Preservation Dallas
2922 Swiss Avenue
Dallas TX 75204
214-821-3290
admin@preservationdallas.org
May 2017 News & Updates
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Stephanie Meeks, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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Get your tickets for the Preservation Achievement Awards!
Make sure you have Wednesday, May 31 marked down to attend the 18th annual Preservation Achievement Awards being presented at the iconic Statler. It is an exciting opportunity to get a sneak peak of The Statler as the project nears the final stages of rehabilitation by Centurion American. After 16 years of vacancy and being listed on local, state and national endangered lists, The Statler is one of Dallas' biggest preservation success stories and the largest tax credit rehabilitation project in the state of Texas.
This year we are also incredibly honored to have Stephanie Meeks, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation as our
keynote speaker! She will discuss historic preservation on a national level along with
her new book
The Past and Future City
and how it relates to preservation work in Dallas. This is quite an opportunity to hear from the national leader of historic preservation.
In addition, we will be honoring Downtown Dallas Inc for their incredible work in helping to revitalize the urban core of Dallas and making it a great place for people to live, work, play, and of course invest in the rehabilitation of historic buildings!
For more information about the event at The Statler and to make reservations c
lick
here. Reservations must be made by May 26.
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In 1994, Preservation Dallas fought the issuance of a surface lot parking permit which would have meant the demise of the Awalt building in the West End Historic District.
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Big Changes for the Historic Preservation League in the 90s
Continuing
our look into the history of the Historic Preservation League (HPL) we move into the 1990s, a decade of big change for HPL!
The first big change came in 1993 when the Historic Preservation League moved from the Arnold House to the Wilson House, the grande dame of the 2900 block of Swiss Avenue. The Wilson House was vacated by the Meadows Foundation when they moved across the street to their newly built headquarters. The Wilson House was an upgrade in space and presence for the HPL and
with the assistance of the Meadows Foundation, allowed
for the creation of a new Resource Center for historic
preservation in Dallas. The innovative
center allowed people
to visit and learn
about historic Dallas neighborhoods and to browse materials on preservation techniques,
architects, architectural styles, plans and studies of Dallas, and more.
The second big change was when HPL changed its name to Preservation Dallas (PD) in 1994. That same year PD began a series of outreach programs in addition to its preservation advocacy efforts. With the support of the West End Association, PD appealed the issuance of a surface parking lot permit in the West End Historic District, leading to the sale of the Awalt Building for adaptive reuse instead of demolition.
During the 1990s, PD continued with
neighborhood assistance programs that focused on those inside Loop 12. Through the
work with neighborhoods and the resource center "intown living" was promoted recognizing that strong and healthy historic neighborhoods make Dallas a vibrant and enticing place to live.
PD published the Preservation Dallas Neighborhood Handbook: A Resource for Neighborhood Associations in 1998 and distributed it to neighborhood groups throughout Dallas and the rest of the country. The same year
PD advocated for - and saved - local historic preservation incentives by co-sponsoring a Rutgers study of economic benefits of historic preservation in Texas. Closing out the decade, in 1999 P
D co-published Historic Preservation at Work for the Texas Economy, a report on the economic impact of historic preservation in Texas. In addition, that year, PD became one of the founding sponsors of the Legacies Dallas History Conference.
The 1990s was a busy decade for Preservation Dallas. Stay tuned for the work and projects expanding preservation efforts in the new century!
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The Statler Recognized by the National Trust
This past week the National Trust for Historic Preservation highlighted 11 once endangered sites which are now saved, including the iconic Statler Hilton in Dallas. The list is part of the 30th anniversary of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list and showcases
how these sites have been a catalyst for the preservation of threatened historic sites around the country.
In 2008, The Statler was placed on that list due to threat of demolition of the long vacant structure. Preservation Dallas and Preservation Texas also placed it on their endangered lists the same year. The ensuing attention that was brought to the building helped raise the awareness of its plight and its importance to Dallas, to Texas, and to the nation. After fifteen years of vacancy work finally began on the rehabilitation. It is the largest tax credit rehabilitation project in the state of Texas and is in its final stages of completion. When finished it will be a mix of residential units, hotel, entertainment and dining spaces.
"The Statler Hilton Hotel was a crown jewel of Dallas that will now once again serve as a vibrant center of community life, through the power of preservation and influence of the Historic Tax Credit," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "The successful transformation of the Statler Hilton is a significant example of the ways that older and historic buildings can contribute to the vibrancy of their communities. Texas is a place that loves its superlatives, and as the largest tax credit project in the state of Texas, this one has definitely earned its bragging rights."
To find out more about this recognition and other sites which were chosen from across the country click
here.
