Three Significant Highland Park Homes Now Belong to Clay and Lisa Cooley
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Digging around on MLS the other day, I spotted a real estate anomaly. Public records indicated three significant Highland Park homes in a row were purchased by the same buyers. The buyers are auto magnate Clay Cooley and his smart and glamorous better half, Lisa.
You know the commercials, “Shop me first, shop me last, either way, come see Clay!” Well, Clay’s been shopping!
Cooley, for you newcomers, is a self-made man and has pretty much cornered the auto market. There has not been a lot written about him, but in 2016, D Magazine reported that he had 10 dealerships, and his 2015 total sales were $740 million. One can only imagine that number has probably doubled. Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it right. So, what do you do when you make the big bucks? You buy real estate, of course.
The Cooleys have swept up 4209 Bordeaux Ave, 4206 Armstrong Parkway, and 4200 Armstrong Parkway, both of which back up to Bordeaux, so a triple treat of significant Highland Park homes. If my calculations are correct, that is about 2.48 acres across the street from the Billionaire Boys Club on Preston Road. To give you some insight. Jerry Jones is across the street. The Cooleys are close enough to borrow a nice bottle of Veuve from him.
Now, we have a bit of a conundrum because all three of these homes are significant. The Tudor at 4209 Bordeaux Ave. was designed by the legendary architect Hal Thomson. Great American Suburbs The Homes of the Park Cities, Dallas by Virginia Savage McAlester, Willis Cecil Winters, and Prudence Mackintosh has the following information:
Thomson’s gracious Tudor houses were often located on spacious lots on many of the best streets in the Park Cities. The residence at 4209 Bordeaux (Thomson & Swain), built in 1925 for James R. Bower, the president of an auto rental business and cab company, is one such house: a sprawling picturesque English manse, superbly conceived and detailed, and rendered in a rich palette of materials.
Of course, it was only right to reach out to one of our best historical resources, Willis Winters, to get his take on the sales.
“Clay now has the most spectacularly prominent residential site in Dallas,” Winters said. “The potential demolition of these three homes, especially the two remarkable residences designed by Korn and Thompson, continues the tragic loss of the architectural legacy of the Park Cities. It has been an especially bad year for significant houses in Highland Park.”
The Hal Thomson Tudor was beautifully updated over the years, and you can read more about it in my 2019 post below.
The home at 4208 Armstrong Parkway was designed by architect Anton Korn in 1926. There were a handful of architects designing luxury homes in Dallas in the 1920s and 1930s. Korn was in demand and prolific. Like Thomson, Korn created some of the most beautiful homes in the city. He designed this one for Harry S. Moss. Yes, THAT Harry, who you probably do not know, bought a bull at the State Fair of Texas. Of course he could not keep it here so he built the 400-acre Moss Haven stock farm, a large portion of which became Harry S. Moss Park. From what I can gather in the Dallas Morning News archives, the family lived in the Armstrong house for almost five decades.
Although MLS shows all three properties have the same sold date, DCAD indicates Leslie and Amy Ware sold 4208 Armstrong Parkway in 2021 to a buyer at 4252 Cochran Chapel. You must have guessed. This is the existing address for the Cooley home, purchased in 2012. It’s not exactly lacking in space or grounds, at over 12,000 square feet and sitting on 4.5 acres.
It seems clear that the Cooleys have had an eye on this prime part of Highland Park for some time. Their patience and strategic planning, waiting for the flanking properties to become available, is truly impressive. I can’t help but wish for one of those detective boards with the red strings to connect all the real estate dots in Dallas.
So we have two historic properties and an architecturally significant fairytale Gnome House built by eclectic architect Tom Workman that anchors the pie-shaped corner of Preston and Armstrong. It’s a love-it-or-hate-it kind of house, but it’s most definitely significant. When Workman finished it in the late 1990s the vast majority of Highland Park residents were scandalized and were vocal in their outrage. Outlandish and abomination were pretty common terms when describing the home, and of course, how dare Workman tear down a historic home to build his fantasy hobbit house compound? Sound familiar?
While this unique home was unusual for Dallas, it certainly was not precedent-setting in America. Workman must have been familiar with the Northern Michigan builder Earl Young. Young created an entire neighborhood in Charlevoix, Mich., of these fantasy homes. Each of the 30 homes is now considered a work of art.
Workman’s house stands as an example of how the more things change, the more they stay the same. We see the demolition of architecturally significant homes daily, and we gnash our teeth and wail, but this home personifies that change is imminent.
Would it be lovely to retain them? Yes, of course. But is it likely? I think not. With no protections for historic or architecturally significant homes in Highland Park, all we can do is be contemplative and reflective about the evolving nature of our real estate landscape. I, for one, cannot wait to see what happens on this prominent block of Highland Park.
