The environment of Trp⁵⁷, introduced by the mutation of a tyrosine in the dynamic loop of porcine liver fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), was examined using time-resolved fluorescence and directed mutation. The Trp⁵⁷ enzyme was studied previously by X-ray crystallography and steady-state fluorescence, the latter revealing an unexpected redshift in the wavelength of maximum fluorescence emission for the R-state conformer. The redshift was attributed to the negative charge of Asp¹²⁷ in contact with the indole side chain of Trp⁵⁷. Time-resolved fluorescence experiments here reveal an indole side chain less solvent exposed and more rigid in the R-state, than in the T-state of the enzyme, consistent with X-ray crystal structures. Replacement of Asp¹²⁷ with an asparagine causes a 6 nm blueshift in the wavelength of maximum fluorescence emission for the R-state conformer, with little effect on the emission maximum of the T-state enzyme. The data here support the direct correspondence between X-ray crystal structures of FBPase and conformational states of the enzyme in solution, and provide a clear example of the influence of microenvironment on the fluorescence properties of tryptophan.