Join us for the Holiday Party festivities next month!
Annual Holiday Party
Join us for the annual Preservation Dallas holiday party
at the festively decorated Wilson House!

This year we will present an exhibit of the work of William James Thompson’s Depression era architectural drawings of downtown Dallas. Who is William James Thompson? Thompson worked for Texas Power and Light and would spend his breaks drawings the hustle and bustle of downtown around him. He was never commissioned, but his eye for detail and passion for Texas history led to a collection of beautiful vignettes from a long time ago, some of which are now long gone.

The Wilson House and our tree will be decked out in its finest and there will be goodies to nibble. We are also bringing back the wine pull this year as well.

Have a friend interested in preservation?
Friends of Preservation Dallas members get a special discount for joining at the party!

We are looking forward to a wonderful evening with old friends and new!
DISD Plan to Replace
Numerous Historic Schools is Moved Up
Last year DISD released a Strategic Facilities Plan calling for the demolition and replacement of seventeen schools with decisions to be made about the fate of an additional six. The schools were selected for the list based on age, facility condition, and enrollment. The plan is an effort to reduce the average of schools in Dallas from 51.7 years to 46 years to get more in line with the national average of 44 years. The majority of the schools proposed for demolition are historic and range in style from revivalist to mid-century, with many designed by significant Dallas architects, including Mark Lemmon and C.D. Hill.

The massive plan would require voters to pass a multi-billion dollar bond to make the project happen. DISD had originally planned for a 2021 vote on the bond and have recently moved up that schedule to go out for a bond vote in November of 2020. With that, the threat for the schools on the list grows more prevalent. Beginning next year there will be a series of public meetings on the issue and regarding the schools to be demolished and replaced. 

To read more about this issue and to find out which schools are on the list click on this link to an article in Columns magazine written by the Preservation Dallas Executive Director.
Corporate Partner Highlight - Ludowici
For over 130 years architects and designers have recognized Ludowici as the premier architectural terra cotta brand – adorning thousands of historic and newly built buildings across the world. Being a company founded back in the 1800s, preservation is ingrained as a pursuit and a passion. Some of the largest – and certainly the most interesting – portions of their business are encompassed by historic preservation.

Their product line is extensive – ranging from roof tile, quarry floor tile, and shake or slate alternatives – to wall cladding, solar shades, and rainscreen systems. Hand-crafted in New Lexington, Ohio from locally sourced raw materials, Ludowici is proud to be the industry expert in creating custom colors and hand-crafted surface textures. This year so far has been an adventure, as they opened their first 9,000 sq. ft. showroom and conferencing space, right here in Texas.
Although their showroom in Dallas’s Design District might be new, their history in Texas is not! If you look up to see a historical structure with a tile roof, there’s a good chance it’s Ludowici. Their list of recognizable landmarks ranges across the board to cover projects like The Degloyer Mansion at the Dallas Arboretum, Dallas Theological Seminary, the Federal Reserve Bank in Houston, Tower Life Building in San Antonio, Bexar County Court House, and the Historic Brownsville Museum – to name a few. Currently, Ludowici is helping re-roof the Fort Worth Stockyard Exchange Building and providing add-ons to Highland Park Village – both having used their original tile.

Their campus footprint stretches the state – covering dozens of colleges like SMU, TCU, Texas Tech, and The University of Texas Austin. Specific to Dallas you may look up to see Ludowici across many historic neighborhoods such as Lakewood, Park Cities, Swiss Avenue, and Oak Cliff. Neighborhoods, museums, courthouses, train depots, city halls, fire stations, post offices, hotels, hospitals, parks, educational facilities, military facilities, country clubs, ranches, cathedrals and churches – there is nothing they won’t tile!

Ludowici says “We continue to produce the most beautiful, sustainable, and maintenance free construction products available in the industry, and are proud to now call Texas home.” 

