Abandoned Arlington

As I roam across this city, I try to take as many photos as I can. I’ve recently developed an obsession with photographing abandoned buildings. I’ll do a complete 180 while I’m driving to go back and see an abandoned building. There’s something oddly poetic about abandoned buildings—what they were, what they are now, and the spaces in between. They have a “liminal space” feel that can be oddly curious and satisfying.

The timeline feature on Google Maps Street View can be helpful for seeing what a place used to be and how long it’s been empty. I love these empty buildings and am fascinated by them.

Once you start looking for these buildings, they’re easy to find (especially in today’s economy), although sometimes they can blend in with their surroundings fairly well. “For Lease” and “No Trespassing” signs are often telling clues, but sometimes it’s hard to tell if a building is abandoned, temporarily closed, or just needs some TLC.

The pandemic surely didn’t help things, as some businesses haven’t recovered from its lingering effects and probably never will. Some of these buildings look like people just left one day and never returned. It’s eerie. They’re moments caught in time, often left untouched for months or even years. For some, nature has started to take back the site, while others have had to stand up against the elements, vandalism, or neglect.

I’m conflicted, though. As hauntingly beautiful and intriguing as some of these buildings are, they also show the dark side of the American Dream. For every abandoned building, someone had to close their business, and people lost their jobs. I served three years on Arlington’s Landmark Preservation Commission, and the preservationist in me wants to see these buildings saved and repurposed. However, the photographer and urban explorer in me wants to see them sit empty so we (the collective “we,” i.e., society) can see our mistakes, study the past, and maybe learn from it.

Regardless, here are some photos that I’ve captured. This is an ongoing series that I’ll add to as I obtain more photos.

Mr. Blue Jeans (7708 S. Cooper Street)

One of my favorite abandoned buildings in Arlington is the old Mr. Blue Jeans store. I’ve driven past this place hundreds of times—it was on my commute to and from work for many, many years, and it’s also not far from my parent’s house in Mansfield. The place has hardly changed in my memories, and I’ll shed some tears if it ever gets torn down. It’s beautiful, in an ugly-duckling sort of way. I almost want to buy the lot and building so I can save it from the wrecking ball. But I have no money, so…

I actually remember going there once as a kid with my dad, but that was probably 30 years ago. According to the Google Street View Timeline, the building appears to have been vacant since at least 2011 and probably much longer. There have been various “For Sale” signs out front, but the little store stayed vacant. I don’t remember it ever being open, except when I went there that one time as a kid.

Photos: March 2020 (first one) and May 2023 (next two)

Vandergriff Collision Center (901 E. Division Street)

I love this building, especially the ghost signs. The signage was still on the building as of March 2021, but it’s since been ripped away, only leaving scars.

Photos: November 2022

Putt-Putt Golf & Games (1701 E. Division Street)

Discovering this Putt-Putt is what spurred my interest in photographing abandoned buildings. Although it closed in 2009, parts of the site have continued as various small businesses. Today, though, it appears to be empty and not much more than a ghost town. While overgrowth and neglect have taken their toll on some of the site’s features—notably the mini golf course, go-kart track, and batting cages—it’s surprisingly in fairly decent condition, lying somewhere between its former glory and eerily abandoned.

I did a whole blog post on this one, so for more photos, check it out here.

Photos: April 2023

360 Blues & Tattoos (2601 Galleria Drive)

This building, the former site of 360 Blues & Tattoos, is off Highway 360’s access road and sits atop a hill, making it hard to see from the highway. I drove past this place dozens of times without noticing it, although the splashes of brightly-colored graffiti finally caught my attention.

The popular tattoo shop moved to a new location sometime around 2010. As for their former location, it appears to have been nearly empty since then, although possibly used briefly as an office building. It remained in fairly decent condition, at least from the shots on Google Maps, until about 2019, when graffiti started to emerge. Sometime in 2022, it became a graffiti magnet—one section is even tagged with ’22, probably indicating the year it was put there. Today, graffiti is plentiful, and the building has patchy overgrowth to match. It has interesting architecture, though, especially with the slanted roof and stucco walls.

Photos: April 2023

Oh My BBQ (901 E. Arkansas Lane)

This is one of those places that I don’t know whether it’s open or closed. It certainly looks like it closed, and their Facebook was last updated in June 2022, yet they still have a website, and Google, the world’s informative bible, still lists it as open. But you currently can’t order through their website, and a test phone call to their number didn’t go through. Even though one of the photos shows a Now Open sign, it looks like they just left one day and never came back.

Photos: April 2023

Pappas Texas Restaurant (1300 E. Copeland Road)

According to Yelp, this place used to be known as “Pappas Texas Restaurant,” although that’s the only website I’ve seen the name referenced. If so, I believe it was part of the Pappas Restaurants family, which includes Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, of which there is one next door. I’m not certain when this restaurant closed, but Google Maps shows “No Trespassing” signs on the front windows since at least 2012, and possibly even later. This place is in surprisingly decent condition, especially if it’s been sitting vacant for a decade or more.

Photos: April 2023

Third Base Sports Bar & Grill (812 Six Flags Drive)

In 2010, this place was Third Base Sports Bar & Grill, while in 2012, it was Chiquita Boom Sports & Cantina. At some point, it may also have been Juega Juega Sports Bar & Grill. Lots of turnover, it seems. Regardless, Google Maps shows that it’s been empty since about 2014. The real estate mantra of “location, location, location” doesn’t ring true here. This place is right across from Six Flags and seems like it would be a prime location.

