2012 April Oak Cliff

the home design issue

go inside. be inspired.

had braces put on saw movie contest flyer learned all about audio/video equipment tweaked short story concept screened winning movie for family

We take every smile personally at Straight Teeth Orthodontics. That’s why Dr. Scott Evans personally follows each patient’s treatment from the initial FREE CONSULTATION to that memorable day when the braces come off. Our treatment plans are custom-designed to meet your individual goals, and all treatments take place in the comfort of our state-of-the-art neighborhood office. We even offer monthly payment plans and accept most dental insurance including Medicaid. Give us a call today – and let us help your child smile more often.

“Thank you for everything. My teeth look amazing. I absolutely love my new smile!”

- Cassandra K. (Oak Cliff)

Girl Scouts, the premiere leadership organization for girls and the largest pipeline for female leadership in the world, is celebrating 100 years of Girl Scouting in 2012!

Meet us at the State Fair of Texas in 2012 for an amazing Girl Scout Centennial Exhibition at the Hall of State!

For more information visit: www.gsnetx.org

Professional amatuers

This month, my wife and I will wrap up 16 consecutive years of being professional amateur sports parents.

I mean “professional” in the sense that it was nearly a full-time job, what with multiple practices and games most weeks throughout the year. And I mean “amateur” in the sense of beginning with 5-year-old soccer games and continuing through this final season of high school varsity baseball games, we’ve seen hundreds of our sons’ sporting events.

We’ve moaned, groaned and cheered with countless parents on the sidelines for soccer, basketball, baseball and hockey games. We’ve sat through lots of year-end pizza lunches and burger dinners filled with trophies and speeches, and these were for teams that rarely sniffed championships.

In youth sports, there’s the extremely occasional blaze of glory and the rare inspirational, heart-stopping finish. But what I remember most often are the many minutes of my life ticking slowly away in the most surly of weather, with a beat-down on the field occurring at precisely the same moment rain or wind or sun (or all three) beat down on those of us in the stands.

I’m proud to say the young athletes our sons played with generally kept their thoughts to themselves while playing. Most overlooked a teammate’s booted ball or feckless swing or accidental foul; they were happy to be competing, and that is what the sporting experience is supposed to be all about anyway.

But for some in the stands, games took on monumental proportions, with each play prompting inevitably loud commentary from parents perhaps reliving their own lack-of-glory days and hoping to re-

write history through their kids.

Don’t get me wrong: There’s a place in sports for good-natured ribbing of authority, and some parents and grandparents can be hilarious when they’re offering friendly advice to a referee or umpire. (I’ve even seen the refs/umps laugh a time or two.)

But sometimes those charged with administering the rules — regardless of age, ethnicity or sex — became verbal punching bags, with both sides of the inevitably partisan crowd crowing loudly about supposedly mistaken calls, rule interpretations and the like. (The view of accuracy, after all, is much better at a severe angle 150 feet from the action than it is from on the field.)

We were never party to one of those infamous YouTube-fired parent-on-ref or parent-on-parent smackdowns, although I have to say (in jest, of course) that one or two certainly would have brightened some otherwise dismal games. But there were times when we felt sorry for student athletes being loudly embarrassed as their parents — with bulging veins, popping eyes and flapping mouths — made an inevitably futile attempt to influence a game that was of absolutely no long-term consequence anyway.

I would like to believe the collective impact of all of these experiences fueled a sense of fair play, sportsmanship and personal pride in our sons. I would like to believe the thousands of hours invested in these events weren’t simply useless diversions from homework or, more likely, video games.

And I would like to believe our sons, when their own day in the stands arrives, will think twice before turning into family IEDs — improvised exploding dummies.

Honestly, though, my most telling memory of our amateur sporting life comes from a friend, who spotted this phrase on a fellow parent’s T-shirt:

“Lord, if it’s my last day on earth, let me be at a swim meet, since they usually last forever!”

We take our sons’ sports not-too-seriously

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Neighbor opinions

Our Delicious story this month (p. 16) features great places in Oak Cliff to eat Mexican seafood. We surveyed neighbors who are subscribed to our new Eat Local dining newsletter to tell us their favorite local restaurant to eat the cuisine. And boy, do they like La Calle Doce! Here are a few of their answers.

“It has to be La Calle Doce! They serve the best ceviche in Dallas, and everything is fresh and perfectly prepared.”

