KEEPING OUR NEIGHBORS IN LAKEWOOD SMILING FOR OVER 70 YEARS

out to Preservation Dallas asking for help in deed restricting the house. Gail Patterson was president of the Preservation Dallas board at the time, and the couple lived on historic Swiss Avenue with their young children.

“With no kids, I could have seen us buy some quirky house that needed preservation in an even more urban place than Swiss Avenue,” Patterson says, but they lived near busy Munger Avenue, and “we felt we needed more of a suburban environment.”

The house already was listed and other offers had been made, but the Brombergs hadn’t responded to any. About a month after making a “low-medium” offer, he says, the Pattersons and their children were summoned to the Highland Park home of Arthur Bromberg and his wife for a face-to-face meeting.

“At the end of the meeting, they told us, ‘We’ll accept your offer,’ ” Patterson says. “They were looking for somebody who really wanted the house, who wanted to fix it up, to preserve it.”

They family made good on their promise, tending to the overgrown property and dilapidated house for nearly four years before moving in.

“My wife was meticulous and didn’t miss a beat on the restoration,” he says.

Patterson still chokes up when he talks about Gail. They had only five years to enjoy the fruits of their labor at Wendover. In 2009, she died in an automobile accident on the icy roads of New Mexico.

“What we missed was our happily ever after once we did all the work,” he says.

His wife loved history and preservation. And Patterson loved his wife, who imbued her husband with her passion for history. After Gail’s death, he didn’t consider moving from the home filled with their memoires.

“It was about my kids,” he says. “I wanted them to have as much stability as they could. I didn’t even ask the question then. It didn’t even cross my mind.”

More than seven years later, he’s still not interested in leaving.

“I just love the house. It’s so easy and convenient and beautiful,” Patterson says. “I feel like this is kind of a respite from the busyness of the world. You come in here, and you feel like you’re in the country. I know Mrs. Bromberg enjoyed that — that’s why she lived there until she was 96.”

He doesn’t think he’ll stay for that long, however. Patterson is now an empty-nester; his son is in college and his 25-year-old daughter is on the board of Preservation Dallas, following in her mother’s footsteps. The property will eventually be theirs, he says.

He has considered some other uses for it. “It’s a great party house,” he says, and it was built the same year as the Camp house at the Dallas Arboretum, a frequent venue for wedding receptions and glitterati events. Ford and Staub, the architect of the Camp house, had similar styles, he says. Both houses were designed to maximize breezes in an era that preceded air-conditioning, and with patios that open onto the grounds for entertaining.

Just as the Brombergs regularly hosted charity fundraisers, especially for the art world, Patterson, too, offers his home as a charity venue and opens it up on home tours. It was featured on the Lakewood Home Tour last fall. His girlfriend is Mary McDermott Cook, who chairs the Trinity Trust and operates her family’s Eugene McDermott Foundation from her angular, energy-efficient hilltop home behind the Belmont Hotel in West Dallas — “so we have the city house and the country house,” he quips. Cook, too, is a frequent party host.

“It’s become part of what we do,” he says. “I do it because it’s fun; she does it because she’s a philanthropist.”

He wonders if his residence may one day be Lakewood’s version of the Aldredge House on Swiss Avenue, which was bequeathed to the Dallas County Medical Society Alliance. The alliance rents it as a wedding venue and also makes it available for neighborhood meetings and nonprofit events.

Patterson at one point looked into the possibility of turning the property into a 10-acre sculpture garden, a sort of Nasher outpost or “mini arboretum.”

“But as we started digging into it, we said, ‘Lakewood’s never gonna go for it,’” he says. “They would hate it.”

Patterson doesn’t know what exactly the future of his land holds. He takes notice of the real estate changes between his former Swiss Avenue neighborhood and Downtown — “the inexorable march toward modernization and density, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” he says.

That won’t happen to the Bromberg house, he is confident.

“The difference in Lakewood is we’re surrounded by dense single-family homes, and it’s a community that protects its single-family homes,” he says.

Not to mention the protections the Brombergs and the Pattersons worked to put into place. Deed restrictions decree that if anyone breaks the covenants protecting the architecture, the interior details, even the house’s relationship to the natural environment, the property may revert to Southern Methodist University.

“The houses that are architecturally significant and can stand the test of time, those houses will be protected and others will not be,” Patterson says. “A lot of the architectural treasures of the city have been lost, but this house is not going to be one of them.”

Dallas Academy

950 Tiffany Way, Dallas 75218 / 214.324.1481 / dallas-academy.com Founded in 1965, Dallas Academy’s mission is to restore the promise of full academic enrichment to students with learning differences in grades 1-12. A meaningful connection with each student is established to overcome barriers to success. Dallas Academy offers students an effective program and strategies to meet the special educational needs of bright students with learning differences, while including the activities of a larger, more traditional school. Classes are small, with a student-teacher ratio of 6 to 1 where students are encouraged, praised, and guided toward achieving their goals. Diagnostic testing is available to students throughout the community.

Highlander School

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com Founded in 1966, Highlander offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. By limiting class size, teachers are able to build a strong educational foundation to ensure confidence in academics, athletics, and the creative and performing arts. Highlander offers a “classic” education which cannot be equaled. Monthly tours offered; call for a reservation.

Holy Trinity Catholic School

3815 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas 214-526-5113, htcsdallas.org For more than 100 years, Holy Trinity Catholic School, has been committed to the religious, intellectual, emotional, social and physical growth of each student. This commitment is carried out in a nurturing atmosphere with an emphasis on social awareness, service to others, and religious faith in the Catholic tradition. The Immaculate Heart Program at Holy Trinity School was initiated to fully realize our school’s mission of developing the whole child by meeting the needs of one of the most underserved and underperforming groups in catholic schools, children with dyslexia.

Lakehill Preparatory School

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep.org

Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

Spanish House

Four East Dallas Locations / 214.826.4410/ DallasSpanishHouse.com Spanish Immersion Program in East Dallas! Nursery, Preschool, Elementary and Adult Programs available. Our new dual-language elementary campus is now open at 7159 E. Grand Ave. Please visit our website at DallasSpanishHouse. com for more information.

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / stjohnsschool.org

Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

Ut Dallas Chess Camp

800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson 75080 / (972) 883-4899 / utdallas.edu/chess ) 2016 Summer Chess Camp Campers learn while they PLAY. Chess develops reading, math, critical and analytical skills, and builds character and self-esteem. Just don’t tell the kids…they think chess is fun! Join beginner, intermediate or advanced chess classes for ages 7 to 14 on the UT Dallas campus. Morning (9am-noon) or afternoon (1-4pm) sessions are available June 13-17, June 20-24, July 18-22, July 25-29 and extended playing classes. Camp includes t-shirt, chess board and pieces, trophy, certificate, score book, group photo, snacks and drinks. Instructors are from among UT Dallas Chess Team Pan-Am Intercollegiate Champions for 2010-2012!

White Rock North School

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas/ 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Character-building and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and state-of-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around fun-filled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

Zion Lutheran School

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 65 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, Extended Care, Parents Day Out, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government. Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.