Katherine Seale

Meet David Preziosi, Preservation Dallas' New Executive Director

Katherine Seale officially ended her five-year tenure as executive director of Preservation Dallas early this year, but she didn't stop working. Instead, she's been hanging around as a volunteer until the nonprofit found a new leader. That just happened. The nonprofit announced in a press release t ... More >>

Wanna Own Davy Crockett? The School, That Is.

Photo by Patrick Michels​On and off last year we took a look at the sad state of the 108-year-old Davy Crockett School on Carroll Avenue, a designated city historic landmark since 1993 and almost all but empty since the Dallas Independent School District moved its students to close-by Ignacio Zara ... More >>

Preservationists Say If Perry Kills Historical Commission, He Could Also Decimate Future

Flickr user: Nicholas Henderson​It hasn't been easy reaching a preservationist in this state in the last couple of hours. Or in D.C., for that matter. Not since Governor Rick Perry announced earlier today that in order to save the state some money, he's proposing the elimination of the Texas Histo ... More >>

Shawn Todd to Convert Old Downtown Dallas Post Office Into "Modern Luxury Living"

Federal Judiciary CenterSome facts about the post office and court house: "Completed in 1930. Supervising Architect: James A. Wetmore."​High on the top of my list of favorite downtown buildings is the old U.S. Post Office and Courthouse at 400 N. Ervay. But the building, built in '30, has gone unu ... More >>

City, Preservationists Come to Agreement About Permit Fees for Homes in Historic Districts

​At the very bottom of today's city council agenda you'll find a topic first introduced back in August, when the city was looking for every possible penny during the latest budget squeeze -- a proposal to increase fees for zoning, development and building permit applications. Last summer, preserva ... More >>

First Presby Moves Closer to Buying 508 Park. But Not Before City Gives a "Courtesy Review."

Justin Terveen​Back in August we discovered that at long last, 508 Park Avenue -- the building in which Robert Johnson, Bob Wills and perhaps even Charlie Parker recorded -- had a savior: next-door neighbor First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. But almost four months later, the church has yet to se ... More >>

Fight City Hall or Haul Out the Wrecking Ball? A Look at the Corner of Ash and Commerce.

Justin Terveen​What you see above is all that remains of 4044 Commerce Street, where Commerce intersects with Ash Lane not far from Fair Park. Our pal Justin Terveen posted some photos of the demolished structure to his Facebook page and Flickr photostream. Justin, who lives nearby, noted that it ... More >>

W.H. Adamson High School Gets One Step Closer to Historic Landmark Status

​In May 2008 the Landmark Commission's Designation Committee first took up the topic of W.H. Adamson High School, once known as Oak Cliff High. At the time it was expected that the Dallas Independent School District might have some issues with designation -- not only because the district has only ... More >>

Four Years Later, Jury Finds TCI West End Guilty of Fraud For Razing MKT Freight Station

Justin TerveenFor the past four years, the demolition of this building has been much discussed on the Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum.​On Monday I noted that city officials were anxiously awaiting a verdict in the 4-year-old case of City of Dallas v. TCI West End Inc., which concerned the demolition ... More >>

There Are a Number of Familiar Places on Preservation Dallas's Most Endangered List

Justin Terveen508 Park Avenue, currently the subject of litigation as its owners try to tear down the building​At this very moment Preservation Dallas executive director Katherine Seale is at the Women's Museum in Fair Park formally presenting its annual list of properties, neighborhoods and "hist ... More >>

In South Dallas, a Plan to Turn a Former Hospital, Hotel and Home Into a Kids' Theater

​If you were to drive by 4526 Leland Avenue, near the intersection of Hatcher Street and S. Central Expressway, you'd think nothing of it -- as you can see, it's two stories of stucco worth, according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District, a few cents more than $90,000. But tomorrow, it's among ... More >>

Demolition Girl on Top, or: Liveblogging the Council's Housing Committee Meeting

Carolyn Davis makes a point -- several, actually -- concerning a proposed ordinance that makes it easier to demolish historic homes.​What it do, Friends? Today's Housing Committee meeting, which Robert warned you I'd be liveblogging, got a late start because of the overflow of the previous Pub ... More >>

Don't Raze Me, Bro Redux: Council Delays Vote on Teardown Ordinance For One Month

​First person I saw at City Hall yesterday was Katherine Seale, exec director of Preservation Dallas, who'd come to council in an attempt to stall a vote on the historic demolition ordinance we've been discussing since, oh, August '08 and the one that, as currently written, would allow the city to ... More >>

What's On the Council's To-Do List Today?

