Fall tour to feature Frank Welch designed homes.
Photography By Steve Clicque
Frank Welch In Dallas
2017 Fall Architectural Tour
Check in at the Lamplighter School with us on Saturday morning, October 28, and embark on a once in a lifetime tour of Frank Welch’s body of work in Dallas. The Lamplighter gymnasium, designed by the “Dean of Texas Architecture” himself, plays host to our panel discussion which will enlighten guests to the evolution of Welch’s style before they tour his best residential projects. Dallas Morning News Architecture Critic, Mark Lamster, will moderate the discussion which promises to heighten the full day’s experience. Even more exciting, we will feature a home from each decade beginning with the 1960s and ending with his most contemporary homes. We are rolling out houses as they are added and excited to present the Patron Party at the Dillon House on Turtle Creek. The 1966 Lamplighter School was designed by O’Neil Ford and optional campus tours are available on tour morning. For more information and to make reservations visit here.

Mark your calendar for Frank Welch’s memorial service which will be held Sunday, September 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Nasher Sculpture Center downtown.
Photograph By Charles Davis Smith, AIA
Preservation in the New Millennium
Continuing with the work of Preservation in Dallas, we move into the new millennium which started off with a bang in 2000 when the Dallas City Council unanimously passed into law the first sweeping changes in the City’s historic preservation ordinance in 26 years. It took three years of work though a coalition of Dallas City Council members, Preservation Dallas, the Dallas Landmark Commission, developers and others to successfully pass a new ordinance with better protections for the city’s historic landmarks and districts.

Successful programs such as InTown Outings, architectural tours, the Dallas History Conference and the Historic House Specialist Seminar were joined by the first annual Preservation Achievement Awards in 2000, held at the historic Lakewood Theatre, and Summer Sizzlers, a series of educational presentations on a wide variety of preservation topics. Mid-century modern architecture also entered the preservation scene as those buildings reached the fifty-year mark with many being threatened or lost to new development. PD also celebrated in 2001 the extension and revision of the City’s property tax incentive program for historic buildings. 

In 2001, Preservation Dallas began an extensive survey of the city’s architectural, cultural and historical resources called Discover Dallas! Utilizing professional staff and neighborhood volunteers, over 28 neighborhoods were surveyed, photographed and researched. These efforts give neighborhood and preservation advocates a better understanding of the wide variety of resources in Dallas’ built environment. 

As mid-decade approached, PD began to issue an annual list of endangered historic places believing that making their status public while advocating on their behalf bettered their chances for revitalization. PD also returned to its roots working directly with two threatened structures. The Parks Estate, a foreclosed property that faced demolition, was acquired by PD and, with protective covenants in place, sold to a buyer able to restore the home. The Baldwin House (pictured above), in the Swiss Avenue Historic District, was acquired, rehabilitated and sold to a new owner averting the first threatened demolition in the city’s first historic district.

Stay tuned for more about the work of Preservation Dallas in the current decade. 
North Texas Giving Day is September 14!

The Ninth Annual North Texas Giving Day is coming up soon! This special day raised over $37 million for over 2,500 nonprofits last year, providing us with much needed funds to support our mission of advocating for preservation in Dallas. Will you be out of pocket all day, or maybe not near a computer? There is an option for you! Donors can schedule their gifts to all their favorite nonprofits between September 7-14 and the gifts will be processed on September 14! For more information on North Texas Giving Day and to give to your favorite nonprofits, click here.
We Need You for the Membership Committee!

Do you love Preservation Dallas? Do you want to be on the planning side of all the great events and outings we host? Are you savvy with your social media skills, have interesting ideas, or access to venues you would like to share? The Membership Committee would love your support! Please contact Alicia Schroeder, VP of Membership and Development for more information. The Membership Committee meets the second Tuesday of the month at noon at the Wilson House.
Preservation Issues
Confederate Monuments - The Mayor announced at his press conference this week that the city is forming a Task Force to look at what do to with the Confederate Memorials in Dallas. Once the Task Force is formed they will have 90 days to complete their work and make a recommendation to the Quality of Life Committee which will review the findings and submit them to City Council. The two major monuments under discussion are the statue of Robert E. Lee at Lee Park and the Confederate Memorial in Pioneer Cemetery. The latter of which is actually in a City of Dallas Landmark District and thus any changes to it or removal would require it to go before the Landmark Commission for approval. Fair Park also has references to the Confederacy as part of the history of Texas and the six nations it has been under. It is also a City of Dallas Landmark District and a State Antiquities Landmark as well. The Preservation Dallas board will be discussing the issue at their board meeting this month.  

Tenth Street - This month at the Landmark Commission seven new applications for new construction in the Tenth Street Historic District were approved. That adds to new houses previously approved this year. The ones approved this week are a mix of one and two-story versions with two to three bedrooms.

Bianchi House - The Bianchi House has sold to new owners who are interested in rehabilitating the house. In fact, they have already submitted a CA application to replace the damaged roof with large holes in it, which will be on the September Landmark Commission meeting agenda. The house is also still going through the Landmark Designation process.

City Budget - The city budget for 2017-2019 is currently being considered and in that budget $100,000 has been earmarked for a preservation survey for the Demolition Delay area and West Dallas. That survey update was a recommendation by the Downtown Preservation Task Force and is necessary due to the last surveys being completed in the 1990s. The survey will cost considerably more than is in the budget but will provide the necessary matching money to go after grant and provide funding sources. Please let your council member know to support the current budget allocation of the Sustainable Development and Construction when they vote on the budget. 

