Check out the 2020 Preservation Achievement Award winners!
2020 Preservation Achievement Awards Selected
Nominations were received and deliberated last month by the jury for the 2020 Preservation Achievement Awards and we are proud to announce the award recipients for this year. These noteworthy projects were selected for the outstanding efforts to preserve the historic character of the places while updating them for modern use.
 
Congratulations are in order for the 2020 award winning projects: 710 Dumas, The Gaston, Lobello House, Green House, Marcus House, 211 N. Rosemont Avenue, Mayor Sergeant House, Bella Villa Apartments, Bowlski’s - Lakewood Theater, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Box Car, Eagle Ford School, Samuell Grand Regional Family Aquatics Center, Sharrock Niblo Barn, Tyler Station, the UNT Dallas College of Law – Old Municipal Building, and the new Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum.
 
This year’s awards will include a special tribute to the City of Dallas Park & Recreation Department for all that they have done to preserve Dallas’ historic parks and the historic features within them. The Department has received the most Preservation Achievement Awards out of any organization in the city and we applaud their list of stellar projects.
 
In addition, we will be presenting special recognition awards for contributions to historic preservation. The City of Dallas Archives will receive the Craftsmanship Award, Carolyn Brown and the Tenth Street Neighborhood Resident’s Organization will each receive the Spirit of Preservation Award, and the Finding Little Egypt Project will receive the Education Award.
 
The Preservation Achievement Awards ceremony will take place on May 28 th at the Block House in East Quarter, formerly the Masonic Lodge on Harwood Street.
Preservation Dallas Office Temporarily Closed to Visitors
As many other organizations are doing at this time due to COVID-19, the Preservation Dallas office in the Wilson House will be temporarily closed to all guests, meetings, and tours. Staff will still be available by email or phone. We will reassess at a later date when we should reopen again. 
 
We have also postponed our March InTown Outing and the April AHHS class with new dates to be announced when rescheduled.
 
Thank you for your understanding and patience at this time and we look forward to welcoming back visitors soon.
Passing of Doris "Pat" Dilbeck, 1924-2020
We are saddened to report that we recently lost Pat Dilbeck, wife of prolific architect Charles Stevens Dilbeck, at the age of 95. She was born in Morehead, Kentucky on July 23, 1924 and attended Morehead University for two years of business studies. She even served her country as a spot welder on B-29 Bombers during WWII. Pat moved to Dallas in her early 20's where she met and married Charles Stevens Dilbeck. He had a long career in Dallas churning out incredible designs from humble to large houses of quirky design to hotels, restaurants, and more. Throughout his career Pat was his biggest fan. They lived in the last home he designed until his passing in 1990. Pat was also instrumental in Dilbeck’s work being donated to the Alexander Archives at the University of Texas so that generations can study and appreciate Dilbeck’s work. The collection contains 907 architectural drawings which represent 191 projects . Pat was also a wonderful volunteer and helped with many charities and social organizations. She was beloved by many, including Kelly Bradley, one of our Preservation Dallas members and owner of the Dilbeck designed Dealey House, who had this to say:

“Pat Dilbeck dressed in a tailored style and was elegant in stature. Open and authentic was her natural way of being, and she was fun and hospitable in her social interactions with others. And, I cannot leave out her creativity as she demonstrated through her poetry and sewing, among other such talents. 
 
Some of my strong memories are when she took me into her closet and showed me her trademark white blouses all hanging side by side; the chicken salad she would prepare for our lunch before she beat my socks off later on in a game of gin rummy; the down to earth conversations we had on politics, family and Charles; and of course, our common interest in all Dilbeck designed and built houses. Her poem that she wrote about our Dilbeck house is an unforgettable treasure for us!” 

We celebrate the amazing life of Pat Dilbeck and all that she did to help preserve the legacy of Charles Dilbeck’s work. 

A celebration of her life will be held at a later date, most likely this summer. Details will be announced once they are determined.

Click here to read her obituary.
2021 Legacies Dallas History Conference Call for Proposals
The organizers of the 22 nd Annual Legacies Dallas History Conference welcome proposals from both professional and lay historians on topics related to the theme: “Law and Disorder in Dallas Revisited.”

