06/24/2026
Hulen Mall may have one of Fort Worth’s most overlooked pieces of public art.
On the outside of the old Sanger Harris building, now Macy’s at Hulen Mall, there is a massive abstract mosaic built into the face of the structure. It is not painted. It is made from individual glass tiles, worked into the architecture behind those tall white arches.
That detail matters.
This was part of the Sanger Harris identity. Their stores became known for these bold mosaic facades, a look that started with the company’s downtown Dallas flagship in the 1960s and carried into several later department stores across Texas. The designs were colorful, abstract, modern, and meant to catch your eye from far away.
Hulen’s Sanger Harris opened in 1977, and nearly fifty years later, this mosaic is still there. Not hidden in a museum. Not moved to a private collection. Still attached to the building, still facing Fort Worth, still doing exactly what it was designed to do.
What makes it more important is how many of these Sanger Harris mosaics have already disappeared. As malls changed, stores closed, buildings were remodeled, and redevelopment moved in, many of these tile facades were removed, covered, or demolished.
That is why this one deserves attention.
From what I can verify, this does not appear to be protected as a recognized Texas historic landmark. But in my opinion, it should at least be part of the preservation conversation.
Not every historic piece of Fort Worth is a courthouse, hotel, theater, or mansion. Sometimes it is a piece of commercial architecture that generations of families walked past without realizing how special it was.
This mosaic is not just decoration. It is public art. It is department store history. It is 1970s Fort Worth still hanging on in plain sight.
And once something like this is gone, it is not coming back.
