{"id":254068,"date":"2026-04-17T10:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/254068\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T10:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:51:09","slug":"new-art-installation-on-highway-121-spells-out-fort-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/254068\/","title":{"rendered":"New art installation on Highway 121 spells out \u2018Fort Worth\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Installation<\/p>\n

Installation of the new Fort Worth gateway art off State Highway 121. Art by artist Etty Horowitz and architect Kevin Sloan\/Matt Stubbs.<\/p>\n

Courtesy photo by the City of Fort Worth<\/p>\n

As you approach downtown Fort Worth from westbound State Highway 121, you may notice giant steel letters spelling out \u201cFort Worth<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This new welcome gateway art was in the works for over 20 years.<\/p>\n

In 2004, the city received a prestigious Governor\u2019s Community Achievement Award<\/a> for its \u201cKeep Fort Worth Beautiful\u201d efforts, which provided funding for this project. In 2007, Fort Worth Public Art<\/a> got involved.<\/p>\n

Then in 2012, lead artist Etty Horowitz and architect Kevin Sloan were selected to bring the project to life. Sadly, Sloan passed away in 2021 so his colleague and landscape architect, Matt Stubbs, took over with Horowitz.<\/p>\n

The artwork was originally planned for westbound Interstate 30 until long-term plans for the I-30 corridor<\/a> made State Highway 121 a better fit.<\/p>\n

Then finally, the installation was completed this year in late February.<\/p>\n

\"After After 20 years of planning, the City of Fort Worth, artist Etty Horowitz and architect Kevin Sloan\/Matt Stubbs installed the new Fort Worth gateway art. Courtesy photo by the City of Fort Worth Inspiration behind Fort Worth\u2019s newest welcome art installation<\/p>\n

Horowitz and Sloan\u2019s designs were inspired by \u201cthe concept of \u2018an old road to the west\u2019 and the repetition of crop rows,\u201d according to a news release.<\/p>\n

The letters are a rusty orange, made from Cor-Ten steel, which is a durable metal that develops a weathered appearance when exposed to outside elements.<\/p>\n

The side of State Highway 121 is rooted with Texas prairie grasses and is known to bloom with Texas wildflowers<\/a> during spring and summer. The large Fort Worth letters are mounted on concrete slabs among this natural land.<\/p>\n

Why are the letters installed backward?<\/p>\n

When the City of Fort Worth announced the new art along Highway 121, many residents commented,<\/a> \u201cWelcome to HTROW TROF!\u201d The uproar is because the first letter you see is the H in Worth and the last letter you see if the F in Fort.<\/p>\n

Anne Allen, Public Art Project Manager at Arts Fort Worth explained in an email to the Star-Telegram:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the artist team\u2019s intent that the artwork act as a gateway into the city, and it intended to be viewed from a vehicle at posted traffic speeds; so that there is a moment where it lines up to dramatically spell \u2018FORT WORTH\u2019. They note that we read \u2018left to right\u2019 so this is how they designed the letters to line up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd25 In case you missed it… <\/p>\n

How to view new Fort Worth art along State Highway 121<\/p>\n

The letters are meant to be viewed whilst in a moving car. Do not pull over on the highway to view them.<\/p>\n

You can find the new artwork located between Maxine Street and Beach Street exit on the north side of the westbound traffic lanes of State Highway 121.<\/p>\n

\"Renderings Renderings for the gateway welcome art off Highway 121 funded by a 2004 Governor\u2019s Community Achievement Award for its Keep Fort Worth Beautiful efforts. Courtesy photo by the City of Fort Worth
\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Ella Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Ella Gonzales is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Ella mainly writes about local restaurants and where to find good deals around town.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Installation of the new Fort Worth gateway art off State Highway 121. Art by artist Etty Horowitz and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":{"0":"post-254068","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-fort-worth","9":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","10":"tag-fort-worth-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}