Click here for more information on Ludowici and their products.
Office Hours during Thanksgiving week
The Preservation Dallas office will be open Monday, November 25th from 8:30-4 p.m. and will be closed beginning Tuesday, November 26th, reopening on Monday, December 2nd. If you have any questions during this time, please email us and we will get back with you as soon as we return to the office. We hope you enjoy the holiday with your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!
PRESERVATION ISSUES
Cabana Motor Hotel - Last week, the City Council approved $15.5 million in TIF funding for the redevelopment of the Cabana Motor Hotel, which opened in 1963 on Highway 35 across from downtown. The developers of the property are the same as The Statler and they plan to return the building back to its glory as a hotel. The last use of the building was as a minimum security jail after Dallas County purchased it in 1984 and converted the building. The Cabana has a fascinating history with the original developer going on to develop Caesars Palace and Circus Circus in Las Vegas, Doris Day investing in the project, Raquel Welch working as a cocktail waitress there and famous guests staying there including the Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. To read more about the incredible history of the hotel clic k here .

Changes to Landmarking Procedures for Initiation, Designation and Appeals – The proposed changes to the ordinance allowing the landmarking of properties was briefed to the Economic Development Council Committee earlier this month. They did not have any issues with the changes and it will go to City Council in January or February for approval. To view the PowerPoint presentation given at the Committee meeting on the changes go here .

Kalita Humphreys Theater – The Steering Committee for the Master Plan update for the theater has been meeting, with Katherine Seale serving as the representative for Preservation Dallas. The Dallas Theater Center (DTC) has put together an RFPQ for professional services to update the plan and has sent it to select architectural firms. Proposals are due back by November 29. The Steering Committee will then work to select finalists in December and hold interviews in January and then decide on a firm to complete the project. The firm will start engaging the public in February with the update to be completed by the end of 2020.  

DART D2 - Last week DART held the latest meeting regarding plans for the D2 line through downtown. They presented routing information for the line and proposed locations for the portals where the subway line will go underground and come up along with the station locations along the line. To view the PowerPoint presentation given at the meeting go here .

Proposition No. 5 – This month Texas voters passed Proposition No. 5 which called for a constitutional amendment that would automatically direct all revenue from the current sales tax on sporting goods to be spent on parks and historic sites across the state. The new law will go into effect in 2021 and will provide an estimated $183 million in funding for parks and historic sites according to the Texas Conservation Alliance. No new taxes will be required to do this as the sales tax on sporting goods is already in place with 40% going to parks and historic sites. This amendment makes sure that the rest of the sales tax money also goes there instead of the balance going into the general fund. 
Director's Letter
David Preziosi
Next week will all be celebrating Thanksgiving and this year I wanted to use my letter to thank two very important individuals for their service to historic preservation within the City of Dallas. Both are incredible people that have done so much to advance historic preservation in this city.

The first is Willis Winters, FAIA who just retired as the Director of the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. Even though he held that title since 2013, he was with the Department since 1993. One might think why would a park guy be recognized for preservation? Well, because Willis has been a tremendous supporter of all things preservation inside and outside of City Hall for many years. While at the City he worked on countless historic preservation projects within the parks scattered across the city saving incredible historic buildings relating to our parks and of course the crown jewel of Dallas, Fair Park. In fact, the Park and Recreation Department has won more Preservation Dallas awards than any other organization in Dallas. Every year they get another one for a project!

Willis’ passion for historic preservation runs deep and we were so lucky to have had someone like him at City Hall working to restore and rehabilitate so many incredible historic structures in our parks. Willis has also been a tremendous supporter of Preservation Dallas having served on our board and has continued year after year to teach our Residential Architecture and Architects of Dallas session during the Historic House Specialist class. Willis also won the Dorothy Savage Award from us in 2001 and was the Awards Honoree in 2010. He is also the author of six books, including Fair Park (2010) and Dealey Plaza (2013). Willis will be terribly missed at City Hall by Preservation Dallas! The one good thing about his retirement is now he will have more time to finish his book on Charles Dilbeck, which he has been working on for a while now and which we are all eagerly anticipating!