—Bill Hamersly

“La Calle Doce has many different dinner selections and seafood, or just Mexican if you’re not in the mood for seafood, and the prices are reasonable also!”

—Rebecca Cantu

“My hands-down favorite is Morelia Mexican restaurant at 2707 W. Jefferson at PlymouthRoad.”

—A.

Foster

“DefinitelyLa Calle Doce. The service is top notch, the food is always fresh, hot and delicious (never overcooked or too spicy). And that bowl of seafood soup is a favorite. I’ve been going to this restaurant since 1980 when it was just a single home.”

—Ernie Harris

What are your favorite eateries for Mexican seafood in our neighborhood? Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com, search Delicious and comment on editor Emily Toman’s restaurant roundup.

Are you receiving our twice-monthly email about Oak Cliff dining? Visit advocatemag.com/newsletters to sign up.

Launch

community | events | food

Danny Fulgencio

king of the road

Kyle Finley of Kings Highway likens the world of Airstream RV enthusiasts to a cult. Finley spent two years renovating the 1978 Airstream Sovereign he bought on Craigslist, and anytime he ran into a problem, he could get answers in minutes by posting online. “If I had a question, like, ‘How do I wire up a water pump?’, I could always find someone who had done it before and had the answer,” he says. Over the past seven years or so, Finley has renovated three houses in Oak Cliff. But renovating an RV is different. There are elements similar to a home — the cabinetry and flooring, for example. But other elements are similar to working on an automobile. Everything is powered differently, wired differently, and it all has to hold together over miles of smooth and bumpy road. Balance and weight are considerations. Finley originally decided to buy an RV because of an item on his bucket list to travel the United States. “Then it became less about the trip and more about fixing up this old Airstream,” he says. “I was really itching for another project, and another house wasn’t really doable.” At first, he thought he could get away with making cosmetic changes to the interior, but he wasn’t so lucky. “I gutted it, which wasn’t the plan,” he says. “But that was the only way to get it truly repaired from the ground up. It was a lot

Kyle Finley, opposite page, spent two years renovating a 1978 Airstream trailer he bought on Craigslist. It took more work than he expected. Photos on this page courtesy of Kyle Finley.

more work than I thought.” The renovated trailer has a simple kitchen with Ikea cabinets and countertops, and a foldout table pulled from a ’60s Airstream. He made the bathroom bigger and installed a shower. The bedroom originally had two twin-size beds, and Finley replaced them with one double bed. He also added more closet and storage space and recessed lighting. Last August, when the Airstream was finally finished, Finley convinced his company to let him take a month off for an RV trip. He traveled 7,000 miles from Texas to California, up the Pacific Coast Highway to Interstate 5, Seattle and Victoria, B.C., then back through Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

“If I did that again, I would definitely not try to go so many places,” he says. He ran into car trouble a few times, but the trailer held up fine. And hauling around an Airstream is a good way to make friends in new places.

“Everywhere I would go, somebody would come up and want to talk to me about it,” he says.

—Rachel Stone

Finley installed Ikea cabinetry in the kitchen, and he replaced twin beds with one double bed. Photos by Danny Fulgencio

before & after

Oliver residence

Winnetka Heights Historic District

Built: 1913

Remodeled: 2011 the mission: RestoRe a dilapidated, BoaRded-up fouR-unit apaRtment Building on noRth edgefield to a singlefamily home.

now!

Know of a home we should featuRe? Call editor Rachel Stone at 214.292.0490 or email launch@advocatemag.com

then ...

This house was nearly 100 years old when Cynthia Oliver decided to rescue it in 2011. It survived the 1956 tornado, which tore off its front porch. Previous owners had earned a stack of citations for city code violations, and it was at risk of being torn down. The building had been vacant for five years, save a few squatters, when Oliver, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, bought it.

See more before and after photos of this remodeled home in Winnetka Heights. Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/photos

Oliver hired Deanna Kisko of Tahoe Custom Homes to restore the home. “The house was just a shell,” Kisko says. “Half the siding was missing, and all the doors and windows were boarded up.” Kisko took the house down to the studs. Most of those studs had to be replaced and the foundation leveled. The hardwoods on the ground floor were ruined, but Kisko wanted replacement flooring that would match the 100-year-old pine upstairs. So she bought pine floor planks pulled from an old church in Pennsylvania. Those all had to be stripped of paint and refinished. Workers also restored all of the home’s original windows and reused them. Kisko and crew replaced the plumbing, electrical and gas lines. The new house has porches in front and back, custom cabinets and big closets with lots of storage, a tankless water heater and a high-efficiency air conditioning system. “It was just a wonderful feeling saving that house,” Kisko says. “It was neglected and abused, and now it’s something that someone can be proud of for a long time.”

