Do you have your ticket for the awards?
Virginia McAlester to Receive
 Honorary Degree from SMU
SMU will present an honorary degree to historic preservationist and author Virginia McAlester at the University’s Commencement Convocation at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at Moody Coliseum.

On Friday, May 17 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. McAlester will discuss her lifelong dedication to historic preservation at a symposium in the O’Donnell Auditorium in the Owen Arts Center, 6100 Hillcrest Ave. She will join a panel of national leaders in historic preservation including Mark Lamster, Dallas Morning News architecture critic and UTA professor of architecture; John C. Waters, former chair of the Georgia National Register Review Board and former professor at University of Georgia; Craig Melde, architect, principal and founder of Architexas; James B. Lindberg, vice president of the Research and Policy Lab at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Rick Brettell, founding director of the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at the University of Texas at Dallas.

The symposium is open to the public and will be preceded by a 3 p.m. tea in Owen Arts Center’s Taubman Atrium. For more information on the event and parking, download the flyer here.
Preservation Achievement Awards are May 15!
Join us on Wednesday as we celebrate the 20th annual Preservation Achievement Awards! The event, presented by Andres Construction, will be held in the stunning Carlisle Room in the wonderful 1931 Art Deco Lone Star Gas building. The Awards ceremony begins at 6 p.m. with the presentation of the awards followed by a reception. Our special 2019 Awards Honoree is Merriman Anderson Architects for their work in helping to revitalize many of Dallas' historic landmarks.
Corporate Partner Highlight -
Merriman Anderson Architects
Merriman Anderson Architects, Inc. (MAA) is a Dallas-based architecture, interior design, and planning firm offering programming, urban planning, architectural design, space planning, interior architecture design, graphic design, LEED ®/sustainable design, construction document production, BIM/REVIT design, construction observation, 3-D visualization services, and facilities move coordination. Their services cover all fifty (50) states and even ten (10) foreign countries.

The firm is a diversified practice with experience in a broad range of project types and complexities. From the thumbnail sketch to the 3D computer animation, they work to meet individual client’s needs, tailoring services to accommodate each corporate, commercial, urban housing, civic, hospitality, governmental, educational and medical client. With offices in Dallas, Austin, and Charlotte, North Carolina, and multiple joint venture relationships, they provide services to clients on a national and international basis, emphasizing repeat clients as the heart of their practice. 

They have been recognized by numerous organizations for design excellence and quality. Specific honors include the Texas Historical Commission’s 2019 Award of Excellence in Historic Architecture, AIA Dallas’ 2017 Firm of the Year, D CEO’s 2017 Excellence in Architecture & Interior Design, along with 16 Preservation Dallas Achievement Awards and 5 Preservation Texas Honor Awards.

MAA’s key Downtown Dallas preservation projects include: The Statler, Old Dallas High School, Tower Petroleum, Corrigan Tower, Lone Star Gas Lofts, Old Dallas Central Library, LTV Tower, Continental Building, 500 South Ervay, Mosaic, Gulf States, Interurban, Mayfair Building, The Mayflower, Mercantile Commerce Building, and the Allen Building. The MAA team is currently working on the historic renovation of the 1.5 million square foot First National Bank Tower in Downtown Dallas at 1401 Elm Street. The project is downtown’s last major vacant building and upon completion will include a Thompson Hotel, apartments, restaurants, and retail space.

