Dallas Preservation Experts on How to Keep Your Historic Home and Why It Matters
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Writing about historic preservation weekly puts me in touch with the best preservation experts in Dallas. It’s given me a lot of insight. Although I’m just the messenger, I regularly get emails from readers like this one:
Dear Karen,
I bought a beautiful historic home with the intention of remodeling and updating it. Now, my builder is telling me it’s not worth saving. Help!
My response was, “Have you called a preservation architect or a preservation specialist?” The reader then emailed back, “What’s that?”
Hence this post.
I’m going to be painfully logical and honest with you. A builder does not want to save your historic home. They want to pay their kid’s college tuition by building a new one. They are in business to build. So are architects.
Everyone is in business to make money. And that is A-OK. But if you truly want to save a historic home, do your research.
Dallas has some of the best preservation architects and preservation specialists in America. They will give you an honest analysis of your property and recommend the professionals who can make your historic home look as beautiful as the day it was built.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of historic demolition in the past couple of years. The loss of the Lakewood Hutsell created a social media uproar. The Buckner mansion gutted us, and most recently, the loss of the Rose Lloyd estate in Highland Park has upset much of Dallas.
So, to help y’all, I called up some of our preservation experts for guidance.
Photo by Mimi Perez for CandysDirt.com
Preservation architect Marcel Quimby has worked on some of Dallas’ most notable historic projects, including the Hall of State at Fair Park.
“A preservation architect has expertise working with historic buildings and understanding how they are different from new construction,” Quimby said.
Preservation architects know how to solve problems that those without specialty knowledge may think are insurmountable. They understand that historic structures, materials, and finishes are different and know how to deal with them.
Preservation is Not Harder. It’s Just Different
Norman Alston has been a frequent contributor to CandysDirt.com on historic preservation. He’s led preservation planning and restoration efforts on more than 100 historic projects and is an industry leader.
“The idea of substantial renovation to an existing historic building is not common, so a lot of people are not comfortable with it,” Alston said. “Most architects seldom renovate. They build new. That is the number one problem. The industry has not come to grips with taking what we have and adapting it for new use or preserving it for its own value. So, you don’t typically get good information. It’s not that it’s harder. It’s just different.”
Alston makes the excellent point that unfamiliarity with materials and how historic structures are built leads to destruction. No one likes to say, “I don’t know the answer.” It’s an uncomfortable position. But honestly, wouldn’t you rather have a professional say that they don’t know but they will find out? An experienced preservation architect can read a house simply by looking at it.
Preservation specialist Jay Firsching of HRTC Services made another crucial point.
“Architecture students are trained in school to be able to show their design work. A preservation architect is focused on preserving the work someone else did and hiding their own work. The whole idea is you don’t make a mark. In many ways, it’s much more difficult because you have to set your ego aside.”
Preservation Experts Weigh in On Sustainability
Architect Alicia Quintans, principal of JQAQ Atelier, LLC, does a lot of adaptive reuse, which means repurposing existing buildings for new uses. She brought up the green aspect of historic preservation. If you listen to an uninformed architect or builder and raze your historic home, you’ve lost more than just a building.
“If we are going to have an impact on climate change, we must keep our older buildings,” Quintnans said. “Everything that is demolished is wasteful. The materials in these buildings have such value because you cannot find them any longer.”
Quintans is hopeful because she sees newer generations of small business owners valuing historic structures. The historic buildings become part of their brand.
We have to educate the public on the value of old buildings from an energy and green standpoint. There is an environmental motive to work with what you have, and I believe the younger generation understands this.
Ron Siebler —President of Preservation Dallas
The bottom line is that preservation architects and specialists are trained to work with historic buildings. They understand older materials and construction techniques, and they have the knowledge and resources to keep your historic home standing.
How To Find a Preservation Expert
It might seem obvious, but look online. Check your neighborhood website or Facebook page. Ask for recommendations and, of course, read CandysDirt.com.
17 Comments
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Shouldn’t a city or town provide tax abatement for historic homes? I live in a 1929 Dahl house on Tokalon, and as upkeep gets more expensive it is difficult to maintain.
Hi Elizabeth! There are tax incentives for historic homes in Dallas. Here is the link: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Pages/tax_incentives.aspx
Karen – Thank you for getting information out there! I appreciate the shout-out and conversation.
Karen, I am in commercial real estate and went to a preservation conference yesterday and there are tax incentives for preservation on commercial buildings. I don’t hear anything about tax incentives for residential. Highland Park can afford to provide these incentives to make preservation affordable. You are so right about builders and architects not being informed on how to do preservation. Many times it comes down to the cost and incentives would level the playing field. Tearing down historic homes destroys the soul of a city.
A very important conversation. Thanks for keeping it going
Thanks for your assistance, Ron!
Perhaps you should refer people to AIA Dallas Chapter, TSA Texas Society of Architects or even the national organization for help locating an architect with particular experience in preservation. Whereas they likely won’t “recommend” any one person or firm they might provide a list of several professionals with this very specific expertise.
Thanks for the suggestions, Mary. I did call AIA and various organizations to find out if they have a list. They do not, nor will they recommend individuals because, as you suspected, no one wants to be called out for favoritism. You can go on the AIA website and do your research to see if someone lists preservation as a specialty, but that’s as far as that road goes. I do know Preservation Dallas is working on one. I will see if we can compile one that people can download because I do know all the preservationists in Dallas.
As one who “walks the walk, and talks the talk” of saving an old, Historic house for twenty years now, the only way to save one is to BUY IT.
The City doesn’t have funds (or interest) in saving them; Preservation Dallas doesn’t have those kinds of funds, which means it’s a free for all.
Developers just want to BUILD. They’re in it for the $$$$. They don’t care a flip for History.
That’s up to us. Sigh. Carry on….
Terri I always love your frank and honest input!
Wondering if they even saved the materials from some of these homes….the tiles, the columns, the ceiling moldings that could be used elsewhere.
3800 Beverly just kills me. What a grand and gracious home that was.
Generally they do not. There are architectural salvage companies but it certainly takes a thoughtful person to engage them.
I continue to appreciate your educational preservation articles, which are motivating and assisting homeowners, religious congregations, contractors, nonprofit organizations, and governmental representatives to partner and conserve tangible examples of Dallas history for future generations.
Thanks Rabbi! That means a lot to me 🙂
Excellent points and superb, always timely topic. We appreciate you!
Thanks, Karen. Your frequent articles on historic preservation are what is needed to begin to solve this concern. They are the way (or at least an important part of it) to creating a local culture of preservation, or stated more directly, an expectation of preservation. We need generally to change the attitude from “Why save that?” to “Why NOT save that?”
Thank you, Norman, and thank you for your continued help and for teaching me so much!