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Karen, I believe it’s all but certain that the three homes will be demolished. Sad, but that’s so common in HP. We can hope that the Cooleys retain an architect who is up to the task of creating a worthwhile structure of class and proportion.
On another note, what has happened to the Vaughn residence on S. Dentwood? I drove by the other day to see what occurred behind the construction fence that surrounded the property the last 2 years, and I was horrified to see that the graceful lines and proportions of the house have been destroyed with second floors added, new wings added, etc. I was speechless. The former house was a true masterpiece that could have been updated/renovated by Bodron & Fruit without compromising the architectural integrity of the home.
KP I know! I will have some good news about a couple of historic Oak Cliff properties in the future. Both have been purchased by locals that intend to keep them intact. Considering both are on a lot of land, this is welcome news! We do see neighbors in HPK buying historic homes to keep them intact, just not enough of them : )
Several years ago on TV there was a program that showed different and unusual houses that had been built in America. I don’t remember the name but the house at Preston and Armstrong was included. The host was given a tour of the house by the wife of the owner. She explained that much of the house was built from things they had collected over the years. I have always wished I could see that program again.
Nancy I’d heard that and have tried to find it. Maybe one of our readers will come forward with a link!
This is sad news, but thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention.
The Preservation Park Cities was formed after the Historical PPC in order to find a way to preserve our architectural beauties. But the almighty dollar and don’t give a rodent patootie over power gobbled it up. Beyond sad. Why didn’t he wait and join the like minded neighbors behind the Preston Rd wall?
Karen I think the only way to combat this is to follow the example we see in San Antonio, which is to have enough people that can create a preservation fund to purchase historic homes. It’s just hard to compete with very deep pockets.
Sadly, the residents of Highland Park don’t want protections for the remaining historic homes enough to establish a preservation district or ordinance. If current owners care about protecting their homes, they can submit their property for a preservation easement prior to a sale.
Lindsey I think it’s more about property rights than anything. You can deed protect a house but any good attorney can generally get that overturned. There are people purchasing homes in the Park Cities TO protect them so neighbors do care, just not enough of them who have political clout I assume.
Because 2 people need 30,000 square feet of home. And yet us middle class people get shamed for driving gas powered cars.
The loss of beauty is going to be awful. I will never give this man or his family business
Well, we have no clue what they plan at this point so let’s see what ufolds : )
Was the Hobbit House the residence that had the custom roof – each roof panel was numbered – so it reset bled thatch?
I don’t know what “reset bled thatch” means. It’s beeen called the hobbit house, the mushroom house, the gnome house and seems to be inspired by the gnome homes in Northern Michigan, which you can see in the post. The entire home was custom so I would not be surprised if each roof panel was numbered. The Workmans are no longer with us so if anyone has an answer for J. Widmark please chime in!
Oh jeez…my heart hurts.
I’ll probably receive flack for this, but personally I hope that gnome house is torn down asap. That has been an eyesore since it was built and I feel like I want to vomit every time I drive by it. While I’m typically not a fan of tearing down houses, I’m definitely a fan of this one being torn down.
Join the crowd Bill! We all get flack for our opinions but hey discussion is good!
I think “reset bled” was meant to be “resembled”. So, yes, that copper roof was meant to resemble thatch. I watched in amazement and some disbelief as Hobbit House was built and still giggle whenever I pass by.
If permission is given it would be great if an extreme high quality3D model of these homes were done so we could remember them and enjoy them. A high quality 3D rendering would be lovely.
I was thinking the very same! Will the house be dismantled and pieces preserved for those who may want, let’s say, a window, door, tile, etc.? Photos and a model would be a wonderful way to keep this house being forgotten and useful for those interested in architecture and history.
Marcella, that would be so cool if they did that but in general when people buy homes they don’t consider that others would be interested. When the historic Hutsell came down in Lakewood, a stained glass window was leaning against the chain link fence and the beautiful pillow tile was in shards on the ground.There are companies that sepcialize in salvaging arhitectural pieces and offering them for resale but most new owners simply have no interest in taking that extra step.
I personally think the gnome house is very cool. Yes, it’s very different but still beautiful. At least it isn’t a three story white box. It breaks my heart when the older original houses of HP/UP get torn down. But I get it, some want new and have the means to buy and build what ever they want. I’d be curious to know what percentage of original HP houses have been replaced. I’m guessing 80%.
Karen, have you heard any more on the Cox mansion tear down?
Hi Chris,
I have not heard anything yet but will, of course, report any news when we receive it. It’s really tragic that what made Highland Park special is being destroyed daily but it’s what will continue to happen when there are no historic preservation ordinances in place.
I hope the exteriors of the two Tudors stay as they are. That would be a loss for Dallas.