Photos: April 2023

ITT Technical Institute (551 Ryan Plaza Drive)

Once upon a time, Arlington had an ITT Technical Institute campus. Yet, the for-profit college closed all of its campuses in 2016, including the ten in Texas, due to a myriad of allegations and questionable business practices. I had forgotten that we even had one until I stumbled upon the backside of this building.

Photo: May 2023

Sears at the Parks Mall (3811 S. Cooper Street)

It’s no secret that shopping malls and department stores have generally struggled in recent years. I believe Sears closed sometime during the pandemic but may have reopened briefly as a Sears Hometown store. Whatever it was, it looks empty now. Surprisingly, the “Doctor of Optometry” plaque from their optical section is still on the building, yet the “Merchandise Pick-Up” sign has been torn off.

Photos: June 2023

Spaghetti Warehouse (1255 W. Interstate 20)

The first Spaghetti Warehouse opened in Dallas’ West End in 1972. Sadly, that location has closed, along with most others. While there were once more than forty locations, the number has dwindled to six, with four of those in Ohio. The one in Arlington closed in March 2020, with their Facebook page directly citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the killer. I always liked eating at Spaghetti Warehouse. The food was certainly decent, but more than that, the decor gave it an unbeatable ambiance. Where else could you eat inside a trolley inside a restaurant?

The building is mostly still intact, although there are some broken windows on the patio, and the sign has started to fade. The landscaping has some overgrowth, too. There are lots of bricks, certainly playing to the “warehouse” theme.

Photos: June 2023

Padre Vecchio Fornaio Bakery (3300 W. Park Row Drive)

For more than ten years, this place was the Padre Vecchio Fornaio Bakery. You can still read some of the signage on the windows—Whole Wheat Bread, French Bread, and others—but it doesn’t look like they’re doing much baking these days. Now, it’s just another nondescript empty building, with perhaps the faintest aroma of baked goods still lingering in the air.

Photos: June 2023

Grandy’s (4180 S. Cooper Street)

In its heyday, Grandy’s had nearly 200 locations. Their website now only lists 23 locations in six states, with the majority in Texas and Oklahoma. I remember going to this Grandy’s sometime in the 1990s with my grandparents, and that might have been the last time I went there. It might also explain the target demographic. I believe this location hung on until 2019 or so and then sat empty for a while—it wasn’t clear whether it had temporarily closed during the pandemic or closed for good. It’s now boarded up, probably to keep out people like me who would want to take photos of it. The red and white roof is so nostalgic, though, and I like seeing the bones of the drive-thru menu.

In a rare act of salvation, this place was completely remodeled to be “Nation’s,” a California fast-food chain serving breakfast, burgers, and pies—and not necessarily in that order. They specialize, it seems, in “giant hamburgers.” Their all-day breakfast, though, now that sounds tempting. The Arlington Nation’s opened in June 2024.

Photos: June 2023

Northstar Bank of Texas (921 W. Lamar Boulevard)

Northstar Bank announced plans to merge with Community Bank in May 2014. According to Google Maps, it looks like this bank closed sometime between October 2014 and December 2016, probably due to the merger. It’s been boarded up ever since.

Photos: June 2023

Advanced Tire & Service (985 N. Cooper Street)

This shop specialized in tires and auto repairs until they moved to a new location. The building has a few broken windows, and it’s definitely dusty inside. On the bright side, the clouds and sky were sure interesting that day.

Photos: June 2023

Pancho’s Mexican Buffett (2730 Avenue E East)

What an unexpected find this was! I had either forgotten or didn’t know that there was a Pancho’s near Six Flags. Based on Google Maps, I believe that this location closed sometime in 2015 or 2016. This building, with its adobe-styled architecture, also has a whimsical feel, not unlike the food and atmosphere that made Pancho’s famous (or infamous.) The building is still mostly intact, except for some chipped paint and crumbling decor here and there. Oddly, the sign in the parking lot still says OPEN, and the hours of operation are still posted by the boarded-up entrance. The Pancho’s we used to visit on Green Oaks in Arlington, which is actually one of the few still open, is in a shopping center and definitely wasn’t as interesting of a building as this one.

Photos: July 2023

Gateway Plaza (2701 Avenue E East)

Just across from the Pancho’s is a large empty lot. According to Google Maps, the lot had a fairly extensive cluster of single-story office complexes there in September 2007. The area was called “Gateway Plaza,” and the sign was planted in a brick centerpiece near one of the entrances. About a year later, all of the buildings were not only closed but also demolished, and the lot has been empty ever since. The brick centerpiece is the only structure remaining, although it’s slowly crumbling into ruins. The parking lot is still there, allowing a path to walk, yet much of the area has patchy overgrowth, with nature reclaiming the site. From some of the photos, you can see Six Flags in the background. I was surprised to see that the other side of the billboard actually had an advertisement, presumably to sell or lease the site.

Photos: July 2023

Dirt Cheap (1517 E. Abram Street)

According to my Internet research, Dirt Cheap is a chain of discount stores. This one was open for about five years, and I drove past it often but never went there. Too late now.

Photos: July 2023

Texas Land & Cattle Steak House (1600 E. Copeland Road)

Arlington’s Entertainment District is something of a graveyard, as there are numerous empty buildings, restaurants, and storefronts. Maybe there’s too much competition, I don’t know. Nonetheless, sometime in 2018-2019, this steak house closed. Or is it a “steakhouse”? I couldn’t help but notice that one sign said “steak house” and another said “steakhouse.” Call me cynical, but it’s likely the attention to detail (or lack thereof) that closed this place. Regardless, the tell-tale signs of overgrowth and boarded-up windows are present.