Billy Bob’s Texas

The building now known as Billy Bob’s Texas was built in 1910 and was once an open-air barn used to house prize cattle for the Fort Worth Stock Show. In 1936, as a Texas Centennial Project, the building was enclosed by the City of Fort Worth at a cost of $183,500 and the tower over the main entrance was added. The “new” structure contained livestock stalls, and an auction ring that is now the Billy Bob’s Bull Riding arena. Livestock events were held here until the stock show moved to the Will Rogers Memorial Complex, in 1943. During World War II, the building was used as an airplane factory, and in the 1950′s the building became a department store so large that the stock boys wore roller skates to make their jobs easier.