Great article Karen and interesting architecture.
I an so bothered to read about these three homes being sold to one buyer! Can there be an effort to save them beside the citizens of Highland Park buying them? Do the Cooleys not see the benefit of saving architecturally significant houses for the history of Dallas?
If the three properties are indeed torn down, what type of home of “class and Proportion” will be built? This is sad.
Well Mary, it’s a completed real estate transaction, so no. If the citizens of Highland Park wanted to save historic homes, by now they would have rallied around Preservation Park Cities, created a fund to purchase historic homes, much like has happened in other cities, and there would be a chance to preserve them. However, as it stands now in the Park Cities, there are no protections for historic properties. Anyone can purchase anything and do what they want with that property. Just as Mr. Beal can tear down one of the most significant homes in our city, anyone in these neighborhoods can do what they want with their purchases.This is not the first time a single buyer has purchased multiple properties. Many many people have bought two homes, replatted to one lot and built a much larger home. But remember, the Workman’s demolished a historic home to build the Gnome House and everyone went nuts. It was universally hated for years and years. Now that we all think it’s a cool curiosity, the Cooleys may decide to replace it. It’s just history unfolding.Maybe the Cooleys WILL keep these homes. I think that is unlikely but that’s just my opinion. Who is to say the Cooleys won’t hire a named architect and build something absolutely fantastic? While I’m a huge proponent of historic preservation, it’s challenging to be terribly sympathetic when HPK residents have not created preservation ordinances. It takes a village to accomplish anything and if HPK neighbors want to create preservation ordinances, they can. So far they have not.
I was the interior designer for Jane Ann and Tom Workman when they built the unique house on Armstrong. It was a labor of love. Every detail was considered and no cost was spared.
I have a feeling, knowing them, that they would not care one wit that it could be torn down. They lived life for the moment.
Tom studied under the famous architect, Bruce Goff, at OU and was very knowledgeable about styles of architecture. When the brass roof was put on, there was an outcry, but he assured everyone that it would turn green.
Thank you for commenting Cynthia. I’ve sent you an email as I’d love to know more!
Hopefully these unique and architecturally significant residences will survive and become joyful homes for Cooley children and grandchildren who can run over to shop and play at Highland Park Village. It would be tragic to see them torn down and replaced with a gigantic zero-lot black and white box structure over a 20 car garage with glass doors so-called dream home which I have branded as the “MAGADOPIAN” style of Architecture.
Good one Krista! Yeah, the first thing I thought was family compound so who knows? It will be interesting, as usual, to see what unfolds in HPK!
I just stumbled across this article and the story it tells is a great read. Plus, the photos used really bring life to the story as well. Seeing the pictures of the homes, especially the Gnome Home, makes this story complete. Kudos to Candy for having a great photographer and great writer teaming up to give me a complete understanding of what is happening with these properties. Without the photos, it would just be another sad teardown story in HP.
We are so glad you enjoyed it Penny!
Nancy, THANK YOU for commenting. I have wondered my entire life what the inside of this house looks like. Thanks to your memory I found the Workman house was featured on season 1, episode 7 of the show Home Strange Home. I’m heartbroken to learn the home will likely be demolished, but at least we have this record.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0921K6H5G/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
I really appreciate your article.
Sale of 4200…This has been a sad development for our family. Our mother (my stepmother, but she raised me) and father loved that house and were very proud of it. They were amazingly creative and visionary people, as you can imagine! Unfortunately, Jane Ann is deceased, but Tom Workman (97) has decided to live in Plano, Texas. No matter what you think about the “Mushroom House” in Highland Park, please know that it was built out of love and crazy collaborative creativity by my parents and it has been heartbreaking to see it go. I haven’t lived in Dallas for over 30 years, but have many happy memories there and so appreciate my parents’ amazing creativity and their willingness to take a chance and do something artistically different, especially in such a traditional atmosphere! It stood out and so did they!
I would argue that it is architecturally significant for so many reasons, and I too, hope it will not be torn down. But, we will see.
Kippy Workman Perkins
Kippy it is a delight to hear from you. I only knew your father in passing. Oddly enough we attended the same Pilates class in Highland Park years ago. It’s certainly architecturally significant in my eyes as well and the most unique house in Dallas. Unfortunately without preservation protections in the Park Cities so many of our beautiful, historic and unique homes won’t remain. Your father and step mother were indeed some of the most creative people Dallas has seen.
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1AphsR3dAb/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Please help us if you can. My dad’s house will be featured in D Magazine this month.
Hi Kippy, I’m not sure what you mean.
Lords and ladies it doesn’t stop there.
Flippers are buying up homes all over the extended DFW Area and slapping paint on the brick ruining the original architecture and intent of the builder not to mention this promotes mold growth.