4908 Lakeside Drive, Highland Park, Texas, should be the wakeup call that we should start saving homes now. “Start Saving Homes” should be the public cry. There is an understandable consternation when there is an onslaught of homes being torn down across the country, particularly one that has the significance of 4908 Lakeside Drive in…
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From time to time, we hear of the demolition of an historic or architecturally significant home in the news. Inevitably there’s an outcry. Members of the community are understandably upset. Community leaders agree that “something must be done.” But what? Shaming a Buyer Who Tears Down a Home Has Never Saved a Home. These Five…
In my last article I proposed five steps for saving homes that were historic from demolition, with a deep dive into the first step: identifying and illuminating historic and architecturally significant homes. In this post, I’ll take a closer look at Step Two of the next four proactive preservation steps that will save homes. Recap…
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Preservation Step Three comes after identifying and illuminating historic and architecturally significant homes and contacting and cultivating the homeowners like the owners of the David Williams designed home. Preservation Step Three is a gamechanger. Architects and interior designers can create a vision for a renovated home. Inspectors, contractors and appraisers can determine the cost and…
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Historic and architecturally significant homes will be saved with each of the first four steps. But preservation Step Five is the most powerful step. It will guarantee that the historic or architecturally significant home will be spared from being torn down. This final preservation step perpetuates the life of a historic or architecturally significant home…
For decades, Highland Park homes have been torn down, however, this year this activity has accelerated . Perhaps new residents have had an impact. For instance, the great influx of home buyers from California to Dallas has created many benefits for Dallas and has exacerbated some problems. The greatest negative effect on our urban landscape…
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A Highland Park teardown is just another old, out-of-date house or it is an architectural accomplishment designed by one of the best architects in Dallas or the country, and the former home of prominent residents. An insignificant Highland Park teardown makes room for a new architect-inspired home. An architecturally significant home that becomes another Highland…
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It never occurred to me until now that a sorority house is also a sorority home, and many times an historic home contributes to a campus or town. Homes are historic because of their architectural value or the residents that inhabited them or both. Sorority houses like this one, SMU’s Alpha Xi of Gamma Phi…
Historically and Architecturally Significant Home is Celebrated and Saved in Highland Park Preservation Success is achieved in Highland Park! Many consider this Highland Park home designed by Mark Lemmon to be the most historically significant home in Highland Park and maybe even in Dallas and North Texas. Highland Park, University Park, the State of Texas,…
Swiss Avenue boulevard was created as the grandest street in Munger Place, the first deed restricted neighborhood in Dallas, where every home was required to be designed by an architect. In the early 1900s, Munger Place was considered the finest residence park in the Southland. Prominent Architects Designed Architecturally Significant Homes on Swiss Avenue That…
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Greenlining designated areas of Southern Dallas for new and renovated single-family homes would give that neighborhood a positive direction, an economic thrust, homeowner confidence that propels a neighborhood and a certainty of success. The More Homeownership in a Neighborhood, the Stronger the Neighborhood The strength, safety and viability of a neighborhood increases with the rise…
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In 2016, I did a TEDx Talk, Homes That Make Us Happy, based on my blog article, Characteristics of Homes People Love. I look back at those insights to show that the characteristics of homes people love were apparent even before the pandemic. However, the pandemic made us focus on the elements of the homes…
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