Our neighborhood is comprised of a good chunk of Dallas history, much more than we could extensively describe in this story. Here are other neighborhood sites designated as Texas Historic Landmarks.
Aldredge House, 5500 Swiss
In 1921, prominent banker George N. Aldredge and his wife, Rena (Munger), purchased the home and lived there for nearly 50 years. The Aldredge family donated the home to the Dallas County Medical Society Auxiliary in 1973, and today it is used for parties, weddings and Swiss Avenue Historic District meetings.
Cristler-Rodgers house, 5750 Swiss
Built in 1923, it was originally the home of Dr. J.H. Cristler. In 1938, the home was passed to Cristler’s daughter, Edna, and her husband, J. Woodall Rodgers, mayor of Dallas from 1939-1947. The home remained in the Cristler-Rodgers family until 1959.
City of East Dallas, 3202 Gaston
The arrival of the railroads in the 1870s brought an influx of settlers to the area. As European immigrants and others attracted to the City of Dallas moved eastward to find housing, the community that developed here, two miles east of the Dallas County Courthouse, was incorporated in 1882. Principal among the pioneers were farmer Jefferson Peak and banker and rancher W.H. Gaston. East Dallas was annexed by the City of Dallas in 1889.
East Dallas Christian Church, 629 N. Peak
Members of Central Christian Church organized this fellowship in 1903. The earliest services were held in a wooden chapel at the northeast corner of Peak and Victor. In 1907, the tabernacle was moved to this site, and a brick building replaced the structure in 1912. The church has actively supported the Juliette Fowler Home, started by member Sara Harwood.
Grace United Methodist Church, 4105 Junius
At the North Texas Annual Conference in 1902, the Floyd Street Church and Haskell Avenue Church congregations merged to form Grace Methodist Church. A temporary tabernacle was erected on the back of this lot, and in 1903, the first portion of this structure was completed.
Louis Wagner Home, 5370 Live Oak
A German immigrant, Louis Wagner became a successful Dallas businessman. In 1884, he built this residence with his wife, Anna Pretz Wagner, daughter of Jacob Pretz, an early settler of the Swiss Avenue area. The house was originally located at 2917 Bryan Street. In January 1977, it was moved to this location to save it from demolition.
Marcus House, 10 Nonesuch
After dismissing Frank Lloyd Wright for his failure to produce a suitable design, Stanley Marcus commissioned Dallas architect Roscoe Dewitt to design this international-style residence, completed in 1938. Marcus hosted hundreds of dignitaries here, including President Lyndon B. Johnson, Princess Grace of Monaco and global leaders in politics, fashion and the arts.
Munger Avenue Baptist Church, 3919 Munger
Galilee Baptist Church was organized in 1894 near the railroad tracks on Central Avenue. In an attempt to block out noise and distractions from nearby taverns, members hung large rags in the church windows, with neighbors soon nicknaming it “Rag Doll Church.” The church relocated to Munger Avenue in 1911 and changed its name.
Munger Place Methodist Church, 5200 Bryan
The congregation organized in 1914, and the sanctuary was built in 1925. Designed in the English gothic style, its features include symmetrical side gables, a corner square-plan tower, and unusual window tracery and decorative details.
Reinhardt Elementary School, 10122 Losa
The school traces its history to the 1880s, when a small frame schoolhouse was built on the farm of John Chenault to serve children of early area settlers. After the Santa Fe Railroad built a line through the area and erected a depot around 1885, a town evolved and was named Reinhardt for Dallas merchant Isadore Reinhardt. After the Casa Linda neighborhood was developed in the 1930s, a larger Reinhardt Elementary School was built at this site in 1941, becoming part of the Dallas School System in 1945 when the town of Reinhardt was annexed to the city of Dallas.
St. Matthew’s Cathedral, 5100 Ross
The Rev. George Rottenstein held the first Episcopal service in a Dallas storehouse May 25, 1856, and organized this parish on St. Matthew’s Day, Sept. 21, 1857. St. Matthew’s became a cathedral in 1875, when the Rt. Rev. Alexander Charles Garrett, the first missionary bishop of North Texas, chose it as his church. In 1929, the congregation moved to this location, the former site of St. Mary’s College Chapel.
