Dallas’ Historic Preservation Wins And Losses of 2021

It’s the time of year when we look back and cross our fingers to see if our historic preservation wins outweighed our losses in 2021. Indeed there were some fine saves, but equally, there were gutting losses.

The question must continually be asked: Why is the demolition of our history a choice that is made?

As ever, I will land on the side of people being under-educated and unaware, rather than just plain greedy and stupid. 

This year, we had some tremendous historic preservation wins, starting with the repairs to our beloved Hall of State after the devastating February storm. So many skilled preservationists worked to bring the jewel in the crown of Fair Park back to pristine condition that we should all be incredibly proud and eternally grateful.  

The Reverchon Ballpark

The Reverchon Park Ballfield was another big win. Some may say it’s just a ballpark, but isn’t that the point?

Not every preservation story is about a beautiful building. Many are about what holds the fabric of our communities together and I have to say, nothing speaks to that like baseball.

It was not a quick or easy win and the ballpark was embroiled in plenty of controversies as reported, in-depth, on this site by Jon Anderson:

The RFP was bad. Five times the size with 30 onsite parking spaces for events reaching 5,000 attendees? Jeez.

The city would have also lost control of a public park for 40 years for ultimately not much money.

The neighborhood option of restoring the ballfield while maintaining control of a continued public asset that can ultimately self-fund itself is just better.

It took a lot of nail-biting and patience … plus a lawsuit, but the neighborhood looks to be getting the solution it has wanted all along – not just for Reverchon Park, but in their councilmember as well.

The Elbert Williams House

One of the big historic preservation wins last year was due to a couple with a passion for preservation, as is often the case. Trevor and Jan Reese-Jones saved the Elbert Williams House. 

Legendary architect David R. Williams built this historic Texas ranch house in 1932. It was a custom design for former University Park mayor Ebert Williams and is one of the decade’s feel-good historic preservation stories. As the most notable example of Texas Regionalism and a tribute to architectural disruptors everywhere, we were all in fear of its demise when it went on the market in 2019.

However, Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones came to the rescue. They not only purchased the 1.15-acre property and have promised to keep it intact, but they are also the honorary chairs of the Park Cities Historic and Preservations Society’s Historic Home Tour. This is what stewardship should look like in Dallas, and our hats are off to Jan and Trevor.

The Longhorn Ballroom

The Longhorn Ballroom is another one near and dear to my heart. It’s where I learned to two-step. Edwin Cabaniss wants to preserve the ballroom and add a new outdoor entertainment venue to the rear of the property. My heart and my boots will be forever grateful to this remarkable man.

Preservation Dallas’ website has an extensive post you should read, and here’s a snippet of it: 

The legendary Longhorn Ballroom opened in 1950, originally as the Bob Wills Ranch House. It was owned and operated by O. L. Nelms as a music venue for Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. The Ranch House included a dance floor accommodating 2,000 people, a barbeque restaurant, a bar, retail and outdoor areas. Bob Wills, as host, played there with the Texas Playboys on a regular basis. They were instrumental in developing a new take on Western Swing music.

Douglas ‘Dewey’ Groom was brought in to manage the club, and in 1968 he purchased the building, renamed it the Longhorn Ballroom, and added the Western-style front façade and the iconic sign and bull at Corinth Street. Groom continued Nelms’ commitment to county music and built it into one of the greatest Country and Western venues of its day. The artists that played there represented the best – Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, George Jones, Ray Price, Charley Pride, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and Willie Nelson, as well as locals including Hank Thompson and the Brazos Valley Boys. Groom would also lease the venue to other promoters for Jazz, Blues, and Rhythm & Blues with performers such as B. B. King, Lionel Hampton, Nat King Cole, Al Green, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and James Brown. By the late 1970s, the venue opened up to other popular music, including the Sex Pistols’ notorious event in 1978 that gained worldwide attention.

Preservation Dallas

Geneva Heights Elementary School

I was relieved to hear about Geneva Heights Elementary School because this school was down the street from where I spent my 20s. I loved living in a leafy neighborhood with an Art Deco elementary school down the block. It is an idyllic neighborhood, and the thought of some modern monstrosity just plagued me. My hope is that the architects adhere to the original sense of style and scale in the new addition.

“This school was slated for replacement in the recent bond program,” Preservation Dallas Executive Director David Preziosi said. “With a concerted effort of many, DISD has committed to saving the historic portion of the school and incorporating it into a new school. The current additions will be removed, and a new addition will be made to the rear of the school.”

Historic Preservation of The National and The East Quarter

Todd Interests saved The National. It was the largest preservation project and historic tax credit in the state of Texas. This was an over $400 million project. They also, along with Reggie Graham, saved an entire historic neighborhood and reinvented it as the East Quarter.

Have you ever stopped to think why intelligent business people who understand development and finance choose to save historic properties? Developers, please take note. There are lessons to be learned here.

I’m happy to say there were many more residential historic preservation wins, but the losses always gut us.

Exchange Park

One that actually has a wee chance to survive (if the folks at U.T. Southwestern read my column and realize what a gem they have on their hands) is Exchange Park.

The design, history, and utter coolness factor should give pause to anyone with a heart and some understanding of why these buildings matter. Demolition is slated for early 2022. All I can say is, please, U.T. Southwestern, press pause, learn something, talk to the preservationists, and grasp why you should not destroy a significant part of our history. 

The Carey Estate

The loss that gutted me the most in 2021 is 4712 Lakeside Drive, The Carey Estate. Mr. Carey was a phenomenal visionary, and his home housed not just memories. The very walls held his dreams for our remarkable medical district. It’s as if you could touch them and hear his hopes. This was a significant estate in our city, and now it’s gone. 

Gone But Not Forgotten

Once a thing of beauty is gone, it cannot be replaced. So the questions must be asked. What defines a city? What creates that look, the one that is instantly Instagrammable today?

Beautiful historic architecture.

Think of Paris, Rome, New York, Chicago, and Boston. What immediately comes to mind? Architecture. Splendid, historic buildings and homes. Face it. No one is taking selfies in front of boring new construction. 

Once history is demolished, there are only photos and stories. I’ll continue to tell those stories, so even though the loss is a stab in our hearts, the story lives on, and there is a record of it. 

In telling the stories, my hope is that those who think demolition is the answer may stop and ask the questions, learn a bit about our wonderful history, and perhaps, just perhaps, choose historic preservation because it’s always the right thing to do.