertained.

Fort Worth and the Stockyards National Historic District today is

history that lives. Much still remains to remind what it was. A visit to

the Stockyards is a fun-filled, adventurous step into the past that is

available nowhere else.

Old-time cattlemen love Fort Worth and the Stockyards. You still

see them swaggering in front of the turn-of-the-century buildings and

swapping tall tales in the saloons along Exchange Avenue. Old habits

are hard to break.

As a stockyards tour guide I was surprised when a young visitor

from Germany had her heart set on pushing into a saloon through

swinging doors. That s what she wanted the West to be. We no longer

have saloons with swinging doors. Even cowboys have come to appre-

ciate air conditioning, and swinging doors aren t efficient. So saloons

have changed. The West has changed also...and yet it hasn t.

This book is about 150 years of .change, and of much that hasn t

changed.

The best way to get a feel for what it was is to explore what is left.

To know the Stockyards, you first must know Fort Worth. That is

where this guide begins.

The rest is a story of the evolution of a quiet piece of prairie three

miles north of town into one of the world s busiest livestock markets.

Enjoy your trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards. There will never be

another place like it.

用户评价

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这本书简直是德克萨斯州历史爱好者的福音！我花了整整一个下午沉浸在那些泛黄的旧照片和充满年代感的文字叙述中，仿佛真的穿越回了那个马蹄声声、牛仔们忙碌身影交织的时代。作者显然对沃斯堡的“畜牧业心脏”倾注了深厚的感情和多年的研究。最让我印象深刻的是它对那些标志性建筑的细致描摹，不仅仅是简单罗列年份和名称，而是深入挖掘了每一块砖石背后所承载的商业斗争、社会变迁以及普通劳动者的汗水与荣耀。比如，关于那些古老的铁轨和装卸平台的故事，我以前总觉得那是历史的背景板，但读完后才明白，正是这些基础设施支撑起了美国西部的肉类加工业和贸易命脉。那种沉浸式的叙事体验，让我对这个“国家历史地标”的理解上升到了一个全新的高度，远超出了一个普通旅游指南的范畴，更像是一部微观的美国西部经济发展史。

这本书的叙事节奏把握得非常好，流畅而不拖沓，信息量巨大却不让人感到压迫。阅读过程中，我最深的感受是作者那种强烈的“地方自豪感”——这并非盲目的赞美，而是基于对这个地区独特身份的深刻理解和尊重。它细致地勾勒出了这个街区如何从一个简单的贸易枢纽，演变为一个融合了西部怀旧情怀、现代娱乐和文化保存的独特复合体。从早期拓荒者的艰辛创业，到牛仔文化的兴盛，再到战后经济的转型，作者用一种近乎史诗般的笔触，展现了沃斯堡畜牧区作为美国西部精神象征的生命力。整体阅读下来，我感觉像是完成了一次高质量的精神洗礼，不仅学到了知识，更收获了一种对美国地方历史复杂性的全新认识和敬意。

作为一个带着旅游目的翻阅此书的读者，我发现这本书的“导览”功能做得实在太出色了。它不仅仅提供了地图和地址，它赋予了每一个角落以故事。当我根据书中的指示走到特定的街角时，我不再是看一个空洞的旧建筑，而是能“听见”当年那些喧嚣的交易声、货车驶过的轰鸣声。书中的路线规划和解说词的编排极具匠心，它能引导你以一个更有深度、更有情境的方式去体验这个历史街区，而不是走马观花。即便是对于那些不熟悉美国历史背景的国际游客，书中对关键术语和时代背景的解释也清晰明了，确保了即便是初次到访者也能迅速进入状态，真正体会到“历史地标”的厚重感。它让我对这次的探访充满了期待，因为它提供的不仅仅是信息，更是一种深度体验的蓝图。

从一个纯粹的历史研究角度来看，这本书的严谨性毋庸置疑，但它的叙事方式却非常平易近人，成功地架起了专业学术与大众读者之间的桥梁。作者在处理复杂的经济数据和法律变迁时，总能找到生动的案例来佐证观点，避免了陷入纯粹的文献堆砌。例如，书中对二十世纪中叶畜牧业自动化和工会运动的分析，不再是教科书式的抽象描述，而是通过几位核心人物的口述历史片段串联起来，使得宏大的历史脉络变得有血有肉，充满了人性的张力。我尤其欣赏它对文化冲击的探讨——当一个充满西部粗犷气息的区域，逐渐被现代商业法则和城市化浪潮所重塑时的那种微妙的文化张力。这本书对细节的关注度，达到了近乎苛刻的程度，这无疑是任何想深入了解该地区的人士的必备工具书。