One of the initiatives of Preservation Park Cities is to landmark architecturally significant homes in Highland Park and University Park with a Preservation Park Cities plaque. Landmarking does not put any restrictions on the home but is intended to bring attention to the historic architecture of the Park Cities. On December 7, 2024, Preservation Park Cities presented this plaque to the owners of the historic and architecturally significant homes at 3429 Drexel Drive designed in 1921, 3612 Euclid designed by architect Frank Welch in 1965, and 4401 Beverly Drive designed by architect Reynolds Fisher in 1937.
On the left, Craig Melde is the preservation architect shown at the Preservation Park Cities Landmarking reception at 3429 Drexel Drive. He is currently consulting with First Baptist downtown on rebuilding after the fire.
Dining room of 3429 Drexel Drive, a historically significant home that received a Preservation Park Cities Landmark plaque.Architect Reynolds Fisher designed the home at 4401 Beverly Drive in Highland Park in 1937. Preservation Park Cities landmarked this home that was beautifully renovated by Martin and Sherry Tucker Cox.3612 Euclid Avenue in Highland Park was designed by architect Frank Welch in 1965 and was landmarked by Preservation Park Cities. The owners are Dick and Jenny Mullen who are also Honorary Chairs of the Preservation Park Cities Annual Luncheon.
Art patrons enjoying the holiday reception at Nasher Sculpture Center.
Longtime Art Influencers at Nasher
It was fun to converse with two people that have had such an influence on art in Dallas, Chris Heinbaugh, Chief Advocacy Officer of AT&T Performing Arts Center, and Jerome Weeks, the former book critic and theater critic at the Dallas Morning News and the Arts Correspondent at KERA. Jerome has interviewed so many wonderful actors and artists through the years. In his farewell column, he mentioned me as having helped John Guare prepare him for Jerome’s interview. I told Jerome that one of my crowning achievements in real estate was to suggest to him to buy a house when I heard he was looking for a larger apartment. I helped him find his home and helped him arrange the financing. He said it was the best investment of his life and that he and his wife still live in the home.
Here was a chance to revisit the Impressionist paintings from the Margaret McDermott collection and others in this wonderful exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art in the Dallas Arts District downtown.
The Edvard Munch painting in the entrance hall of Margaret McDermott’s Scott Lyons designed home was fun to see again on this exhibition. I recall she said with some amusement that while her collection is most associated with the French impressionists a recent evaluation of the coloration had this Edvard Munch at top of her list.
The tea set shown here was displayed on Margaret McDermott’s living room, but once when we were over to her home for dinner I asked where it was and she said on loan to the Kimbell for a still life exhibition. She said she missed it and suggested we go in the morning to visit it. We did and one can find a picture of us at the Kimbell on an earlier Instagram post.“The Path in the Garden” painting by artist Gustave Caillebotte is seen here at the DMA exhibit of “The Impressionist Revolution from Monet to Matisse.” I will always think of this painting hanging in the dining room of Margaret McDermott’s architect Scott Lyons designed home in Highland Park.
“The Rooftops” by artist Paul Cezanne at the DMA exhibition of “The Impressionist Revolution from Monet to Matisse.” Paul Cezanne and Gustave Caillebotte are favorite artists of mine. It is fun to see these displayed in this exhibition and recall them in Margaret McDermott’s home. Every setting sheds new light on great art!“Fishing Boats at L’Estaque” by artist Andre Derain included in this exhibit by the DMA of “The Impressionist Revolution from Monet to Matisse” seen in the Dallas Museum of Art in the downtown Dallas Arts District.
The Texas State Fair is a tradition, but is even more than that. The vibration of Dallas changes as the city anticipates the Fair and all that it connotes. Even if someone does not attend the Fair, they recall years of going to the Fair, the livestock shows, the ferris wheels, the fried foods, corny dogs, caramel apples, the Midway, the Grambling Band, the Texas-OU game, and the western costume of towering Big Tex.
The opening parade at the State Fair of Texas in 2024 filled fairgoers with anticipation for the next two weeks of the Fair.
The opening night parade moves through Fair Park with a backdrop of fried cookies and fried jambalaya and the other delicacies that are being offered at the 2024 State Fair of Texas in Fair Park.In the opening parade, the Shriner Band delights the crowd at the 2024 State Fair of Texas.On opening night, the State Fair faithful eagerly arrive to see the wonders of the the 2024 State Fair of Texas in Dallas.
Lynn McBee, the Executive Director of the Dallas Breakfast Group, moderates a panel that includes former Mayor Tom Leppert and Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. The Interim City Manager has dedicated herself to Dallas for 30 years. Here she is explaining that the just passed ForwardDallas Comprehensive Plan recommending that single-family homes be replaced with apartments will not hurt Dallas. Further, she mentions the city has not discussed what percentage of Dallas should be homeowners and renters, even though the city’s percentage of homeowners is going down and there is a call for the percentage of renters to increase.
Executive Director Lynn McBee leads the Dallas Breakfast Group discussion with Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and former Mayor Tom Leppert at the Dallas Petroleum Club.
