Got a Taste for Midcentury Modern? This University Manor Gem Will Totally Satisfy

If you’ve got a hankering for a taste of Midcentury style, our Thursday Three Hundred promises total satisfaction.

Located in the Lake and Garden District’s University Manor neighborhood at 7139 Edgerton Dr., this quintessential 1950’s gem is a 3-2 with 1,502 square feet, built in 1954. It’s a time capsule of atomic era flat planes and glass walls; open, bright rooms; and manicured outdoor living spaces that makes it hard to decide which is better, indoors or out.

It was listed yesterday by Erin Birdsong with Redfin for $364,900. (There’s a broker open house today from 4-6 p.m., and a public open house Saturday, April 9, from noon to 2 p.m.)

This is one of the best Midcentury Modern Dallas homes we’ve seen in a while. It’s truly marvelous, from the flat rood and horizontal staggered board fencing to clerestory windows.

This home looks just like a Cliff May design, and it well may be—it has his style written all over it. The owners have been unable to verify, though, so we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed. Here’s a little about May from Preservation Dallas:

May, a significant American designer during the post war building boom, was considered the father of the California Ranch house. His designs received national attention and appeared on the cover of every major house magazine of the day. The mass appeal of the Ranch house led May and his partner, Chris Choate, to design a smaller, more modest version for distribution on a national scale. The houses were constructed from pre-fabricated modular panels, a revolutionary new building concept in which every part of the house was standardized and precut. Local builders were able to purchase Cliff May franchises, supplying them with house plans and the pre-fabricated modular panels, numbered and stamped with May and Choate’s names. Over 18,000 May plans were sold to local builders from around the country.

Though the home has tons of vintage charm, it is carefully updated to offer some excellent modern-day features, like a complete outdoor mosquito spraying system. The kitchen, too, has seen some big upgrades, like stainless steel appliances and a wine refrigerator.

University Manor is a standout Lake and Garden District area, with lots of MCM homes—this was one of the earliest built in the neighborhood, so doubtless others looked to it for inspiration.

“The neighborhood is centrally located to all the action of Dallas and White Rock Lake, but quiet enough to stay private and raise a family,” Birdsong said. “The mature trees and green space it shares with the Merriman Park gives it the surreal peaceful feel that comes with a vintage 1950’s Midcentury Modern.”

This MCM  stunner integrates and appreciates its natural environment: open, bright, but ultimately a private family home where life is meant to be lived indoors and out.