The other person I would like to recognize is Katherine Seale. Of course everyone knows Katherine as the former director of Preservation Dallas before I got here, but it is her more recent role as Chair of the Landmark Commission for which I would like to recognize her. She just rolled off the Commission after serving six years leading the Commission every first Monday of the month making sure the meeting was running smoothly and the cases were addressed.

Katherine also worked with City staff and elected officials in her role which helped to improve the standing of preservation at City Hall. After the unfortunate surprise downtown demolitions in 2014 she was appointed by the Mayor and CM Kingston to serve as Chair of the newly established Downtown Historic Preservation Task Force. For months she worked on that leading the committee meetings and coming up with nine recommendations for the city to implement. Several have been accomplished like adding more preservation staff at the City, establishing the Demolition Delay ordinance, and planning for a new historic resources survey for downtown. Katherine also served as the Chair of the committee which looked at revisions to the preservation ordinance regarding landmarking initiation and the appeals process.

Katherine took her great passion and dedication to preservation from Preservation Dallas to the City in her role as Landmark Commission Chair and we thank her for her hard work and dedication to improving the standing of historic preservation at the City. And don’t worry she will still be involved in preservation as we aren’t going to let her get away! As for her replacement on the Landmark Commission, Mayor Johnson has appointed Emily Williams who has served on the commission for several years. She is a landscape architect by training and a passionate advocate for historic landscapes and buildings. I look forward to working with Emily in the future in her new role.

I hope that everyone has a most enjoyable and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year with family and friends! I will be spending Thanksgiving with my sister and her family down in Austin and with my parents who have just moved down to Dripping Springs. And don't forget to put the Holiday Party on your calendar for December 6th as it will come up superfast after we return from the Thanksgiving break! 
EVENTS
The Buildings of Texas
Lecture and Book Signing
Tuesday, December 10
Fair Park: Hall of State
6:00 - 7:30 pm

The Society of Architectural Historians has just released T he Buildings of Texas: East, North Central, Panhandle and South Plains, and Wes t, which is part of their Buildings of the United States series and the second volume for Texas. We are so big we need two to cover the state!

Join us as we hear from the contributors about their work and the important architecture of North Texas chosen for the book. A reception will be held in the Hall of State at 6:00 with the book lecture at 6:30. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. This event is hosted by AD EX, Dallas Architecture Forum, Dallas Historical Society and Preservation Dallas.
Help Preservation Dallas While Shopping!
Did you know that when you shop for the holidays at AmazonSmile, they donate to Preservation Dallas? Click on the logo above to get started!
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!
Corporate Partner
Sustainer
Andrea C Bell
Kelly Gordon
Thomas M Herndon
Vicki King
Steven & Andrea Perryman
Krishna & Damodar G Shenoy
Ann Stoltz

Individual
Wendy W Cimorelli
John Johnson
Hieu T Le
Jessica Stewart Lendvay
Martha J Liese
Scott Marek
Jesus Martinez
William Nash
Chris Kyle Ray
Ren Marie Ray
Matthew Simons
Robert E Wedding
Dave Zinni

Young Professionals
Ayanna Estelle
Ellen Tichenor

Urban Armadillos
Sally McMullin

Student
Lauren Olivia Cimorelli
Thank you to the following members for renewing!
Angela Adams
Erin Banna
Sally Branch
Harrison Connor
Justin Curtsinger
Krista De La Harpe
Craig Eggleston
Leah Shafer Glaser
Stuart Gleichenhaus
Cynthia Greco
Becky Gruber
Diane Gruber
Ellie Hajek
Michelle Honeycutt
Ann Keen
Larry Loftis
Kevin McLaren
Legan Horan
William Orenic
Carolyn Perritt
Matt Rocha
Courtney Spellicy
Linda Wilson
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