Steel Toe Stiletto Scores Another Preservation Achievement Award With This 1910 Craftsman
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Preservation Dallas presents the 27th Annual Preservation Achievement Awards on May 7. These awards honor inspiring projects and people who work diligently to preserve our built heritage. As usual, they showcase an outstanding group of winners.
It’s not surprising that Steel Toe Stiletto is being recognized again this year. In fact, this will be the company’s seventh Preservation Achievement Award. Founder Tam Pham has been saving historic homes for over a decade now.
Pham’s specialty is the house no one wants. She has that unique ability to see through to the bones and the skill set to know what must be done to bring a home back from the brink of demolition.
“The bones on historic homes are usually really good,” Pham said. “They have old-growth lumber, which is incredibly stable and, frankly, better than any new lumber you will get today. I’d say 90% of the time it’s not a structural issue, but a foundation issue which can be fixed. Outside of the historic and structural elements, everything else is sheetrock or siding. Your architectural structure is the key to what that house is going to look like.”
Pham did not realize preservation efforts were recognized when she started out rehabilitating historic homes. Then she met Jim Anderson, who filled her in on the Preservation Achievement Awards. Anderson was the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Dallas for almost 26 years and now runs Jim Anderson Preservation and Design, specializing in historic preservation consulting.
“I met Tam through the Junius Heights neighborhood association,” Anderson said. “She was doing work in the neighborhood, and I have an affinity with people who are involved in preservation in East Dallas.”
Anderson was so impressed with Pham that he asked her to be the contractor on a project on Beacon Street that, of course, won a preservation award.
“She is a neighborhood asset because she takes on projects many would not and brings them back,” Anderson said. “She gets in there and gets the tough work done.”
Her most recent project was a 1910 Craftsman at 5634 Tremont St. in Junius Heights. A neighbor was relocating and did not want to see the home they had lived in for over 40 years demolished. They reached out to Pham, who, of course, took on the challenge.
This home was a boarding house at one point, with an addition made to the back sometime in the 1940s that was not structurally sound. When it was opened back up to single-family, the flow never made sense. Taking off the sheetrock allowed for the original bones to be seen.
“We found a couple of feet of fur down ceilings, so once those were removed, we found the home actually had 10-foot high ceilings!” Pham said.
Pham then figured out the layout, fixed the foundation, added on to the back of the house, and built a second floor to create a home that not only retains its original historic character but also functions for a modern family. The result is a picture-perfect home that is now a neighborhood asset and has garnered another award for Pham’s heroic preservation efforts.
“I’m always grateful, honored, and surprised when I win one of the Preservation Dallas Achievement Awards because I never know what the jury is going to be looking for,” Pham said. “What I do is a labor of love, so having the work recognized with an award goes a long way in confirming I’m still on the right track!”
Come out and meet Pham and her fellow award winners on May 7 at the legendary Longhorn Ballroom.
Tickets for the Preservation Achievement Awards are available at Preservation Dallas.
This Year’s Winners
Residential Renovation & Adaptive Reuse Projects:
- 218 Willomet Ave.
- 5634 Tremont St.
Commercial and Historic Resource Renovation Projects:
- The Terminal Annex Building
- Longhorn Ballroom Multi-Purpose Building
Institutional Building Restoration Projects:
- Little Blue House
- St. Stephen United Methodist Church
Historic Park or Landscape Restoration Projects:
- Dallas Reverchon Ball Park
Special Recognition Award Winners:
Community Revitalizer Award:
- Michaella Ramler for Downtown Historic Lancaster
Dorothy Savage Award:
- Council Member Paul Ridley (District 14)
Craftsmanship Award:
- Jhonny Langer
Stewardship Award:
- St. Paul Methodist Church
Gail Thoma Patterson Award:
- 4940 Worth St.
Preservation Education Award:
- Aberto Garza Sidewalks of Dallas
Historic Cornerstone Business Award:
- El Ranchito
Spirit of Preservation Award:
- Henry Etta Eidt House