​Here, to start your morning, a few highlights from today's 858-page council agenda, which we'll begin with a shout-out to Brad Kirby. Surely you remember him? Back in January, Kirby went down to Dallas City Hall to tell the horseshoe about his stolen dogs. He proposed an ordinance that would make ... More >>

Public Safety Committee Shuns Preservationists, Approves New Historic Demolition Ordinance

Sam MertenYup, Dwaine. This briefing was way over the collective heads of your committee.​Baffled and outraged preservationists quietly vacated Monday afternoon's Public Safety Committee meeting after the city council committee voted unanimously to adopt a new historic building demolition ordi ... More >>

The City's Still Debating How to Tear Down Safety Threats in Historic Districts

In August 2008, this was among the houses depicted in the initial council committee briefing regarding the need for a new teardown ordinance.​If it feels like City Hall's been debating the issue of how to tear down blighted properties within historic districts since forever, well, it's only been . ... More >>

News & Notes: Don't Waste Water, But Do Build a Better Block. And, More Than You Needed 2 Know 'Bout Palin4Life.

A few odds and sods on this Census Day:The fine folks at Bike Friendly Oak Cliff have posted a video follow-up to our post about plans to build The Better Block at the intersection of N. Tyler and W. 7th Streets on April 10 and 11. That's it up top, and it's rather self-explanatory ...So too is the ... More >>

Mid-Century Modern Problems: Sorting Out What's Worth Designating Historic

​There's not a lot going on at Dallas City Hall this week and next and next, while the council goes spring breaking. But there is something of interest on the Landmark Commission's Designation Committee, which is meeting today: a vague agenda item that only says, "Discussion of Post War residentia ... More >>

So, Come On, Does the L.A.-Based Owner of the Old Dallas High School Really Want to Sell

On and off, the old Dallas High School has been on Preservation Dallas's most-endangered list.​OK, fair warning: This is going to be one in a series of items over the next couple of days dealing with Crozier Tech (or, as long-timers know it, the 103-year-old city-designated landmark Dallas High Sc ... More >>

Swiss Ave. Church, Now Actor's Home and Artists Residence, Almost a City Landmark

Good night, Corabeth: The city is one step closer to certifying the former St. Joseph's church and school a historic landmark.​I may have to tag along with the Landmark Commission's Designation Committee on Wednesday evening when it makes a visit to the former St. Joseph's Church and Academy on Sw ... More >>

As Marcus House Works Its Way Toward Historic Designation, Lessons Learned

The Marcus House as it looked during construction in 1938​On August 11, 2008, Mark and Patty Lovvorn wanted nothing more than to tear down their massive house on Nonesuch Road, the famous manse designed by Roscoe DeWitt for Stanley Marcus in the 1930s. "Energy inefficiency" was the reason offered ... More >>

DISD May Still Get to Raze Historic Church, But Not Before Turning Over Financial Records

From left: Michael Amonett of OOCCL, Jason Roberts of Bike Friendly Oak Cliff and attorney John McCall Jr. after today's hearing​Schutze is right -- they ought to trademark it, "The Oak Cliff Way." Now, it's more than likely the  Old Oak Cliff Conservation League won't stop the Dallas Indepen ... More >>

So, Looks Like the Historic Oak Cliff Christian Church Has About Three Weeks Left

Photos by Jeffrey LilesInside Oak Cliff Christian Church, crews are removing asbestos in advance of the building's imminent demolition.​Oak Cliff's own Jeff Liles is out in front of the Oak Cliff Christian Church at this very moment, and he reports that workers for Ponce Contractors are inside the ... More >>

