Douglas Newby Insights - Page 13
Residential Link to Downtown
The city trails are busy. The tree-lined neighborhood residential streets remain tranquil. Isn’t it remarkable that one can ride a bike from White Rock Lake to the downtown Arts District through four linked single-family zoned historic and conservation districts and the Wilson Block Historic District on Swiss Avenue? While the Sante Fe and Katy Trails also provide enjoyable links from White Rock Lake to the Arts District, can you think of another city where one can ride several miles through the quiet residential streets surrounding downtown? The conservation district of Lakewood, the historic district of Junius Heights, the historic district of Munger Place, and the historic district of Peak Suburban protect the aesthetics and scale of the homes. The single-family zoning protects the neighborhood, keeping the density, traffic and number of cars parked on the curb low. People are fleeing cities where there is no refuge from high density neighborhoods. Cities that have added density to their neighborhoods have experienced destabilization and deterioration like Dallas once had when the neighborhoods were zoned multifamily. In Dallas, this deterioration was reversed when the neighborhoods were rezoned single-family. There is a push by some at City Hall to allow ADUs and backyard rental houses on every single-family zoned lot in Dallas. This would have a devastating effect on our tree-lined neighborhoods. Cities are fragile. We need to continue to nurture ours. *Residential Link to Downtown
#ADUs #LowDensity #BackyardRentalHouses #TreeLinedStreets #BikeRide #Trail #Path #Dallas #Neighborhood #DallasNeighborhood #City #OrganicUrbanism
Neo-Classical Sacred Design
Architect C.W. Bulger was part of early 20th century architectural royalty. Bulger came to Dallas in 1905 to design a prominent church. His classical architectural departure from the Gothic church style of the time prompted his invitation to design this neo classical church with Corinthian columns and a gold dome for the Gaston Avenue Baptist Church that is now Criswell College. His son, Clarence, who had just graduated from the University of Chicago, joined his practice and in 1907 they designed the first skyscraper in Dallas, the Praetorian Building. The father and son architectural firm went on to design elegant and refined homes on Swiss Avenue and in Highland Park, Lakewood and Northern Hills. The foundation of Dallas architecture was made up of great architects that included C.W. Bulger, Hal Thomson, Lang & Witchell, C.D. Hill, Marion Fooshee, James Cheek and others. *Neo-Classical Sacred Design #CWBulger #GastonAvenueBaptistChurch #CriswellCollege #Architecture #Architects #Neoclassical #Dallas #SacredSpaces #Design
Raised Eyebrow
As a contractor once said, “If you are going to give a home a facelift, start with the eyebrows.” While renovation will make this charming Craftsman cottage fresher and more elegant, this home is also a good reminder that gentrification is underrated. It is worth noting that working class homeowners, teachers, journalists, and artists bought and fixed up houses in the neighborhood and helped change the apartment zoning to single-family zoning. This prevented large apartment complexes to be built that would have had expensive rent and cause the affordable homes like this one to be torn down. Gentrification from renovation is a slow process. Gentrification started 45 years ago in the now historic districts of Munger Place, Junius Heights, and Peak Suburban Additions. It is nice that this Junius Heights historic district home is now taking its turn at renovation. *Raised Eyebrow
#JuniusHeights #GentrificationIsUnderrated #EyebrowDormer #OldEastDallas #SingleFamilyZoning #Neighborhood #Dallas #Architecture #Historic #Revitalization
Angle of Howard Meyer
The Howard Meyer angle makes an impact on architecture, neighborhoods and Dallas. This great architect did all three across Dallas. At White Rock Lake in 1939 he set the tone for classic estate homes overlooking the lake. On Turtle Creek Blvd. he designed 3525 Turtle Creek, a residential high-rise, that gave panache, style and elegance to Turtle Creek that became known for prestigious high-rises. In 1953, Howard Meyer with architect Max Sandfield designed Temple Emanu-El, a sacred space for a religious community, that became the pride of the Dallas community. In Greenway Parks Howard Meyer designed a midcentury modern home in 1950 that propelled the design of many other architecturally significant midcentury modern homes in Greenway Parks. In 1982 Jim and Carolyn Clark retained Howard Meyer to consult with on the home’s renovation. The result was a midcentury modern residence that renewed interest in midcentury modern homes in Dallas. The current owners’ further renovation maintained this modern home as a beacon for the best architects in Dallas to come to Greenway Parks and design architecturally significant homes here. *Angle of Howard Meyer
#HowardMeyer #Architect #Architecture #GreenwayParks #OrganicUrbanism #HomesThatMakeUsHappy #ArchitecturallySignificant #Modern #Mid-Century
September Dawn
Highland Park is associated with opulence, architecture, Highland Park Village, success and prestige. What is easy to forget is that the township of Highland Park is attractive in the way any small town or village is attractive. Highland Park is made up of tree-tunneled streets and tree-lined boulevards, perfect for riding a bike, running, or walking through the many serene neighborhoods linked by parks. During the pandemic one often sees more people than cars. One visits with neighbors and friends passing on the sidewalks and quiet streets. Highland Park is surrounded by the vibrant neighborhoods of Dallas; however, homeowners can still enjoy the timeless attributes of a gentle neighborhood and natural beauty. *September Dawn
#September #Dawn #HighlandPark #Village #Neighborhood #StreetScene #Landscape #Photography #Parkway #TreeTunnel #Dallas #JoySpotting #OrganicUrbanism
Masks Make All the Difference
