White Rock Home Tour Springs into Dallas Tradition

The rites of spring are celebrated by many people in many ways, from watching daffodils bloom to new Easter frocks. For architect Jessica Stewart Lendvay, her personal spring ritual has become Dallas’ White Rock Home Tour.

Stewart Lendvay learned last year — her first year to chair the 16-year tradition — that she is not alone. One reason she agreed to chair the event again this year is she realized just how important the two-day tour is to so many people. For many, it’s an annual tradition shared with family and friends who anticipate the tour each year. She had no idea before chairing the tour in 2023.

“I was so touched by the community love for the White Rock Home Tour,” she said. “There were so many people during the tour who said, ‘This is my favorite home tour,’ and ‘I’m excited every year to see the types of homes you have.’”

White Rock Home Tour Dates Announced

This year’s tour has been set for noon to 5 p.m. on April 20 and 21. Tickets are on sale for $25 now on the website. The six selected homes, all located around the White Rock Lake area, may be visited over the two days. Proceeds, as always, benefit special projects at Hexter Elementary School.

Stewart Lendvay is no outsider. As an architect with her own firm for 18 years, of course she holds a tremendous interest in residential design. In addition, she lives in the area and is an active PTA mom at Hexter Elementary School. She chose the White Rock neighborhood for her own home because of the significant architecture found there.

The tour chairwoman earned a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. Among the highlights of her professional career are renovation work on homes designed by prominent architects Howard Meyer, Richard Larabee, and E.G. Hamilton. She remains enthusiastic about preserving that history and thinks the White Rock Home Tour helps tell Dallas’ history.

The Hexter House That Was Torn Down And The Architect’s Own Home on The Market

Six Beautiful Homes For You to View

Six diverse homes were chosen for the 2024 White Rock Home Tour. Many of the homes date to the 1950s, the same period that Hexter Elementary School first opened. The developers and architects of the time promoted Midcentury Modern principles such as connection to nature and the use of light.

The tour chair’s thoughts on this year’s home selections include:

• Lanett Circle in the Highland Meadows neighborhood—a charming 1955 ranch-style home on a beautiful creek lot. The homeowner recently completed a thoughtful, modern addition, carefully considering how to tie the original home to the new addition.
• Rolling Rock in the Highland Meadows neighborhood – a lovingly renovated and preserved period midcentury modern home with many original details from 1955. The dynamic roof plane floats above exposed beams which are infilled with clerestory windows throughout the home. 
• Wyatt Circle in the Lochwood neighborhood – a new residence expertly crafted Cliff Welch designed residence on a magnificent site bordering a treed hill leading to a creek. Views from this residence are spectacular.
• Biscayne Blvd in Old Lake Highlands—Architect Robert Croysdale sensitively sited this home to maximize the use of natural light to minimize energy use. With sustainability top of mind, the house features additional ceiling and wall insulation, efficient HVAC design, low-water use and energy efficient fixtures and appliances, rain catchment systems and low-water plants.
• Hambrick in Old Lake Highlands– Former Hexter parents and WRHT tour goers, the homeowners added on to their home to create an inspired, beautifully styled, light-filled residence.
• Carolyncrest in Lakewood. Wonderfully designed new family residence created by Dallas architect Bentley Tibbs, a partner in Abeyta Tibbs Architecture.

Funding Hexter Elementary School Projects

Now in its 16th year, the White Rock Home Tour was created to fund special projects at Hexter Elementary School, where Stewart Lendvay’s children attend. Much of the money now subsidizes an increasingly needed food pantry, but proceeds also support a gardening program, tutors, and teachers.

Tour proceeds benefit the school, which was the incentive for the tour’s creation. Success depends on a group effort of homeowners, sponsors, ticketholders, and the community.

“I get to see how the investment plays out for the school,” the tour chairwoman said. “We’re so grateful to our community who share their homes with us and their time and their interest in architecture and the sponsors who share with us. It’s a beautiful opportunity where people bring their gifts, all benefiting the children of Hexter who get the additional resources they need to succeed.”