The Willis C. Winters Historic Pavilion Restoration Wins a  Preservation Dallas Achievement Award

If you live in East Dallas, you cannot miss the park across from Woodrow Wilson High School in Lakewood. Take a walk into it, find the Willis C. Winters historic pavilion, and I promise you will be charmed. This year, the pavilion became the well-deserved recipient of a Preservation Dallas Achievement Award due to the incredible efforts to preserve the structure.

When we think about preservation, a historic pavilion is seldom the first structure that comes to mind, but it should be. They serve every citizen, regardless of age or ability. They are the gathering place, the picnic spot, and the centers of celebrations.

They are the hearts of our parks.

Restoring Lakewood’s Historic Randall Park

We’ve had park pavilions in Dallas since the 1920s. The Willis C. Winters Historic Pavilion is one of our oldest and it was in quite a state of disrepair. So, it was welcome news when the 2017 bond package was passed with enough funding for this neighborhood park to restore the pavilion. Renovation was an enormous undertaking, and their nomination form sums up a complicated process beautifully:

The restoration of the Willis C. Winters Park Historic Pavilion entailed a long and persistent undertaking involving coordination of park patron advocate group(s), 2017 public capital bond funds, the city’s park department in-house planning and design construction management division, and a highly qualified preservation construction general contractor in the process.

Randall Park was established in 1922, and the first facility was a small “comfort station” for travelers built in 1924. In 1987, the restroom function was removed, and the structure was redesigned to be an open Spanish-style pavilion with a framing structure. The circular colonnades and solid plaster entry facades remained.

The park was renamed for longtime Dallas Parks and Recreation Director Willis C. Winters, who happens to be an architect and the foremost expert on Charles Dilbeck. Willis retired in 2019.

This Historic Pavilion Has Friends

Barbara Cohen, President of Friends of Willis C. Winters Park, Mary Mesh, and Melanie Vanlandingham formed a committee to ensure the historic pavilion reflected the desires of the community it serves.

“We met with every city department, from the arborist to the people that work on pollution controls,” Cohen said. ”We all worked really hard, and the city listened to us and worked with us. Even the trees that show up on a map in 1954 were protected. Phoenix 1 Restoration and Construction received the contract for the restoration. Their team was great and very willing and open to working with us. I think about all the parks and all the renovations that happen throughout the city. Without someone being the voice of the pavilion, it would not reflect the character of the neighborhoods surrounding it. Ours has succeeded in reflecting that diversity.”

The successful outcome of this historic pavilion is a direct result of strong advocacy.

District 14 park board representative Rudy Karimi

When the funding was released and work could begin, the committee attended every meeting and examined every aspect of the structure, from paint to roof tiles.

“They were more involved than any community group I had ever worked with,” District 14 park board representative Rudy Karimi said.“ They were passionate and insistent on an amazing outcome. The biggest hurdle was the roof. The city preferred a composite roof, and this group pushed hard for the Spanish tiles. It’s an example of the community showing up.”

This beautiful little pavilion, designed by Flint and Broad, celebrates its centennial next year. It is wonderful timing to recognize it with a Preservation Dallas Achievement Award. Thanks to Dallas Parks, the Friends of Willis C. Winters Park, and Phoenix 1 Restoration and Construction for accomplishing a magnificent restoration that will gently usher this Spanish tempietto into its second century.

Willis C. Winters

Many people were involved in completing this project, including the Park Patron Advocate Group, Friends of Willis C. Winters Park, Dale Sellers of Phoenix 1 Restoration and Construction, and City of Dallas Park and Recreation Department Project Manager Raul G. De La Rosa, R.A.

Get out and enjoy a picnic this spring and see what advocacy can accomplish!