With Demo Permit in Hand, DISD's Closer to Razing Historic Oak Cliff Christian Church

Oak Cliff Christian Church in an undated photo, courtesy the Oak Cliff Conservation League​Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander says he can't talk about the district's intentions with the former Oak Cliff Christian Church on 10th Street, which, as we first mentioned Tuesday m ... More >>

A Roundhouse Kick to the Round House

Courtesy Preservation Dallas​Preservation Dallas has never been able to positively ID who built the so-called Round House on Baxtershire Drive -- which, as we mentioned in May of '08, was on the market for $1,075,000, though, most recently, the asking price for the ca. 1961 Bond-ian palace was kno ... More >>

If This Goes On Any Longer, Maybe Dallas's Historic Structures Will Just Raze Themselves

Sam MertenKatherine Seale speaking to ZOAC last monthRepresentatives from Preservation Dallas and the Landmark Commission met yesterday morning with the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee and first assistant city attorney Chris Bowers to hammer out the details of a proposed ordinance aimed at expe ... More >>

Plethora of City Attorneys Unable to Push New Demolition Ordinance Past Committee

Sam MertenCity plan commissioners Neil Emmons (right) and Robert Ekbald (left) watched as Katherine Seale of Preservation Dallas spoke this morning to the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee.Much to the chagrin of the half dozen city attorneys attending this morning's Zoning Ordinance Advisory Comm ... More >>

This Evening, Talk of Designating Two Downtown Buildings as Historic Landmarks

View Larger MapNoticed something interesting on the Landmark Commission Designation Committee's agenda for today's 5:45 p.m. confab: the re-initiation of historic designation proceedings for two downtown buildings, the Mercantile Continental Building on Commerce Street and the Dallas National Bank B ... More >>

This Afternoon, a Landmark Commission Field Trip to Stanley Marcus's Old House

The Marcus House as it looked during construction in 1938Nine months ago it looked as though Mark and Patty Lovvorn were going to tear down Stanley Marcus's house on Nonesuch Road, built 71 years ago by Dallas architect Roscoe DeWitt after Mister Stanley told Frank Lloyd Wright to take a flying leap ... More >>

Pardon, the "Dallas Flats"?

Speaking of historic properties ... an entirely unrelated eBay search over the weekend turned up this gem: a very hard-to-find, hand-colored page from the American Architect and Building News, dating back to November 21, 1896, and yours for the low, low price of $49 plus shipping. What you're lookin ... More >>

Downtown Dallas at the Crossroads

The city's effort to clean up downtown could cost us important parts of history.

Preservation Dallas Launches Effort to Save 508 Park Avenue, Asks City to Back Off

Last week, while working on this week's cover story in the paper version of Unfair Park, I discovered that the owners of 508 Park Ave. have filed with the city a permit to tear down the former Warner Brothers Film Exchange, built in the late 1920s. Long story, available soonish in a rack or on a com ... More >>

Dallas Demolition Derby

Preservationists win a battle, but the war goes on

Weighing History Against "Imminent Threats to Public Health and Safety"

Extreme Home Demolition Makeover

Leppert, Kunkle Heading to Deep Ellum Today. Hey, Man, They Got a Gig.

Statler, Deep Ellum and Crozier Tech Among Preservation Dallas' Endangered

History Lessons: A Sneak Preview of Tonight's Landmark Committee Meeting

Statler Hilton Hotel: Landmark Structure or a Giant Pain?

Seale of Disapproval: Preservation Dallas Offers Perspective on Demolition

Knights' Tale

Another historic emblem of black Dallas stands on the brink

"Demolition by Neglect"?

No, Really -- Now Meet Preservation Dallas' New Executive Director

Preservation Dallas' New Executive Director Should Be a Fine Hire

Landmark Commisison Caught Between a Hard Rock and Hard Place

House of Worship, Sans Guitars

Hard Rock Still Rockin'. For Now.

Hall Gone

One More Bit of Dallas' History About to Bite the Dust

Preservation Dallas Doesn't Reach Highland Park, Apparently