My artistic loyalty was always to the Peruna IV statue on campus that served as a gravestone for the late SMU pony mascot. New stadiums, new arenas, new parking buildings, new Georgian buildings with wider columns, and the new large sculpture of three mustangs, all convey the rapid 21st century growth and current personality of SMU. A circle created for the three mustang sculpture in the new middle of campus surrounded by athletics facilities just seemed too much—until now. On a recent Dallas bike ride through the SMU campus, I broke into a huge smile when I saw these masked mustangs. A sculpture I had always thought was kind of trite and gauche became utterly adorable. It made me think that if I was an incoming freshman, my first stop at the SMU bookstore would be to purchase several SMU t-shirts with these masked mustangs on the front. What better way to exhibit school spirit, be socially supportive of masks and be fashionable. I say fashionable since my sartorial statement my freshman year was wearing a different SMU t-shirt to class every day. This was prompted by a couple of things – in the tumultuous times school spirit had a throwback feel to it. Isn’t a throwback style always in fashion in some sort of avant-garde way? Besides, I negotiated with my parents that they would pay my university bookstore bill. I was so excited to find SMU t-shirts were sold next to the books. The end of August always reminds me of arriving at SMU for my freshman year. I hope that the SMU freshman class has a great year and enjoys SMU as much as I did. *Masks Make All the Difference
#MaskedMustangs #SMU #Dallas #SMUtshirt #SMU_bookstore #schoolspirit #HighlandPark #UniversityPark #SMUcampus #DallasNeighborhood #joyspotting
Hawk on Henderson
Hawks have such a powerful presence. Havoc replaces tranquility when they arrive—songbirds disappear. Hawks are associated with hunting and domination. It was with great amusement that I watched this hawk patiently annoyed. I guess it is like sitting on a porch on a hot day with a fly or gnat buzzing around. While one could easily and violently dispose of this distraction, is it really worth the effort? *Hawk on Henderson
#HawkAttack #Henderson #OldEastDallas #Neighborhood #DallasNeighborhood #DowntownNeighborhod #OrganicUrbanism #Dallas #UrbanNeighborhood
Neighborhood of Theaters
There are few buildings that I am as sentimental about as the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater. Listening to the talk by the architects of Diller Scofidio+Renfro and the Dallas Theater Center artistic director Kevin Moriarty, I realized sometimes architects come across as boring and pedantic, but when they are speaking from a Frank Lloyd Wright stage, it comes across as a thrilling performance. As I reflected on the many plays that I have seen in this space, I think I could watch someone read out of a phone book in this Frank Lloyd Wright theater and be mesmerized. The message from the architects was that they want to make this site an urban attraction by renovating the Frank Lloyd Wright theater and adding two new theaters. They also want to respect the natural beauty of the Turtle Creek site. The architects reviewed many of their projects where their designs and programs took clues from the site, whether they were subtle, like grass growing between broken concrete, or obvious, like a large body of water. May I suggest for this project they take their architectural clues from the Turtle Creek Park niche neighborhood right across the street from the theater? Here is a neighborhood of just 39 homes that draws residents from many blocks away that want to walk or jog through the neighborhood to enjoy the delightful forested topography of this hidden neighborhood. Nature is the draw for this neighborhood that is also the closest to the most enticing vibrancy of Dallas. It is backed up to the Katy Trail and just around the corner from many of Dallas’ favorite retail districts. The next niche neighborhood along Turtle Creek is Northern Hills. It also combines nature and vibrancy. Hopefully, this new Turtle Creek theater neighborhood will be as successful combining nature and vibrancy, not disturbing this corridor of Turtle Creek niche neighborhoods but becoming one of them. *Neighborhood of Theaters
#DallasTheaterCenter #KalitaHumphreysTheater #FrankLloydWright @Diller_Scofidio_Renfro
#FrankLloydWrightTheater #TurtleCreek #NicheNeighborhoods #TurtleCreekPark #NorthernHills #KatyTrail #Dallas #Theater #Neighborhood #ArchitecturallySignificant #HistoricallySignific
Consortium of Community
While we stay at home, others are staying at home advancing the plans for the Frank Lloyd Wright theater. Many people have been incredibly involved and through their inspiration, passion and diligence propelled the preservation plan for the Frank Lloyd Wright theater project to this step of hiring the architectural firm of Diller Scofidio+Renfro. On stage at the end of the program discussing the approach to this Turtle Creek site and renovation of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater are some of the key people that the baton has been passed to. They will be critical to the success of this project. I am pleased that the three lead architects are from New York but with Texas and Dallas roots. This project falls in a district of city councilperson Dave Blewett who understands the nuances of neighborhoods, Suzanne Smith is the Art Commissioner, Kevin Moriarty as the artistic director of the Dallas Theater Center is also a leading voice for theater in Dallas, and in the center is the chairman of this project. This good looking group is the tip of the iceberg for all the people who have worked on the project and for all of the people who will be needed for this Frank Lloyd Wright theater project to come to fruition. *Consortium of Community
@Diller_Scofidio_Renfro #DillerScofidioRenfro @DallasTheaterCenter #DavidBlewett #SuzanneSmith #FrankLloydWright #FrankLloydWrightTheater #FrankLloydWrightTheaterRenovation #Dallas #DallasNeighborhood #TurtleCreek
Organic Urbanism
This striped woodpecker is enjoying foraging on the trunk of a walnut tree in front of a home a young family purchased from their church 50 years ago for less than $10,000. The great grandparents still reside here, as do occasionally members of succeeding generations. The best affordable homes are structures that can be patched together, fixed up and become a home through successive generations that enjoy the tall trees, front porches, birds, flowers and wildlife that also enjoy an organic urban neighborhood. *Organic Urbanism
#Woodpecker #OrganicUrbanism #HistoricHome #UrbanBirds #Family #Neighbors #Neighborhood #CityLife #Dallas #HistoricDistrict #PrairieStyle #WalnutTree #Home #AffordableHousing