—Rachel stone

danny fulgencio

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to LIVELOCAL@ADVOCATEMAG.COM

Whitehall Exchange bar opens in Bishop Arts

A new drinking-and-eating spot, Whitehall Exchange, recently opened in the former Cretia’s and Nodding Dog Coffee Co. space at Bishop and Seventh. Whitehall is more bar than wine bar. The place sports a chic interior makeover that includes blue-and-white patterned wallpaper and a long, blue sofa that serves as the centerpiece of a lounge area. It otherwise consists of tall round-top tables and a long bar with dim lighting. Tall cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon are $3, plus better beer and all manner of liquor. A small food menu includes a lobster roll, several flat breads and bar snacks such as olives and fried almonds.

Pearl Cup Coffee planned for Sylvan Thirty

The chic coffee shop with locations on Henderson Avenue and Downtown is the latest addition to the planned mixed-use development on the site of the former Alamo motel on Fort Worth Avenue. Own-

ersCarlene Saelg and Rita Davis opened the first Pearl Cup in East Dallas in 2008, and the coffeehouse soon became known for its signature drink, the Pearl Latte. Pearl Cup Coffee sources its coffee from Texas roasters.

“It means a lot for us and our business to be here. It is such a cool and creative place.”

—900 LBS of Creative co-owner Steve Deitz on its new home in the Bishop Arts District

900 LBS of Creative moves to Bishop Arts

The multimedia creative firm has moved to Route 80 Studios Founded by Steve Deitz and Josh Bray, 900 LBS is best known for its video shorts played at Mavericks games. “We are really excited to be in the Bishop Arts District,” Deitz says. “It means a lot for us and our business to be here. It is such a cool and creative place.”

Davis Street Mercantile offers vintage and custom furniture

Joe Ramirez and his wife, Amy ThomassonRamirez, opened a design studio and retail shop in the Bishop Arts District last month. Davis Street Mercantile offers custom-designed furniture along with readymade furniture from other local designers. They also sell vintage furniture and accessories. “We’re always going to have an eclectic mix,” Thomasson-Ramirez says. Joe Ramirez is a real estate broker, and Amy Thomasson-Ramirez is an interior designer with 13 years of experience. They started designing furniture together about two years ago. “This is an opportunity for people to work with an interior designer and really do some custom pieces,” Thomasson-Ramirez says. The shop is open Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

More business bits

1 The Bishop Arts District’s new 303 Bar & Grill has changed chefs. Chef Adam Bazaldua, formerly of Rathbun’s Blue Plate, has left, and Chef Chad Starling, formerly of Saint Ann, is manning the kitchen. 2 Smoke chef Tim Byres recently was chosen as a nominee by Food & Wine magazine as “The People’s Best New Chef” in the Southwest. 3 Campo Modern has named Josh Black executive chef after Matt McAllister announced he is moving on to open his own restaurant. Black has worked at Stephan Pyles and The Cedars Social, and he has been second in command to McAllister at Campo since it opened last year. 4 Oak Cliff-based Kitchen Beautician and Rodeo Monkey will be at the Dallas Flea at South Side on Lamar on Saturday, April 21, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Whitehall Exchange 500 N. BISHOP 214.946.3900

Pearl Cup Coffee PEARLCUPCOFFEE.COM

900 LBS of Creative 428 W. EIGHTH 469.360.5928 900LBS.COM

Davis Street Mercantile 443 W. DAVIS 449.855.0884

303 Bar & Grill 303 W. DAVIS 214.942.3030 303BARANDGRILL.COM

Smoke 901FORT WORTH AVENUE 214.393.4141 SMOKERESTAURANT.COM

Campo Modern Country Bistro 1115 N. BECKLEY AVE 214.946.1308 CAMPODALLAS.COM

The Dallas Flea 1409S.LAMAR THEDALLASFLEA.COM

Pickled vegetables at Smoke.Photo by Molly Dickson

Kiest Park

As told to Keri Mitchell by Sally rodriguez, the Dallas park and recreation Department’s historian. All photos are courtesy of the Dallas Municipal Archives and curated by rodriguez. She authored the book “White rock lake,” available at area bookstores and through arcadiapublishing.com.

