The Kingston’s Historic Belmont Addition Craftsman Has Hit the Market
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One of the most beautiful historic Belmont Addition Craftsman homes has just been publicly listed for the first time. After 21 years, homeowners Philip and Melissa Kingston put their beloved home on the market.
As lawyers, the Kingstons participated in leadership with the Dallas Bar Association and completed the Leadership Dallas program. They got involved in acquiring neighborhood sign toppers, improving local schools, and getting Lower Greenville back in shape. So, of course, people kept asking them to volunteer. Deeply involved in the Dallas community, the Kingstons helped make their neighborhood a protected conservation district.
“After we moved into the neighborhood, we started seeing tear-downs,” Melissa said. “One day, a local firefighter came over to drum up support for a conservation district. We just kind of fell into leadership in the neighborhood and started a three-year project to get the conservation district.”
In 2004, Belmont Addition became the 12th conservation district in Dallas, with the consequent protections preserving the neighborhood’s unique historic character and architectural heritage.
The home has been owned by only three families since Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Massey built it in 1915. Mr. Massey was a principal and teacher at Central High School in Oak Cliff. The couple raised three daughters and a son here. According to the Dallas Morning News archives, the southeast bedroom was rented out on a regular basis, which was quite the norm then. Records show Mrs. Massey celebrating her 103rd birthday here in 1969.
“They were really involved in Fair Park,” Melissa said. “No one had gone through the attic until we moved in, and we found original financial and planning documents for the 1936 exposition in Fair Park. It was interesting to see what the costs were then!”
The Kingstons also discovered that the Masseys were friends with many members of the Dallas Nine and regularly had artists as boarders in one of their bedrooms. This prominent group of artists pioneered the Texas Regionalism art movement, and they contributed extensively to the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park. One of the muralists, Emile Sandroz Guidroz, married Dallas regional artist Nina Peeples, who, as it turns out, was not only friends with the Massey family but also lived in their home for a time. Peeples painted a fresco of Mrs. Massey and her three daughters on a first-floor bathroom wall.
The home was passed down within the family for decades, with daughter Fern Massey living here until 2002. Fortunately, the next stewards of this Belmont Addition Craftsman were architect Kurt Goll and his wife, Michelle. The Golls redid the foundation, put on a new roof, rewired original light fixtures, and updated all of the important systems. As they began restoring the interior, one of those great jobs came up in another city. Instead of listing the house, they put out the word among neighbors to find buyers who would appreciate and honor the history and architecture of the home. The Kingstons found out and waged a winning campaign to purchase the house.
“Philip did a lot of legwork and persuaded him we were the right buyers,” Melissa said. In April 2005, the Kingstons became the third owners of the property, and I think both prior families would be thrilled if they saw the house today. It could not have been placed into better hands.
When the Masseys owned the home, the sleeping porches were enclosed, and a second kitchen was added upstairs. That space became the laundry room, and the original countertop is still in place. It’s one large piece of pine, cleverly shaved to slope towards the sink.
The Kingstons picked up the reins on the interior restoration with their usual dedication. Working with Architectura’s Greg Lorie, they updated and extended the kitchen, redid the primary suite, and sourced the pocket door hardware from a store in Los Angeles. The house features original heart pine floors, Motawi handmade tile, custom built-ins, and solid five-panel doors. The original pushbutton switches were even updated.
Once the Kingstons whipped the interior into shape, they turned their focus to the enormous backyard, adding a pool, an eight-seat hot tub, a built-in gas grill, a dedicated dog run, and a garden shed with running water and electricity. They also added a 475-square-foot garage apartment that can be an income-generating property, which, of course, would offset your mortgage payment!
“To me, some houses are just houses, and some are homes,” Melissa said. “This one feels like a home. It’s been our home, but it’s also been a home to the community. We love to entertain and have hosted so many events here, from wine on the front porch to dinner parties. We even hosted a wedding on the front steps! It’s a great home and a great neighborhood. We will certainly miss it.”
Don’t worry, the Kingstons are not leaving District 14. If you are a dedicated reader, you may be able to find their new abode because I wrote about it when it hit the market this spring. I’ll give you two hints: Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall.