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Celebrate Downtown Tour
If you could not join us for Celebrate Downtown on May 6, you missed out on a beautiful day filled with historic buildings and downtown views from every angle possible. Preservation Dallas and Downtown Dallas, Inc. presented the Dive In tour which commenced at Main Street Garden and included tour stops at Fidelity Union Building (The Mosaic), Lone Star Gas Lofts, LTV Tower, Magnolia Gas Station (KLIF/Observer Building), Mayflower Building, Scottish Rite Cathedral, Warner Brothers Building (Encore Park) and ended with a poolside wrap party at Dallas Power & Light. Thank you to our Tour Committee for their excellent work on putting together a great tour! Committee members included: Bess Dickson, Susan Ernst, Shalissa Perry, Douglas Prude, Leigh Richter and Megan Spooner. You can view a slideshow from tour day
here
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More realtors receive the Historic House Specialist designation
Twenty-one North Texas Realtors received the Historic House Specialist designation in April, having completed our ever popular Advanced Historic House Specialists (AHHS) program. The total number of Historic House Specialists in North Texas is now just under 1000. These Realtors® have added special knowledge of historic neighborhoods, Dallas architectural styles and architects, and historic designation criteria to their professional skills.
Our next HHS course will be September 21 & 22 and the AHHS course will be held on October 19. Please contact Metrotex to register.
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Architect E.G. Hamilton
Preservation Dallas was saddened to hear about the death of Earle Grady "E.G." Hamilton, FAIA, last week. At 97 years of age, Mr. Hamilton stamped his mark on Dallas' suburbs and skyline, as well as the city's architectural design process.
One of the founders of Omniplan, Hamilton's most notable projects include NorthPark Center and the second Republic Bank Tower.
Last fall, our members were treated to Hamilton's personal 1953 family
residence on
Avalon Avenue, which was perfect in its simplicity.
Dallas Morning News Architecture Critic, Mark Lamster, provides a well written synopsis here.
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El Corazon -
The heart no longer beats at 110 W. Davis Street as demolition has started on the building once home to Wyatt's Food Store, El Chico and most recently El Corazon. The building was built in 1940 and for 77 years served the Oak Cliff area. The demolition permit for the building was pulled in April before the building went to the Landmark Commission this month for the initiation of the Landmark Designation process for the building. Since the demo permit was already issued for the building before the meeting it could not be rescinded by the Landmark Commission.
A representative for Alabama-based
Orange
Development, who pulled the demolition permit, at the meeting said that there was no way his client could reuse the building for a planned CVS due to its size and configuration on the lot. Landmark Commission members pointed out the fact that CVS has gone into other historic buildings across the country. Sadly the developer choose not to explore options for the reuse of the building with the community and instead wantonly destroyed a piece of Oak Cliff's and Dallas' history.
DISD Headquarters
and the
Elbow Room
were also on the
Landmark Commission agenda
this
month
for the
initiation
of the
Landmark
Designation
process. T
he demolition permits were also issued for the two
before
the hearing, so
legally
those permits can not be
rescinded
, even with the
initiation
of the
Designation
process. The development group who is purchasing the DISD
Headquarters
said
at the meeting that they would be willing to look at what they could
reuse
of the
building to fit in with their development. Texas A&M acquired the Elbow Room by eminent domain last December and are planning to demolish the building very soon. Representatives from the university said they would have their architect look at ways some of the building could be incorporated into the new design or that it could be recognized as part of the site but made no promises that they would be able to do that.
Thank you to all of you who sent in emails of support for the three buildings above, signed the online petitions, or came to the Landmark Commission meeting at City Hall. All of that makes a huge difference and helped the Commission make their decision to approve the initiation of the Landmark Designation process for the three buildings.
Forest Theater
- The building
recently sold to City
Square
who would like to turn the historic theater into a performance space and classroom and to
serve as a public
community
center. They also said they wold like
to restore the
original
grandeur
of the 1949 theater. The building
is currently
working its way through the Landmark Designation
process with the city. To read more about the sale of the theater in the Dallas Morning News go
here
.
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Director's Letter
David Preziosi
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Preservation Month is well underway and we hope you can can join us for some of the remaining exciting programs and events we have scheduled. This month is all about celebrating the power of preservation and our schedule of events show the breadth of activities, people, and organizations who are working to preserve the special historic places of Dallas. Plus, you get to explore some really fun places like Dallas City Hall, Old Red, Dallas Heritage Village, The Statler and more! The month also showcases all of the different organizations working on promoting some aspect of preserving Dallas' history including: City of Dallas - Historic Preservation, Dallas Architecture Forum, Dallas Center for Architecture, Dallas Heritage Village, Dallas Historical Society, Dallas History and Archives Division at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture, Dallas Jewish Historical Society, Dallas Mexican American Historical League, Dallas Municipal Archives - City of Dallas, Greater Dallas Planning Council, Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture, and Remembering Black Dallas. It is a lot of work to assemble and coordinate all of the activities this month and I have to thank our wonderful Preservation Month Team of Kerry Adams, Jennifer Anderson, Victoria Clow, Marsha Prior, and Alicia Quintans for all of their hard work!