Throughout its history, Dallas has experienced periods when outlaws, criminals, and even protests for change presented special challenges to the forces of order, such as:
  • The 1870s, when the coming of the railroads turned Dallas into a boomtown which brought a huge increase in saloons, gambling, and related crimes associated with those vices.
  • The early 1900s saw concern over red-light districts, with prostitution and drugs.
  • The 1920s were the era of bootleg whiskey and the KKK, while the 1930s saw Bonnie and Clyde grab the headlines.
  • Organized crime, including gambling, flourished for a time in the 1940s.
  • In the post-World War II era, civil rights protests pushed for an end to racial segregation of African Americans, fair treatment for Mexican Americans, and equality for the LGBT community.
 
Papers presented at the conference may focus on topics related to crime, law enforcement, legal proceedings, protests and might examine an incident, an individual or a group.

All papers must be based on original research and must not have been presented or published elsewhere. The best papers will be published in a subsequent issue of Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas . Those interested in presenting papers should submit a brief summary of their proposal by July 31, 2020, to:
Dallas History Conference
1515 S. Harwood Street
Dallas, TX 75215
or by email to LegaciesDHC@gmail.com . Those selected will be notified by August 31, 2020.
PRESERVATION ISSUES
Kalita Humphreys Theater – Earlier this month, the first public meeting was held regarding the update to the master plan for the Kalita and the site. At the meeting the Dallas Theater Center introduced the firm chosen for the work - Diller Scofidio + Renfro of New York. The firm presented some of their past work, discussed their design philosophy for those projects, and discussed the design and importance of the Kalita. They said work has not begun on the plans for the Kalita and that there would be many more meetings to come through the process regarding the theater and the site. During the meeting there was great emphasis placed on the importance of the architecture of the Kalita and its preservation while maintaining it for modern use. The Dallas Theater Center has information regarding the theater on their web site and you can submit feedback regarding the plan update.

Bonnie and Clyde Sites - This month at the Landmark Commission the former Star Service Station located on Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas was reviewed for the initiation of the Landmark designation process. The station was owned by Henry Barrow, father of Clyde Barrow, and was used during Clyde's crime spree for meetings. After Clyde's death the station was shot at and explosives placed there in an effort to keep Clyde's parents from testifying against members of his gang. The Landmark Commission decided to initiate the designation process for the building and now the case will be forwarded to the Landmark Designation Committee to work with the owner on the Designation Report and the Preservation Criteria for the site. Another site associated with Bonnie and Clyde, the McBride House on North Winnetka and not far from the Barrow filling station, also came up for initiation at the meeting as well. The house belonged to a family member of one of the Barrow Gang members and was where Clyde shot and killed a sheriff's deputy. The owners of the site were not able to attend the meeting and requested that the case be deferred until April, for which the Commission granted the request. 

Parkland Hospital - Last month the Urban Design Peer Review Panel reviewed plans for the redevelopment of the former Parkland Hospital site on Harry Hines which was recently vacated with the opening of the new Parkland Hospital. The former hospital is where President Kennedy was brought after he was shot and that building still remains on the campus, although it has been built around over the years. The emergency room where Kennedy was treated is no longer there as it was removed by the government after his death and placed in storage. EB Arrow, the developer of the site, would like to demolish all of the buildings and construct a new mixed-use complex of office, hotel, conference center, and restaurants. Click here to see the plans for the site presented at the meeting. At the meeting the Panel gave a good deal of feedback on the plans and the site. The developers also said that the plans are preliminary and would likely change in the future, especially based on the comments given by the committee. Watch a video of the meeting where the plans for the Parkland site were presented. 

Downtown Dallas Historic Resources Survey – The City Council is to approve a contract in May with a consultant to complete the survey project. Work would most likely start some time this summer.
Director's Letter
David Preziosi, FAICP
With all that is going on right now with COVID-19 it is hard to think about what to write for my letter. We are facing unprecedented times and uncertainly as to when life might return to normal or as close to normal as possible. I hope that the spread of the virus can be stopped quickly and the toll it takes minimized. All of us have been impacted in some way or another by this pandemic, whether it be a disruption in work, having to work from home, closing of schools indefinitely and dealing with how to handle child care, concern for your health or the health of family and loved ones, and more.

