She Wrote the Book on Dallas Historic Homes: Virginia McAlester’s Archive Now Open at SMU
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There was no one like Virginia McAlester. Without her, I have little doubt the mansions on Swiss Avenue would be only a memory, and much of our architectural heritage would have disappeared. McAlester was an advocate and activist for our built history. She is best known, in a national sense, for writing “A Field Guide to American Houses, The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture.” There is nothing else like it. It’s certainly our main reference book at CandysDirt.com, and a book that everyone interested in residential architecture should have in their library, especially Realtors.
“When I moved to Dallas to work for Preservation Dallas, I met Virginia in person for the first time,” David Preziosi said. Preziosi is currently the President and CEO at the Texas Historical Foundation and was the former Executive Director of Preservation Dallas. “It was like meeting a rock star, as that is what she was to the historic preservation field. With my work at Preservation Dallas, I learned more about her tremendous impact on Dallas. Virginia was instrumental, along with her parents and others in Swiss Avenue like Harryette Erhardt, in getting local historic designation for the neighborhood in 1973 to save it from inappropriate development that would have ruined the incredible street filled with amazing revival houses.”
That work continued with other historic districts, such as the West End, South Boulevard, Park Row, and the formation of the Historic Preservation League, later renamed Preservation Dallas.
“She set up a revolving loan program in the 1970s to help stem the tide of disinvestment in historic neighborhoods in East Dallas,” Preziosi said. “She also founded the Friends of Fair Park to get Fair Park designated a National Historic Landmark and raise money for its restoration. Historic preservation in Dallas would not be what it is today without the incredible work of Virginia McAlister and her tireless efforts to speak up for the historic buildings and districts that continue to define the City of Dallas.”
In 2022, McAlester’s daughter, Amy Talkington, donated her mother’s papers to the DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University. They have a special section dedicated to Women of the Southwest. The Virginia McAlester collection was processed this year by Cynthia Franco. It includes manuscripts for publication, photographs, correspondence, scrapbooks, and papers of the Cochran, Harris, Bookhout, and Savage families from 1933 to 2019 and is available to view by appointment.
“We are delighted to make Virginia McAlester’s papers available to the public,” Russell L. Martin III, Director of the DeGolyer Library, said. “She was the catalyst behind so much of the historic preservation movement, especially here in Dallas, but also across the country, thanks to her ‘Field Guide to American Houses,’ which has become the standard reference in the field. We think her archive will be very useful for students and researchers, and thank her family for donating the collection to SMU.”
Not only do we now have this incredible repository of the Virginia McAlester papers at our fingertips, but we also have exciting news about a preservation fellowship her daughter and son have established in her name, for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates. Caroline Griffis was the recipient of the first award in May.
McAlester was a third of the way through another book when she passed away. I’m thrilled to report that the book, ‘A Field Guide to American Buildings,’ is being finished by two of her Dallas colleagues, Evelyn Montgomery and Willis Winters. Montgomery is the Executive Director of the Old Red Museum and Chair of the Landmark Commission. Winters is the former Dallas Parks and Recreation Director, the founder of The Dilbeck Architecture Conservancy, and the foremost expert on Charles Dilbeck in America. He is currently finishing work on the definitive book on Dilbeck.
“I consider ‘The Field Guide to American Houses’ the most important style guide that has ever been written,” Winters said. When I was approached to participate with Eveleyn Montgomery who I have a tremendous amount of respect for, I was flattered and agreed to work on it in honor of Virginia.
This second book covers non-residential buildings, including institutional, commercial, and educational buildings. It will have the same level of detail as the Field Guide. “It needs to be done, and I think it will be an incredible asset,” Winters said.
Montgomery worked with McAlester as a research assistant from 2019 until McAlester’s passing in 2020. “It was a natural to continue the project, but certainly daunting to follow in Virginia’s footsteps,” Montgomery said. The Field Guide was produced in a scientific investigative method with data analysis, and this book will be produced in the same manner.
McAlester’s long-time partner, Steve Clique, is involved in the photography, and local illustrator Sam Ringman has been contracted to create the illustrations. The target date for publication is in the Spring of 2027, and I can tell you we here at Candysdirt.com cannot wait!
