The Aldredge House on Swiss Avenue. Photo by Rasy Ran.
Swiss Avenue became the first historic district in Dallas in 1973. The district, which spans from Fitzhugh to La Vista, is protected with an ordinance detailing preservation criteria and design guidelines.
A year later, the district was named to the National Register of Historic Places.
The register, the official list of places worthy of preservation, is maintained by the National Park Service, under the United States Department of the Interior. As of the end of 2020, more than 96,000 properties were listed in the register, and almost every county in the country is represented, according to the National Park Service.
The park service reviews nominations submitted by states, tribes and federal agencies and includes eligible properties in the register; provides guidance on evaluating, documenting and listing places through the National Register Bulletin series and other publications; and helps historic properties acquire preservation benefits and incentives.
In the form submitted to the National Park Service, the Swiss Avenue Historic District is described as “a tree-lined, parkway-divided boulevard and remains the only area of the former Munger Place retaining the exclusive residential flavor of the early Twentieth century subdivision.”
A statue at David and Jean Dean’s Swiss Avenue home. Photography by Lauren Allen.
The district, which received a historical marker from the Texas Historical Commission in 1977, is praised for its architectural variety, which showcases individuality, while maintaining setbacks, siting, height and the common use of brick. About 200 houses are included in the district, and most were built in the 1910s and 1920s.
One of the homes named in the nomination form is the Georgian Revival currently owned by David and Jean Dean, which we highlighted in our April issue. The home was built in 1916 for G. M. Taylor and was probably designed by Hal Thomson, the Deans told us.
The nomination form lists 5731 Swiss Ave., 5416 Swiss Ave., 5736 Swiss Ave., 5907 Swiss Ave. and 5439 Swiss Ave., along with the Dean’s home, among the best examples of the popular Georgian Revival style, featuring hipped, double-pitched or gambrel roof structures, rectangular windows with double-hung sashes, Palladian windows and doorways with fanlights among other elements.
“Everyone that’s here in this district is a true, certified historic preservationist,” David Dean said. “There’s not much tax breaks for being here. Everything costs more. But it’s a delightful area to live, so we’re all privileged to be here.”
One of the homes, 5439 Swiss Ave., built in 1916 for George C. Greer, a co-founder of Magnolia Petroleum Company, is individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The home, designed by Thomson, blends Georgian Revival and Italian Renaissance features.
“While several houses on Swiss Avenue display Georgian Revival characteristics, the more elaborate Italian Renaissance features of the Greer House distinguish it from others nearby,” according to the nomination form. “The home has been described by the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects as ‘perhaps the most impressive house on Swiss Avenue.'”
