This Stevens Park Estates Midcentury Modern Ranch Comes With a Memory Box  

Once in a while, I come across a truly spectacular find like this Stevens Park Midcentury Modern ranch.

So many people screw up these homes. They gut them and destroy every shred of the interior character. I am thrilled to report that is not the case here.

As Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s listing agent Kay Wood said to me, “It’s a good example of how to modernize an MCM without ruining it.” She is spot on. Not only is it pristine and perfectly renovated, you won’t believe who built it.

It was George Sebastian, the founder of Sebastian Construction Group. According to their website, George’s first projects were in Oak Cliff during the post-World War ll housing boom.

We may think Dallas is the biggest little town in the country now, but in the 1940s and ’50s it was truly a case of everyone knowing each other. Thanks to a box full of drawings and memorabilia combined with copious notes on the home by architect Jim Barnes, we have the complete origin history of this Stevens Park Midcentury Modern ranch.  

Jim is the son of Brunner and Marguerite Barnes, the couple who designed the home. Along with his two siblings, he not only grew up here but later inherited the home and lived in it for years. The Barnes and Sebastian families were close friends. George and Marguerite both attended Oak Cliff High School. The families lived near one another, and Jim was a kindergarten classmate and friend of Bill Sebastian.

“I clearly remember playing at the Sebastian house on Greenbriar and Bill playing with me at our home on Thomasson Drive,” Jim said.

While living in their Tudor-style home on Thomasson, Brunner and Marguerite began planning a larger home to reflect their decidedly modern tastes. Architect George Christensen drew up plans, but Jim recalls that his parents laid out a great deal of the design. The Barnes went through several iterations of drawings and, at one point, commissioned a design from Arch Swank. Jim has pencil drawings of three design schemes. According to his notes, many of the elements his parents later incorporated into this Stevens Park Estates Midcentury Modern ranch were evident in Swank’s drawings.

Among the drawings that were saved was a sketch of a floor plan by Marguerite and Brunner.

Its drafting and lettering styles include both of their handwritings, though it looks to me like the actual plan is in Marguerite’s hand. The front elevation is clearly expressed on the back on this sheet; and in it is implicit the concepts of the east-facing clerestory window strip and the “cathedral” ceilings following the low-pitched roof lines. I believe that this plan was likely part of a preliminary design set given to the architect hired to draft the final construction plans and specifications.

ARCHITECT JIM BARNES
May 2009

In October 1955, the Barnes family found the perfect lot at 1943 Marydale Dr. in Stevens Park Estates. In February 1957, they accepted George Sebastian’s winning construction bid of $22,500, and by July, they had moved into their 2,156-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home.

This Midcentury Modern ranch has stood the test of time because the owners thought it through carefully. They were intimately involved in the design process and hired someone who was not only a respected builder but a man they knew well. These things make an enormous difference, and, of course, midcentury design continues to make sense for modern lifestyles. For instance, the wall of built-in cabinetry in the primary suite is logical and continues to be emulated today.

Stevens Park is also a conservation district, another reason this rare Midcentury Modern ranch has remained standing. It has only been sold twice before. Oddly enough, the owners of one of our favorite stores,  Anteks, lived here for some time, during which the house was featured in The Dallas Morning News.

“Everyone who has owned this house has had some connection to architecture or design,” Wood said.  

Wood has this Stevens Park Estates Midcentury Modern Ranch at 1943 Marydale Drive available for $875,000. And yes, the box of documents is passed along to a new buyer because the story of a home is everything.