$36.5 Million Timeless Highland Park Classic Tudor Might As Well Be An Original

I did a quick double-take when I saw this Highland Park classic Tudor because, for a moment, I thought it was an original. It’s not, but I applaud the owners and philanthropists Larry and Joyce Lacerte for their dedication to keeping Highland Park, well, Highland Park.

In 2012, they hired some of the most talented professionals in Dallas to create their dream home. Legendary architect Cole Smith, Crowbar Constructors, and Sherry Hayslip Interiors worked together to create this timeless Highland Park classic Tudor.

This house is important. As we lose historic homes, it’s become common for the buildings that spring up in their place to contrast deeply with what we’ve come to know as the Highland Park look. There is now such a variety of architectural styles that when you see one that looks original, it’s cause for celebration.

Why? Well, Highland Park is special. It’s one of only two of Dallas’ earliest suburbs that is still a separate incorporated municipality. Highland Park and University Park were considered suburban ideals when they were built. Highland Park, in particular, was the work of a single builder, so it was created with a great deal of planning, ensuring plenty of green space.

No detail was overlooked, including the lighting, fences, sidewalks, utility placement, and even the size and style of homes. The Park Cities were called “a living laboratory of late 1930s and early 1940s domestic architecture” by the writers of Great American Suburbs, The Homes of The Park Cities.

That is why, despite the fact that this Highland Park Tudor was built in 2012, it fits right into the most historic part of Highland Park, the first installment. Sited on a little over an acre at the corner of St. Johns Drive and Hackberry Creek, it offers excellent privacy and the historic architectural sensibility that has been a Highland Park characteristic.

The home was built to commercial standards. It even has a commercial elevator servicing all four floors. Although there are multiple beautiful living and dining areas, the two-story Great Room is the dramatic heart of this Highland Park classic Tudor.

A vaulted ceiling with curved timber beams crowns a room full of beautiful custom hand-carved walnut carpentry with a massive etched marble fireplace. It opens onto a large screened porch with a fireplace and views of the Hackberry Creek tributary.

One of the truly brilliant features of this home is in the principal closet. A private elevator in there whisks you to the enormous indoor pool.

The 20,485-square-foot home includes five bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a fitness center, a basement-level catering kitchen, and a guest apartment.
  
Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s realtor Ralph Randall has this Highland Park classic Tudor at 3711 Lexington Ave. available for $36.5 million.