Jerry Merriman has been in continuous practice in Dallas since 1972, and is the president and founder of MAA, which is in its 33rd year of operation. Milton Anderson joined MAA as the principal in charge of design for all MAA’s operations, in 1996. Their staff includes 75 professionals with a combined 600 years of experience in architecture, interior design, urban planning and various support services as described above.
Texas African American Heritage Summit
to be held in Dallas June 7-8
The pre-Juneteenth Texas African American Heritage Summit at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dallas will explore the rich legacy and heritage of Africans and African-Americans from 1619-2019 and examine the history of Texas and its impact of slavery. An original copy of the General Order number 3 will be on display for the opening reception. The three-day event is free to the public and will include keynote speakers of Dr. Amilcar Shabazz from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Dr. Bernadette Pruitt from Sam Houston State University, and Dr Merline Pitre from Texas Southern University. All guests and attendees must be registered to attend the event. There will be options to purchase lunch and a ticket for a highlight tour of Dallas and local historic sites. Even though this is an African-American focused summit, all races, and ethnic groups are welcomed to attend.
Greater El Bethel Church in Tenth Street Awarded a State Historic Marker
Greater El Bethel, the last remaining active church in the historic Tenth Street neighborhood, has been approved by the Texas Historical Commission for a Texas Historic Marker. The honor recognizes the longstanding and important role the church has played in the neighborhood. The current church structure dates back to 1926 and is part of the Tenth Street National Register Historic District and part of the City of Dallas Tenth Street Landmark District.
Ambassador Hotel Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
On April 4, the Ambassador Hotel in the Cedars was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. The Hotel was originally built in 1905 with a red brick exterior that went through a face lift in 1932 converting it to the white stucco clad building seen today. Presidents (Theodore) Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson all stayed at the hotel.

The building has been vacant on and off for the last forty years and was purchased by Jim Lake Companies in 2015 for redevelopment into apartments. The National Register listing will help the company take advantage of state and federal tax credits for the rehabilitation of the building. The Ambassador was also designated a City of Dallas Landmark in 1982, became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1965, and received a State Historic Marker, also in 1965. ​
PRESERVATION ISSUES
Belmont Hotel - The City Plan Commission on Thursday, May 16th will be voting on whether or not to initiate the Landmark Designation process for the Belmont Hotel after deferring the decision at their March meeting. The delay was given to allow the owner to survey the property to determine the boundaries for the historic portion of the site. The public hearing will take place in the City of Dallas Council Chamber starting at 1:30. Click here for the meeting agenda. The case is at the end of the agenda after Zoning Case number 16 and public comment will taken for and against the initiation of the Landmark Designation process at that time.

Confederate Monument - Also at the City Plan Commission meeting on Thursday there will be an appeal of the decision of the Landmark Commission in March to approve the removal of the monument from Pioneer Cemetery. The Commission will hear the appeal and make a decision on whether or not the Landmark Commission erred in their decision for approval of removal based on the facts presented to the Landmark Commission at the meeting and the testimony given. CPC will not hear any new evidence in the case or take public comment other than from appellant. Before the Landmark Commission voted they received assurances from the City that the monument would not be destroyed and that it would be carefully disassembled and put into storage. The case will be at the end of the agenda after the Belmont Hotel Landmark Designation Initiation. Click here for the meeting agenda.

HB 2496 - Unfortunately, HB 2496 introduced by Representative Cyrier passed the Senate today after passing the House of Representatives on April 26th. It was originally drafted to prohibit local landmarking of a historic property without owner consent. The bill was subsequently amended to allow designation without owner consent only if approved with 3/4 vote of (a) the governing body of the municipality and (b) the zoning, planning or historic commission of the municipality. Religious structures were exempted entirely and would require owner consent for designation. This will make it harder to protect historic resources which the community deems important and make it more difficult than approving a regular zoning case.
Director's Letter
David Preziosi
It’s May and that means National Preservation Month is here! All across the country people and organizations are celebrating the power of historic preservation in their communities. This year we have a wonderful roster of activities including the premier event of the month, the 20 th annual Preservation Achievement Awards coming up on Wednesday. We also have a few more events this month. As mentioned above there is the Virginia McAlester symposium at SMU on Friday. Following that on Monday is the lecture and book signing for the newly released book, The Open-Ended City , which is a collection of articles written by long-time Dallas Morning News architecture critic, David Dillon, and edited by University of Texas at Arlington professor and architectural historian, Kathryn E. Holliday. One of the sections in the book is even dedicated to historic preservation. And then at the end of the month there will be an open-house for the newly rehabilitated Eagle Ford School in West Dallas. For more on those events go here .

