Mayrath House Slated For Teardown, Midcentury Modern Lovers Can Pick Over The Bones This Weekend

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mayrath house

Ahead of the demolition of iconic Mayrath house at 10707 Lennox Lane, midcentury modern lovers will be given the opportunity to pick over the bones of the Truett A. Bishop-designed home. Once lauded as one of the most innovative homes in the country, it will soon be razed to make room for a new build on the 2.29 acre lot.

I’m a little gobsmacked. This style is only growing in popularity, with more and more of these structures being updated and remodeled by caring and clever craftsmen. It’s truly a sad day for Dallas.

“This is such a unique and historical house — they are going to have a heck of a time tearing that down … because my dad made things to last forever,” Anne Christian, one of Martin Mayrath’s children, told CandysDirt.com writer Leah Shafer.” He spared no expense to add all the wonderful touches to the house. The steel piers going down into the bedrock would be the most interesting part—I would think it would make the ground unstable [for a future home built there] to have them torn out.”
The Mayrath family in the grand entryway, late 1950s. Martin Mayrath made his fortune by inventing the grain auger. Photo: Preservation Dallas

The Mayrath family in the grand entryway, late 1950s. Martin Mayrath made his fortune by inventing the grain auger. Photo: Preservation Dallas

mayrath house

Constructed of steel and Austin stone, with grand interiors that have been preserved through the years, the Mayrath house was lauded in a Sept. 23, 1957 story in The Dallas Morning News with the headline “Not a Splinter of Wood Used In Outstanding Home in Dallas,” further extolling the home in print:

Wood, the most frequently used material in homes, is completely shunned in the home of one Dallas family. There isn’t so much as a splinter of wood in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Mayrath, 10707 Lennox Lane…Built on columns of steel, the two story house is constructed with aluminum, glass, concrete and Austin stone. It may look like a country club at first glance, but it is a luxury home—one that probably is not equaled in the vast Southwest.

Those who love the quirky and ingenious will fall for the home’s even, clean exterior architecture and its colorful, classic interiors. Highland Park Market, the company that is marketing the home’s estate and pre-demolition fixture sale, confirms that the home will be razed soon in its announcement of an April 16-17 bring-your-own-tools gutting of this estate.

It must be seen to be believed. At first glance you might think the photos shown are 60 years old…they are not.  Those are recent photos.  This home is a PRISTINE VINTAGE 1958 TIME CAPSULE.   Although the new owners are building new, let’s pull together and salvage some of these mid-century architectural treasures!

10707 Lennox k

10707 Lennox j

mayrath house

mayrath house

If I was going to the sale, I’d be in line first to get that original blue Geneva kitchen, but I’m sensing that it will be a very popular item. There is even more steel cabinetry in each bathroom, as well as in the den, which also sports a leather-clad bar.

“Mr. Mayrath wanted it to have a lot of futuristic things and no lumber went into it — he did not want a fire. It was an ultra-modern house at the time, with lighting all through the hallways and even the bathrooms have Geneva metal cabinets,” Susan Bishop, daughter of architect Truett A. Bishop, told Shafer. Truett was 36 years old when he designed and built the Mayrath house.  “I’ve lived in Dallas all my life, I’m a fifth generation Dallasite, and I have watched [the tearing down of historic properties] for years and I hate it. Being a builder’s daughter, I love to tour homes, some I know are going to be town down, and it’s heartbreaking.
We, too,  are just heartbroken over the loss of this amazing structure and we hope that those who fought for it will manage to salvage a piece of it by which they can remember it.
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Joanna England is the Executive Editor at CandysDirt.com and covers the North Texas housing market.

11 Comments

  1. Karen Eubank on April 11, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    Any set designer would kill for the perfectly preserved kitchen and bathroom. What will we see in place of this mid mod perfection? Let’s just hope it’s not another boring overbuilt McMansion… but it probably will be.

  2. Jon Anderson on April 11, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Of course it will be some horrific throwback. I’m equally sure it will have a 2.28 acre footprint on the 2.29 acre lot.

    • Candy Evans on April 11, 2016 at 3:05 pm

      Nope stay tuned. You may be very much surprised…

  3. ck on April 11, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    Apparently he tried to deduct part of the high construction cost as “experimental and research” into new construction methods.

    http://openjurist.org/357/f2d/209/mayrath-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue

    • CocoChanel on April 12, 2016 at 12:42 am

      Interesting!

  4. Deb on April 12, 2016 at 9:42 am

    I am sick they are tearing this house down!!!

  5. Ed Murchison on April 12, 2016 at 8:17 pm

    This is truly heartbreaking for someone like me that loves these Mid-century Modern homes so much and work so hard as a realtor to match these homes with the right buyers that will love and appreciate them.

  6. Haley on April 12, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    Any word on the sale? It’s been removed from estatesales.net

    • Joanna England on April 12, 2016 at 8:34 pm

      Stay tuned. More details are emerging!

  7. Susan Bishop on April 21, 2016 at 9:17 am

    Good for you, Ed Murchison! There’s a perfect couple of designers in town that could put this remarkable place into a fine mid century again. Both love modern and know their materials and work well with remodelers. Anne Rosenthal is one I have worked for as an artist many times and she completely renewed a home for me and my fiance this summer – finishes and furniture. The other fantastic lady is award winning Mary Anne Smiley. Next would be gorgeous, delightful landscaping. Then once again owners in the home could enjoy music from the living room that once held a baby grand for the Mayrath’s.
    Ed, are you related to Clint Murchison?

  8. Caroline Cammack on April 24, 2016 at 9:36 am

    Once again, a brilliant example of lack of sophistication, more dollars than sense and a total disregard for historical architecture

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