Tandy Center Subway - Definition and Overview

The Tandy Center Subway operated in Fort Worth, Texas from 1963 to 2002. It ran a distance of 0.7 miles (1.1 km) and was, during the period of its operation, one of only two privately owned subways in the United States, the other being the Newark City Subway in New Jersey.

The subway was originally built by the Leonards Department Store in 1963, connecting the store to its large parking lots on the edge of downtown. Originally known as the Leonards M&O Subway, it consisted of one underground station beneath the store and three stations in the parking lots. The Tandy Corporation purchased the department store, its parking lots, and the subway in 1967. The corporation built its headquarters, the Tandy Center, on the site in 1974. Although they demolished the original store, Tandy retained the subway.

The small subway primarily served patrons visiting the mall at the base of the Tandy Center. However, the anchor tenant moved out in 1996 and the mall declined. The Tandy Center Subway ceased operation on August 30, 2002.

External links

• Pictures of Tandy Subway Cars in Fort Worth (http://world.nycsubway.org/us/fortworth/)
• Parts of Subway preserved by North Texas Historic Transportation, Inc. (http://www.northtexastransport.org/)