It's also hard to believe that we have been giving out Preservation Achievement Awards for twenty years! There has been an amazing diversity of projects that have received awards from the smallest residential project to the largest commercial historic preservation project in Dallas with The Statler. Over the years, we have given out 182 project awards, not including the 12 we will give out this year. By far, the most project awards have gone to the City of Dallas Park and Recreation Department with 20 awards total and in one year they even won three! A total of 85 special recognition awards have been given over the years for efforts that are not project specific to recognize people and or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to preservation efforts in Dallas. In 2005, we started the Honoree designation and have since honored Veletta Lill, Frank Welch, Neiman Marcus, Hamilton Properties, Crow Holdings, Willis Winters, NorthPark Mall, City of Dallas, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, Bishop Arts District, Swiss Avenue Historic District, Meadows Foundation, Downtown Dallas, Inc., and Matthews Southwest. One of the great things about giving out the awards is seeing the passion and dedication that owners, architects, engineers, and contractors put into these projects. They are definitely a labor of love and we are so happy to recognize them for their efforts. And it has been great to recognize the outstanding efforts of people and organizations for the work they do on other aspects of preservation, besides projects. To view past awards and honoree videos, you can go here .

This month we unfortunately lost in the efforts to run out the clock on HB 2496 mentioned above. It has been a trying legislative session working to address bad bills for preservation as they have come forward. I testified against HB 2496 in both House and Senate committees with our partners at Preservation Texas, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and others. I also made the rounds to several of the Dallas area legislative offices while in Austin to talk about the bills. This year's session ends on May 27th and then it is time to rest up for the 2021 session and the fights that will come when the legislature surely comes back with more bills bad for preservation. Thank goodness the legislature only meets every other year! 

Enjoy preservation month and thanks to all of you who have helped with preservation efforts in Dallas, whether that be doing your own preservation project, living in a historic building, supporting businesses in historic places, sending in letters/emails in response to advocacy efforts, and helping Preservation Dallas by attending events and supporting our work! All is greatly appreciated to help preserve the historic places in Dallas that we all love! 
EVENTS
The Open-Ended City Book Lecture
Monday, May 20
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Aldredge House - 5500 Swiss Avenue

Join Historic Aldredge House and Preservation Dallas for a lecture, book signing, and reception, honoring the just-released book, The Open-Ended City . The book is a collection of articles written by long-time Dallas Morning News architecture critic, David Dillon, and edited by University of Texas at Arlington professor and architectural historian, Kathryn E. Holliday. A full section of the book is devoted to preservation, including an important article about renowned Dallas architect, Henry B. (Hal) Thomson, who designed Aldredge House and many other important houses on Swiss Avenue and in Highland Park.
Eagle Ford School Open House
Wednesday, May 29
5:30 - 8:30

The Eagle Ford School built in 1923 in the Gothic Revival style is significant due to its association with several historic communities in western Dallas County and as the only remaining building associated with the Eagle Ford community and the Trinity Portland Cement Company. The building sat vacant for many years before the current owners purchased it and embarked on a rehabilitation effort to bring the school back to life. They are wrapping up the project and will hold and open house for the community to see what they have accomplished. The building is also in the process of being designated a City of Dallas Landmark. More information coming soon on the event.
Lunch N Learn - Ludowici
Tuesday, June 4

Ludowici’s legacy of terra cotta craftsmanship began nearly 400 years ago in Rome and in the late 1800’s, the company moved to the US and an American tradition was born. Still manufactured in Ohio, their architectural products adorn tens of thousands of historic and newly built commercial and residential structures around the world. In April, they opened our first Design Center in the Dallas Design District.

Scott Lange, National Commercial Vice President for Ludowici, will travel from Ohio to present the benefits of using terra cotta, its green properties, the vast variety of profiles textures and colors available, etc. Registered architects will receive 1.5 CEU credits.
Please Welcome our New Members!
Sustainer
Kecia T. Caffie
Chad Gillespie
Lisa Henderson
Tim Murphy
Eileen Shibata
Clinton Wais

Individual
Maureene Gibson

Young Professionals (PDYP)
Jennifer Lynn Klos
Sarah Speck
Thank you to the following members for renewing!
Amanda Adler
Norman Alston
Lorlee Bartos
Trevor & Makalah Brown
Deborah Carpenter
Gary Coffman
Brian Duffy
Cody Farris
Denny Hunt
Michael Lalonde
Candace MacMahon
Greg Nieberding & Eddie Ortega
Mark Pinkston
Donna Plunket
Gay Prewitt
Phyllis Prycer
Glenna Taite
Laura Tyson
Donna Wallace
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.
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Preservation Dallas | 2922 Swiss Avenue | Dallas TX 752518