Life is certainly changing for all as places close and we can no longer enjoy simple activities like shopping, going to the gym, eating out, or attending meetings or religious services. That also includes visiting our many cultural sites and institutions. The impact on the closure of those places will be devastating as so many of our museums and historic sites rely on revue from admission and special events held there. Another aspect that is changing, which is scary, is how governments will be able to engage with the public when we have been asked to social distance and not gather in large groups. Our system of government, especially at the local level, depends on a public process with public input. I understand that the City is looking at virtual meetings for Landmark Commission, City Plan Commission and City Council. The question will be how the public will be able to actively engage in that situation. Sure people can submit letters and emails on an agenda item; however, public testimony in my opinion is the most persuasive and crucial thing when it comes to public actions. People showing up in support of or against an issue, even if they don’t speak, is very powerful. That will be extremely hard to do virtually. Hopefully the City will be able to figure out a way to balance public safety and the need for input at the public hearings. In many cases, postponing or cancelling public meetings, especially with commissions and boards, is not an option as there are regulations which require applications and requests to be reviewed in a certain amount of time.

On a more positive note, we have some great award winning projects and people this year and it’s wonderful to celebrate their accomplishments in helping to preserve Dallas historic places. As of now, we are still planning on the Preservation Achievement Awards event to be held on May 28 anticipating that the crisis will have subsided by then and things will have returned closer to normal. If that is not the case, we will look at postponing the event.

Another positive item is that we have begun working on an overhaul of our web site! It is very exciting as our web site is over eight years old and a dinosaur by web site standards. While graphically it still looks decent, the back end is an issue as we have had problems with functionality due to the version of the software we use for the web site no longer being supported. Thankfully, I was able to acquire a grant from the Fondren Fund for Texas of the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help pay for the new web site. We have engaged with a local firm called CivicBrand to redo the web site. Irene and I had our first conference call with them last week to discuss what we are looking for in the redesign. Some of those items include improved graphics and interface, streamlined flow for membership renewal and event registration, making it easier for Irene and I to update the site in house, better compatibility with mobile devices, and more. We are hoping to have the new web site up and running sometime this summer. 

Well, I guess I did have some items to write about after all. Please be safe out there and hopefully with working together we will make it through this uncharted time we are all facing.
EVENTS
InTown Outing: Forest Theater
Thursday, March 24, POSTPONED

Join us as we tour the long shuttered Forest Theater. This is a unique opportunity to see the building before work begins in earnest on its rehabilitation. Opened in 1949, it was part of the Interstate Theatre chain and was designed by H. F. Pettigrew of Pettigrew and Worley, who also designed the Lakewood and Circle Theaters. It closed just 16 short years after it opened. Subsequent uses for the building were likewise short-lived. On Preservation Dallas’ Most Endangered Historic Places list in 2015, the property was purchased by a local philanthropist and donated to CitySquare, a non-profit committed to the revitalization of the building and area. The historic retail component will become a community learning center functioning in collaboration with DISD.
Advanced Historic House Specialist seminar
Wednesday, April 16, POSTPONED

The Meadows Foundation has canceled all events at their facilities through April. We are looking for a possible date in late May or June to reschedule the class and will advertise that when we have a new date. 

Have you taken the Historic House Specialist and are you ready for the Advanced seminar? This one-day class covers: materials and methods of Pre- and Post-WWII housing in Dallas, the economics involved in historic preservation, historic landscapes, and how to do an advanced research of a historic building on site at the Dallas Public Library. 
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Preservation Dallas participates in the Tom Thumb Good Neighbor program. Link our Good Neighbor number to your Tom Thumb loyalty card and a percentage of your purchases will be credited towards us! Our number is 11352. Enroll your card here!  
Preservation Dallas participates in the Kroger Community Rewards program. Enroll your Kroger Plus card with Preservation Dallas as the benefactor. Our number is TX617. Enroll your card here!
Please Welcome our New Members!
Sustainer
Linda Levkoff

Individual
Carol M Baccich
Jancie B Salmon
Anne Turner
Thank you to the following members for renewing!
Elizabeth Hunt Blanc
Julie Bolding
Kristin Cantrell
David L Cook
Anne McDonald Duthie
Diane Finstrom
Robert Florian and John Gormley
Cindy Ford
Jacque Gavin
Christopher Hickman
Carole Johnson
Michael Judd
Carol Klein
Travis-Lee Moore
Daniel O Mulford
Teresa Musgrove
Kristi Nedderman
J. Kyle Rains
Sharron Sadacca
Janna Schulze
Julie Travis
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
Joe M. and Doris R. Dealey Family Foundation
Preservation Dallas | 2922 Swiss Avenue | Dallas TX 752518