Douglas Newby | Insights on Architecturally Significant Homes, Neighborhoods & Cities

Remembering John Reoch (December 6, 1944 – June 22, 2026) – A Life of Style, Grace, and Generosity

Some might think that 45 years ago, when John came to Dallas from Philadelphia as a buttoned-down attorney, he reinvented himself. Others, like me, think Dallas was simply the perfect city to nurture his brilliance as a lawyer and his profound appreciation of art, food, wine, literature, classical and contemporary music, architecture, cycling, and fashion. […]

Danish Views of Dallas

One always learns more about their own city when interviewed by a newspaper correspondent from another country. On this occasion, correspondent Markus Bernsen came over from Denmark to do a full-page back-cover feature story on Dallas for Weekendavisen, the leading newspaper of Scandinavia. He had previously been stationed in Washington, D.C., so he had a good […]

Dallas City Hall for Dallas

Dallas City Hall is not an office building for bureaucrats. It is an architecturally significant civic building designed specifically to promote the city and encourage the people of Dallas to propel the city to greatness. Designed by I. M. Pei, the building’s open floor plan, abundance of windows, and dramatic council chamber were conceived to […]

How SMU Shaped Douglas Newby’s Civic and Professional Career | The 1911 Group

The 1911 Group produces a thoughtful SMU Stories series that captures the experiences of alumni who have helped shape Dallas. In this episode, Mitchell Brown speaks with Douglas Newby about how an interdisciplinary education at SMU influenced his civic engagement, preservation work, and professional point of view — from revitalizing older neighborhoods to representing architecturally […]

Blair Pogue DMN High Profile Feature by Sarah Hepola also Profiles Dallas

The Blair Pogue profile by Sarah Hepola in the Dallas Morning News was actually a profile of Dallas. High Profile has always been a favorite section of mine because I understand Dallas better when I know more about the people who contribute to Dallas and make it an interesting and great city. High Profile Feature […]

Dallas Business Journal Features Highland Park Estate Home at 4400 Belfort Place

It is no wonder that the Dallas Business Journal chose the Highland Park estate home at 4400 Belfort Place to feature. Dallas loves business, not just the money element, but who is contributing, what resonates with Dallas, what is the market? The home at 4400 Belfort Place answers a lot of these questions. Journalist Alexa […]

Highland Park Home is Only Home Featured in Both Wall Street Journal and Dallas Morning News

The Highland Park home at 4400 Belfort Place was the only home selected this year to be featured in both the Wall Street Journal and the Dallas Morning News. How do editors select a home to feature? There are 30,000 homes for sale in MLS in the Dallas region and there are 2,000,000 homes for sale in MLS across the country. Why did they feature this Highland Park home for sale?

Why Do Spanish Revival Style Homes Evoke the Best of Highland Park?

Dallas is home to the best collection of 20th century homes in the country. Highland Park is associated with the best homes in Dallas. How did Spanish Revival style homes come to represent the finest homes in Highland Park – the best of the best – and evoke the excellence of Highland Park? The story […]

Dallas Contractors Discuss Building Traditional and Modern Homes – Stradivarius Violins and Symphony Triangles

The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA) invited me to moderate a panel of top Dallas contractors on February 13 to discuss building traditional homes in contrast to building modern homes. I’m very excited about this upcoming event and wanted to share some of my thoughts as I prepare for what promises to be […]

Home Value Hierarchy – Hal Thomson

For a perfect illustration of home value and the many factors that elevate a home’s value, consider the Hal Thomson-designed home at 3925 Potomac Avenue. As I’ve shared before, home value is determined by a home’s location, its neighborhood, its site and its historic and architectural significance. All these characteristics combine to make this architecturally […]

The Myths and Misinformation Promoted by ForwardDallas

This ForwardDallas talk was presented to the North Dallas Neighborhood Alliance of 50 Homeowners Associations. Thank you for allowing me to join you this evening. It is fitting that we are meeting in a church as Sharon Grigsby, a Dallas Morning News columnist who I have admired and considered a friend for many years, wrote: […]

ForwardDallas Moves Dallas Backward

If Dallas Loses its Homeowners All of Dallas Loses Perhaps you’ve heard that there is a plan moving forward at Dallas City Hall that will permanently change single-family neighborhoods throughout our city. Whatever you might know about it, it’s actually worse than you think. Not only is there a proposal from five council members to […]

How A City Can Flourish – What to Avoid and What to Pursue

Harper Belmont Media interviewed Douglas Newby for a documentary they were doing on short-term rentals (STRs). Here are 20 video clips taken from that interview where I am discussing additional dwelling units (ADUs) and STRs and what happens when density is added to single-family zoned neighborhoods. Included in the conversation are the reasons why adding […]

Preservation Minded Owners are Key to Saving Historic Homes

Preservation celebrates another preservation victory. I just sold one of the most important architecturally significant homes in Dallas with deed restrictions included in the sale that prevent the home from being torn down, and helped the property sell for a higher price than the appraised value. David Williams-Designed Home Sold for Over Appraised Value and […]

Observations and Clarifications to Tom Foster Texas Monthly Article

Tom Foster, a Texas Monthly writer, wrote an article on Allie Beth Allman and her large presence in the Dallas real estate market. She is a deserving subject as she is the last of the residential real estate titans of a generation. Ebby Halliday is gone, Charles Freeman is gone, Virginia Cook is retired, and […]