After the Primary, but still Presidential - JFK Hotel Texas Suite 850 Door

Fort Worth Show of Antiques & Art to Feature Hotel Texas JFK Door for Sale March 3, 4, 5

 

Imagine having the door to John F. Kennedy’s last hotel room as your bedroom door. Or your office door. Or displayed as prime presidential history. “Suite Eight Fifty – It’ll be Famous” ran the headline of the Fort Worth Press before the day was shattered in Dallas. That historic door returns to Fort Worth for the March 3, 4, 5 Fort Worth Show of Antiques & Art at the Will Rogers Memorial Center.

 

In storage for 37 years, the Kennedy door will be for sale at the show, along with documentation that includes the original receipt from the wrecking company that removed it from the hotel in 1979, the door keys, original newspaper clippings that reference the door and its removal from the hotel, as well as November 1963 newsreel footage of the door at the time President and Mrs. Kennedy stayed there.

The sale of the door comes in a season of renewed fascination with all things JFK, including a Stephen King mini-series and the world premiere in Fort Worth of the opera JFK this spring.

 

The door to Suite 850 is a special door design known as a “Valet Door,” opening from both sides. The guest staying in the room could open their side of the door and place clothing and shoes for the valet to access and return from the outside of the door. While Suite 850 was not the best suite in the Hotel Texas, the Secret Service selected the suite for the well-documented reason that it had only one door.

 

Fort Worth citizens know well the story of local art collectors using station wagons to transport art from the Amon Carter Museum and from private homes, which they hung in Suite 850 for the enjoyment of the Kennedys. That story remains one of the few bright points of the November 21-22, 1963 presidential visit to Texas. 

 

At the show, visitors will have a chance to view a little bit of American architectural and presidential history up close and personal. Perhaps the door to Suite 850 will be coming home to Fort Worth for good.

Additional JFK memorabilia at the show will include campaign posters, original photos from the Fort Worth visit and the complete Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce file on the Hotel Texas JFK Breakfast, including correspondence and seating charts. 

 

The Fort Worth Show of Antiques & Art also began in 1963. Along with the  Kennedy door, at this year’s 53^rd annual show, look for 150 exhibitors from California to New York to Florida, plus England, France and Laos. The show offers antique and contemporary art, as well as antique and vintage furniture from France, England, America and Italy, lighting, design, jewelry and accessories from ancient to Mid-Century Modern.

 

The Fort Worth Show on TV! See you March 3,4,5, 2016

The Parenting Center -- Benefit Booth #2 at the Fort Worth Show March 3,4,5

The Fort Worth Show of Antiques & Art welcomes The Parenting Center as one of our two Benefit Booths at the March 3,4,5, 2016 show. Their booth at the show will be decked out in blue, the color of “Child Abuse Prevention Month” coming up in April. Here is their story.  

“The Parenting Center invested in me, and that gave me the inspiration as a teen mom to invest in my child.  I grew up with a single mom who never could be around, and I think that I would have done the same thing without the skills that The Parenting Center taught me.”

Babies crying, teens sulking, temper tantrums daily. These things happen. Multiply them by: job loss, no immediate family support, teen parenthood, financial setbacks or the isolation of a single parent with no experience in how to change a diaper, much less everything else that is part of being a parent.

Anyone who has ever been a parent can identify with all of these things. That’s why 40 years ago, citizens under leadership of the Junior League of Fort Worth, came together to found what is now called The Parenting Center.  At that time, child abuse and neglect were at an all-time high. The mission of the Parenting Center became to prevent child abuse by helping to train, educate and support successful families.

That is to say: their strategy is to help prevent child abuse before it begins.

A child depicts a family, right, before counseling and, left, after counseling

And it’s working. Each year The Parenting Center helps 14,000 to 18,000 clients of all backgrounds and economic levels in North Texas.               

Parenting Center programs include:

A confidential Parent Advice hotline

Family and individual counseling

The “Empowering Families Project” - This program offers pre-marital and marital education that qualifies a couple for a discount on their marriage license through the "Twogether in Texas" program. The program also works to strengthen relationships and integrate support services such as financial coaching, case management and employment assistance.

Classes in the Community - The Parenting Center provides classes in places like Cook Children's Medical Center, Babies R Us and Fort Worth Libraries, in addition to classes offered at the Parenting Center building on West 5th St. These classes delve into topics that families need to succeed, such as how to deal with the stresses of raising a family and learning tips and skills to manage misbehavior. Other topics include single parenting, step-parenting or raising children with special needs. Co-parenting classes help families going through divorce or separation learn how to rebuild relationships that are beneficial to the child. These classes are a tremendous community resource for North Texas.  

The Parenting Center’s executive staff are enthusiastic and eager to expand services across North Texas. Most of them, such as Executive Director Paul Gravley and Director of Development Crystal Cardwell are parents themselves.  As Paul puts it, “The ultimate goal of The Parenting Center is to eliminate child abuse and neglect” by working with partner agencies to provide positive education and comprehensive support to families in North Texas.

Or as a recent client reflected, “Without the help of The Parenting Center and their great classes I have attended, my family and I would still be dealing with anger, trust and communication issues.  The Parenting Center has given me the tools and guidance to help put my family on the right track to building a healthier environment at home.”

In addition to the blue décor at the Parenting Center’s booth at the Fort Worth Show, plans include:

--- “Sponsor a Pinwheel”– for a $1 donation, you can write your word of encouragement to a parent or family. These pinwheels will be offered to Parenting Center clients, with your word.

--- Purchase beautiful (blue) Peter Millar Golf Shirts and learn about The Parenting Center's "23rd Tee It Up Fore Kids" Golf Tournament on October 3, 2016 at Shady Oaks Country Club.

--- Take home literature to increase community awareness of the signs and many types of child abuse and neglect

--- Put your name in the hat for a raffle for Japanese Palace Dinners for 4, at Fort Worth’s iconic and fun family restaurant on Camp Bowie West 

--- A sale of select antiques and art donated by Fort Worth Show exhibitors and friends, to benefit The Parenting Center.

So plan to stop by to learn, shop and lend a word of encouragement at The Parenting Center booth at the Fort Worth Show of Antiques & Art March 3,4,5, 2016, which will soon be here!

Learn more at theparentingcenter.org 

The Parenting Center

 2928 W. 5th St. Fort Worth, TX 76107

817-332-6348

facebook.com/TheParentingCenter

TheParentingCenter.org

Sneak Peek One Month from Showtime!

When the Fort Worth Show comes to town March 3,4,5, here's a peek at what you'll see:

---The Kennedy Door to Hotel Texas Suite 850

--- Jewelry, Vintage Fashion & Handbags, including from England, France & Laos 

  

  

--- Primitive, Repurposed & Industrial Antiques 

 

--- King-size Karl Springer table 

--- Picasso & Rembrandt Etchings   (no sneak peek, sorry!)

--- Mid-Century Modern Everything!

--- French, English, Continental, Silver, Rugs, Jewelry, Lighting, Textiles

 

--- Vintage Guitars & Toys from 1920s - 1960s 

 

---  Jewelry, Lighting & Art, Art Art!

Stay Tuned for more sneak peeks soon and 
our announcement of the 22 exhibitors in the show's "Art Dept." 

See you March 3,4,5, which will soon be here!
Tickets on Sale now at fortworthshow.eventbrite.com