St. Paul’s Evangelical and Reformed Church, 6464 E. Lovers
The congregation was originally named St. Paul’s German Evangelical Church and served a predominantly German-speaking membership. Worship services were conducted solely in the German language until World War I. The name was changed to St. Paul’s Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1934, and the present site was acquired in 1953.
Swiss Avenue, 5500 block
This wide boulevard was a muddy country lane in 1857, when Swiss immigrant Henri Boll named it in honor of his native land. Swiss Avenue was lengthened and paved as part of Munger Place, an exclusive 140-acre residential area developed in 1905 by cotton gin manufacturer R.S. Munger. The city of Dallas designated Swiss Avenue the city’s first historic district in 1973.
Ross Avenue Baptist Church, 5201 Ross
An example of early 20th century classicism, this 1917 building exhibits hallmarks of the style, including a pedimented entry portico with colossal order ionic columns and classical architrave. Its lantern dome is a visual landmark for much of East Dallas.
Viola Courts Apartments, 4545 Swiss
Built in 1923, the three-story brick building containing 12 apartments is an example of the popular middle- and upper-middle-class apartment buildings built in East Dallas after 1916. Located across from the entrance gates to the prestigious Swiss Avenue development, this luxury complex was designed to attract moneyed tenants who desired the convenience of apartment living. The building features several Revival styles, Craftsman details and the then-new Art Deco style.
Warren Angus Ferris Cemetery, St. Francis and San Leandro
New York native Warren Angus Ferris spent six years as a trapper and chronicler of the American West before moving to the Republic of Texas in late 1836. As official surveyor for Nacogdoches County, he surveyed the Three Forks of the Trinity area and helped set the boundaries for Dallas and other nearby counties. Five Ferris children are buried in this plot on the family farm, as well as Warren Angus and his second wife, Frances Moore. It is estimated that the cemetery contains more than 100 graves.
White Rock Pump Station, 2900 White Rock Road
In response to increased population and extended droughts in the early 1900s, this facility was built to provide an additional water supply for the city of Dallas. Designed and built in 1911 by the city engineering department, the renaissance revival structure features corbelled brick and terra cotta details. Its original mechanical equipment is no longer intact, but the city of Dallas utilities department now uses the building as office space.
William B. Lipscomb Elementary, 5801 Worth
Built in 1920 to relieve the crowded conditions of area schools, this school was named for early educator William B. Lipscomb, who served as principal of Dallas High School from 1894 until his death five years later. The three-story structure was originally surrounded by more than three acres of recreation grounds, and boasts a façade trimmed with stone quoins. Two Gothic-style stone tablets adorn the two front entrances to display the school name.
Wilson Block, 2922 Swiss
Dallas businessman Frederick P. Wilson and his wife, Henrietta Frichot Wilson, acquired this land in 1898 and built their residence (2922 Swiss avenue) and six other houses. Owned by the Wilsons for almost 80 years, the houses became the nucleus of the Wilson Block. Several early Dallas leaders rented homes here. Similar in composition, the homes’ various architectural styles reflect Victorian and Queen Anne influences.
Woodrow Wilson High School, 100 S. Glasgow
Built in 1927-28 to serve the growing student population in east Dallas, this was the seventh high school in the city. The structure, an important example of the period revivals, reflects the Jacobethan Revival style. Outstanding features include prominent entry bays and stone detailing.
Zion Lutheran Church, 6121 E. Lovers
Soon after German Lutherans began arriving in Dallas in the 1870s, they began to gather for worship. In 1879, the group organized the German Evangelical Lutheran Zions Congregation of Dallas, constructing a building that provided space for a sanctuary, pastor’s living quarters and a school. In 1940, the church discontinued use of the German language in worship services, and in 1944, the congregation became known as Zion Lutheran Church.