Dallas has a wonderful Arts and Letters program where we have the opportunity to hear from authors reading from their books. Interabang gives us a special treat – an almost private session with an author discussing his book. This evening the brilliant Dallas Morning News editor Rudy Bush discussed with author Jim Schutze his new book, “Pontiac.” This is a book of fiction that is based heavily on Jim’s experience from growing up in the provinces and then being shipped to an elite prep school.
The Interabang bookstore on Lovers Lane in the Bluffview neighborhood of Dallas hosts a discussion with Dallas Morning News Editorial Page editor Rudy Bush and author Jim Schutze about his new book “Pontiac.”Dallas Morning News Editorial Page editor Rudy Bush and author Jim Schutze discuss Jim Schutze’s new book “Pontiac” at the Interabang Bookstore located in Bluffview.
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House has become a strong tradition in Dallas as interior designers create the design for a specific room. The Dallas Design Week preceding Kips Bay has many lectures, book signings, receptions and showrooms in the Design District.
Interior designer Jan Showers created this show-stopping room at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2024. Jan Showers was responsible for us enjoying this fabulous room and she was also one of the organizers of this Kips Bay Decorator Show House that was held in the Turtle Creek area of Dallas.
Design of room by interior designer Lisa Henderson at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2024.Interior designer Trish Sheats created this room at the the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2024.
Room presented by interior designer Trish Sheats at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2024 in Dallas’ Turtle Creek neighborhood.Champagne Designs created this room at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2024.Interior designer Henry Street designed this room at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2024.
I was delighted to learn Sarah Crain was hired as the Executive Director of Preservation Dallas. Her father John Crain was one of the first persons I met when I moved to Munger Place, as he was the young Executive Director of the Dallas Historical Society and now is the Chairman of the Board of the Summerlee Foundation and also serves on the Texas Historical Commission. It was fun talking with Sarah Crain at the reception at the Wilson House on Swiss Avenue announcing her new position. She mentioned that she grew up in the basement of the Hall of State where the offices of the Dallas Historical Society were located. What a great family legacy of preserving and promoting Dallas.
Kevin and Cheryl Vogel have nurtured Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden that Kevin’s father Donald Vogel created 70 years ago. The art that is offered for sale at this gallery draws from the last seven decades and exhibits leading current artists. The gallery is beloved for both its art, its gallerist, and the beautiful gardens that are kept open to the public. It is a fabulous expression of Dallas aesthetics and generosity.
Botanical path at Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden leads to a series of beautiful gardens as the Gallery celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
Dallas enjoyed celebrating the 70th anniversary of Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden by visiting the beautiful gardens located at 6616 Spring Valley Road in Dallas and viewing the botanical exhibition celebrating the anniversary.Patrons of the arts and the general public of Dallas have always enjoyed the beautiful gardens of the Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden which celebrated its 70th Anniversary with the Botanicals Exhibition in the fall of 2024.Painting by Marjorie Johnson Lee, 1964, is seen at 70th Anniversary Botanicals Exhibition.Painting by renowned artist Barnaby Fitzgerald.Images of nature by Lloyd Brown.A painting of blue irises by artist Bob Stuth-Wade at the Botanicals Exhibition.Painting by artist Julie England exhibited at the Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden Botanicals Exhibition.Painting by beloved Dallas artist Mary Vernon shown at Botanicals Exhibition of Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden celebrating their 70th Anniversary.
Dallas Architecture Forum Panel of leading Dallas contractors was held at the Nasher Sculpture Center, which included Steve Hild, Stephen Hardy, and John Sebastian known primarily for their modern homes.
Going by the Nasher exhibition of Hugh Hayden on the first floor is a perfect introduction for the Dallas Architecture Forum Panel of leading Dallas contractors being held on the floor below.
Dallas Architecture Forum Panel of leading Dallas contractors is held at the Nasher Sculpture Center, which included Steve Hild, Stephen Hardy, and John Sebastian known primarily for their modern homes.Architect Renzo Piano designed the Nasher Sculpture Center as the perfect environment for an architectural panel discussing the construction of modern homes in Dallas.Contractor John Sebastian in conversation after a panel discussion on building architect-designed homes in Dallas. John Sebastian is an architect who took over the architecture and building firm of his father in 1992 and turned it into one of the largest and most important residential building firms in Texas and across the country. The modern homes he has built are incredibly complex and beautiful. These are houses that put Dallas on the architectural map!Contractor Steve Hild speaking at the Dallas Architecture Forum Panel about the Alter Studio designed home in Highland Park.David Hocker has won national landscape architecture awards. He does a spectacular job of enhancing architecturally significant homes with his landscape design. He is sought out to work from the beginning of the three-year process of designing, building and landscaping a home. One can recognize his work from its excellence.Steve Levine is waving goodbye to his friends at the Dallas Architecture Forum as he departs the reception after the panel of Dallas contractors spoke. Steve is probably the most knowledgeable person in Dallas regarding residential architecture and modern architect-designed homes.