Bond Election - Coming up in the bond election in November there will no be several bond packages to vote on and not just one big package and one for Fair Park as was announced earlier. It will be crucial that the bond for Fair Park passes as that includes $50 million for the needed repairs to the buildings at Fair Park including roof work, HVAC and electrical upgrades, and handicap accessibility. Those items are crucial to curbing deferred maintenance and stopping deterioration. There will also now be separate bond packages to vote on for Cultural Arts Facilities, which also includes historic buildings. To find out more about the bond program and the different bond packages go here. 
  
Director's Letter
David Preziosi
Like the rest of the country, Dallas is struggling with historic monuments that reflect one of the darkest periods of our nation’s history. The Confederate Memorial in Pioneer Park was originally erected in 1897 in what was then City Park, now the Dallas Heritage Village, and was moved to its current location in 1961 to make way for construction of Interstate 30. In 2002, the city designated the Park a local historic district which protects the cemetery from changes without the permission of the Dallas Landmark Commission. In Lee Park, Robert E. Lee is depicted on horseback with a fellow Confederate soldier following. Lee's monument was erected much later, in 1936, and was dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt when he came to Dallas for the opening of the Texas Centennial. The statue at Lee Park does not have any city historic designation.

The City of Dallas is putting together a task force to decide what to do with the monuments. New Orleans and Baltimore have already removed their monuments to the Confederacy, while cities like Charleston and Richmond are working to contextualize their monuments to explain why they were erected, what they represented at the time, and how the nation has evolved since then. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has developed a position on the issue saying that ultimately the decision to retain or remove monuments is a local one; however, they do recommend that monuments which remain should be properly contextualized. You can read the position here.

The question looms as to what to do with the monuments if the city votes to remove them. They are both significant pieces of public art and are unquestionably a part of our historical record. They further reflect the era when they were erected, and can arguably have considerable educational value if they are properly contextualized, like Charleston and Richmond are planning to do. The Atlanta History Center has put together a template on how that can be done, which you can view here .

Former board president Buddy Apple and I have been researching this issue for over a year now looking at the practices and responses other cities and organizations are employing. We will present this research to the Preservation Dallas board for discussion at their meeting this month.

History is filled with dark periods, and our nation’s slave holding past and the Civil War are part of that dark history. We must learn from it as we continue to evolve and progress as a nation. I hope that whatever solution is chosen can be done with public input and in a way that works to bring us together as a city rather than dividing us just as the Civil War once did for this nation. 
Events
InTown Outing - Mitchell House
Tuesday, August 22, 6 p.m.
2717 Conflans Road, Irving 75061

Designed by Kelly Oliver, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Mitchell House is an urban escape that you do not want to miss! Read more about the Mitchell House here. Street parking available on Conflans Road. Admission is free for members, $20 for non-members and reservations are required. Please RSVP here or by calling us at 214-821-3290.
Historic House Specialist seminar
Thursday and Friday, September 21 and 22
Wilson Carriage House
 
Become an authority of historic Dallas neighborhoods! This popular two-day seminar includes lectures from local experts on architectural history and styles of Dallas, the preservation ordinance, property tax incentives, how to research the history of a building, a bus tour of historic neighborhoods in Dallas, and more! Participants receive a signed copy of Virginia McAlester's  A Field Guide to American Houses and a complimentary one year membership to Preservation Dallas. Do not delay! Enrollment is limited to 25 people. The past sessions have sold out with a wait list! To find out more and to register, click here.
InTown Outing - St. Jude Chapel
Tuesday, September 19, 6 p.m.
1521 Main Street, Dallas 75201

Save the Date! Come learn about he intricate work done to restore the mosaics at the 1968 St. Jude Chapel on Main Street in downtown Dallas. Julie Richey of Julie Richey Mosaics will talk about her intricate work to restore the mosaics which will then be followed by a tour of the chapel.
Please Welcome our New Members!
Community Partner
Dallas County Medical Society Alliance Foundation

Contributor
Mike & Liz Gibson
Charles Smith

Sustainer
Ann Carpenter
Brandon Herrmann
Madalyn Hernandez
Linda Turner

Individual
Jennifer Bailey
Gary Lawler
Travis-Lee Moore
Andrew Stoker
Anilee Waterman
Alice Zaccarello
Urban Armadillos
Jeff Boyum
Krista De La Harpe
Jason Dodson
Kathleen Grief
Cari Johnson
Joe Peterson
Arien Ramsire
Andrew Stout
Terry Swanson
Keith Walters
Ryan Wood
Thank you to the following members for renewing!
Jean & Norm Alston
Robbie Baty
Victoria & Charles Clow
Robert Croysdale
Dallas Center for Architecture
Mark Domiteaux, AIA
Kim Edge
Nicky & Bob Emery
Christopher Haley
RuLan Hebeler
Jeff Maddux
Tina McBee
Ann Piper
Jennifer Rode
Carey Roper
Will Stovall
Summerlee Foundation
Julie Travis
Maria Ward
This newsletter is sent to all current and past members, and those interested in preservation in Dallas. To become a member or to renew or upgrade your membership, please click below.
Corporate Partners
Gables
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