We also had two other great teams who worked hard on putting together our signature events for the month, the Spring Architectural Tour and the Preservation Achievement Awards. The Spring Architectural Tour this year featuring downtown Dallas was an amazing tour and a unique opportunity to get into some really interesting historic buildings downtown and to get some amazing views! The committee that put together the tour did an amazing job and included:
Bess Dickson,
Susan Ernst,
Shalissa Perry,
Douglas Prude,
Leigh Richter and
Megan Spooner.
The other hard working group is the Awards Committee who has been working on putting together an amazing
Preservation Achievement Awards event for us at The Statler that you won't want to miss! Not only will it be incredible to get a sneak peak of The Statler but will also be an amazing opportunity to hear Stephanie Meeks of the National Trust talk about historic preservation efforts. We worked for almost a year to get her here and are very excited she agreed to come speak at our event when she has an incredibly busy travel schedule and lots of requests for her to speak. The awards committee this year includes:
Lawrence and Ivy Sweeney - Chairs,
Ken Downing - Honorary Chair,
Rachel Roberts,
Danelle Baldwin Smith, and
Jennifer Wasserman.
So, a big thank to all those above who have worked very hard for months to help put on the events throughout our Dallas celebration of National Preservation Month!
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Dallas Architecture Forum Panel - Preservation Issues for Dallas
Tuesday | May 16 | 6pm | Dallas Black Dance Theater
Join us as we partner with the Dallas Architecture Forum to discuss some of the main preservation issues we face today. The panel is moderated by Katherine Seale with panelists Robin McCaffrey, Bob Meckfessel, and David Preziosi. Free and open to the public.
More information here.
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Dallas Historical Society Bus Tour - Preservation Success Stories
Saturday | May 20 | 1-4pm | begins at Fair Park
Take a tour of Dallas with our Executive Director, David Preziosi, that explores some of the $500 million in historic rehabilitation done here since 1999 and some more currently underway.
More information here.
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Dallas Heritage Village Scavenger Hunt
Sunday | May 21 | 1-3pm | Dallas Heritage Village
Join us for a scavenger hunt among the 21 historic buildings in Dallas Heritage Village. Teams of up to six people are allow to participate and families are encouraged. All participants will be entered into drawings for prizes at the event.
Register here.
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InTown Outing - Dallas City Hall
Tuesday | May 23 | noon | Dallas City Hall
City of Dallas Chief Preservation Planner Mark Doty will give us a guided tour including a stop at the Municipal Archives with John Slate, City Archivist.
Register here.
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Please Welcome Our New Members!
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Sustainer
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Jessica Alesii & Simon Elhinn |
Richard & Pam Josselet |
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Individual
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James Adams
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Becky Oliver Conley |
Dustin B. Merritt |
Tyler Berns |
Nyda Faith |
Geyden Sage |
Sherri Berson |
Gloria Gray |
Nancy Sheehan |
William Candler
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Judith Hudson |
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Dr. Barbara Coan
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Elizabeth Mast
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Young
Professionals
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Sofia Bastidas |
Nick Dean |
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Urban Armadillos
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Conner Best |
Kelli Dixon |
Bret Wedding |
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Thank you to the following members for renewing!
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Serra Akboy Ilk
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MIchael Hazel |
Nancy quelland |
Anne Bentley |
Brenda Hedrick |
Alicia Quintans |
Randall & Susan Case |
John Jones |
Alyssa O'Brien Ramsey |
Andrew Charlton |
Ginan Kalenik & Joe Sauber |
Carol Roark & Lon Burnam |
Scott Chase |
Scott Kaserman |
David Sparling |
Dan Cohn |
Lila Levy |
Caroline Thrift |
Kyle Crews |
Peter Loudis |
Jonathan Vinson |
Brian Davis |
Paul Papazian |
Lynn Vogt |
Jo Eastwood
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Kelly Proctor |
Jennifer Wakefield |
Dana Hamdan
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Robert Puckett |
Kay Wood |
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This newsletter is sent to all current and past members, and those who have signed up online. To become a member or to renew or upgrade your membership, please click here!
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Thank you for your support!
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