The Eagle Apartments: An Example of Historic Properties That Make Sense Today

When I saw a unit available at the Eagle Apartments, my heart skipped a beat. This is exactly where I’d have lived in my younger years. It has that perfect combination of history and urban lifestyle I’ve always loved. It’s an example of how a historic building can still beautifully serve its original purpose. 

The Eagle Apartments sit on the edge of the Cedars neighborhood, about a block from Dallas Heritage at Old City Park, where a few Red Cedar trees remain. These trees used to cover what was then prairie, and that’s how the Cedars neighborhood got its name.

In the late 1800s, the Cedars was home to some of the wealthiest people in the city. When the railroads boxed in the neighborhood, the wealthy homeowners departed and commercialization began. That included the Park Hotel, later called the Ambassador, which unfortunately burned down a few years ago after a couple of reincarnations.

Car dealerships began to line South Ervay, and the massive building we know as Southside on Lamar was a Sears Roebuck warehouse. As the neighborhood increasingly became commercialized, one building stood the test of time, The Eagle Apartments.

Jim Foster’s fabulous Dallas Gateway Pioneers of Dallas County blog has the following information:

The 1920s was the decade for many still existing commercial buildings to be constructed, as the neighborhood increasingly lost its graciousness and mixed industry with working-class housing. An exception was the elaborately decorated Eagle Apartments’ facade. It contained railings, balustrades, an eagle motif at the roofline, a double backstair entry with railing, and a lion’s head fountain at street level. It was easily the architectural jewel of the neighborhood …

Construction was started in 1922 by George Kean. The Eagle Apartment building was unusual for the time in that it had a new feature: garage space for tenants in the basement of the building. There were 24 apartments — eight were four rooms, and 16 were efficiencies with two rooms. The builder did something unique, enlisting the Sanger Brothers department store to furnish the apartments completely.

The first apartments hit the market in 1924, and there must have been a race to see who could snag one first. Check out the ad. They came not just furnished but complete with towels, linens, and kitchen necessities. This was basically the first turnkey living arrangement in Dallas. Back then, it was known as a hotel apartment. The best ideas do come back around!

There is a lot more history to the Eagle Apartments and I encourage you to check out Paula Bosse’s award-winning blog Flashback Dallas for more information.

You may not be able to score a fully furnished apartment here today, but you certainly get the history, the great location, the vibrant Cedars neighborhood, and a great view from this top-floor corner unit. There are also original hardwood floors, cast iron tubs, and nine-foot ceilings.

The building was converted to condos some time ago, and the 24 units were combined to create eight sizable two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments. This one is 1,486 square feet with a sitting area in the principal bedroom. 

Two years ago, local preservationist Mark Martinek with MOD Construction Services was brought in to install double pane, double hinged, Don Young thermal break Low-E glass windows & JELD-WEN exterior doors. If you’ve lived in a historic property, you’ll understand what a difference the right windows and doors make.

“The Eagle is an iconic piece of history,” Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s listing agent J.B. Hayes said. “Everyone in the Cedars knows that red front door.”

I’m thrilled that this beautiful building is still standing and still serving the community. Rather than expanding, it has contracted density to provide a better quality of life for its residents. I think many developers could learn a lesson from this. 

Hayes has 1615 S. Ervay Street, Unit 5 at the Eagle Apartment Building listed for $349,000. I expect it to fly off the market at the open house.

Open House: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 9