Now we’re looking south, and you can tell by the development, this is much later. That airport has been replaced by all these homes, and you see the field house here on the circle. The field house actually predates the WPA.

We’re looking to the north, and you can see Kiest and North Hampton. This photo was taken after WPA [Works Progress Administration] work, which was done in the ’30s. The pergola, which we are getting ready to restore, is sitting there in the Y. The WPA put this road in and some bridges, and you see the stone gates that were built at the entrances to the park. North of Kiest Park, you can see the Volk Airport runway going across.

In this one, the pergola is gone, so it may be the late ’50s or early ’60s. If you look, there’s a carnival going on in the back, with school buses off to the side. If you look in the middle of the trees, you see the WPA-built pavilion. That’s currently where the trail runs, but at one time there was a roadway back there.

Read moRe about Sally RodRiguez and her aerial photo findings at oakcliff.advocatemag.com. Look for aerial photos of Kidd Springs and Lake Cliff parks in future issues.

Out & About

April 6, 13, 20 & 27

BarBelmont’s Friday live music series

Every Friday in April, the Belmont Hotel features musical artists as part of a free live music series. April’s lineup includes Brent Best, J. Charles & The Trainrobbers, J.D. Whittenburg and Ryan Thomas Becker. Belmont Hotel, 901 Fort Worth, 214.393.2300, belmontdallas.com, free

APRIL 5

First Thursday

Once a month, the stores and restaurants in the Bishop Arts District stay open late and offer specials as a part of the Bishop Arts District’s First Thursday. The event, from 5-10 p.m., also features live music.

Bishop Arts District, Davis and Bishop, bishopartsdistrict.com, free

APRIL 7-21

Día de los Niños exhibit

The Oak Cliff Cultural Center presents its annual Día de los Niños show, featuring art work from elementary school students from all over the city. A closing reception is from 6-8 p.m. April 21. 223 W. Jefferson, 214.670.3777, dallasculture. org/oakcliffculturalcenter, free

APRIL 7

Silent film

Austin-based rock band Bee vs. Moth recently scored a 1919 silent film, “The Oyster Princess.” The film was accepted to the SXSW Film Festival in March, and it’s playing at the Texas this month.

The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, $9

APRIL 7

The Relatives and Bobby Patterson

This rediscovered gospel group made a splash at Bridge-O-Rama. They perform with a special guest, legendary soul and R&B performer Bobby Patterson. Doors open at 7 p.m.; show begins at 8 p.m. The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $15-$27.50

APRIL 9-13

I Bike Rosemont

This event started two years ago as a grassroots effort to encourage elementary students to ride their bikes to school and raise awareness for bikes on the road. Now it’s a weeklong neighborhood event that includes a bike rodeo. To participate, contact Christian Johnson at 214.763.8767 or christiancjohnson@gmail.com.

APRIL 14

Ciclovía de Dallas

The Houston Street Viaduct is 100 years old this year, and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff is celebrating with a party on the bridge. The bridge will be closed to cars from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and pedestrians can take over. Activities include kite flying, line dancing, a bike race, skateboarding, an urban market, food trucks, a bike rodeo, live music, a dog park, yoga and kids games. bikefriendlyoc.wordpress.com, free

APRIL 14

Neighborhood symposium

This annual Old Oak Cliff Conservation League event educates neighbors on a variety of topics, including street issues, sanitation, neighborhood organization, grant writing, wildlife and more. Lunch is provided.

Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, ooccl.org, $10

APRIL 27

Junior Brown

Austin-based country guitarist Junior Brown returns to The Kessler to record a live album. The artist touted as a genius by Musician magazine has been one of Austin’s best-kept secrets for years. Doors open at 7 p.m.; show begins at 8 p.m. The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $30

APRIL 26

Looking Back to See Ahead

As part of The Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts Salon Series, Dallas landscape architect and urban planner Kevin Sloan presents a discussion about the architecture, design and urban planning of Oak Cliff in 1912 and what is currently being done to improve the city. The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m., and refreshments will be served.

Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, 214.946.1670, turnerhouse.org, $15-$20

April 22

Oak Cliff Earth Day

With a mission to raise awareness about pollution, conservation and recycling, the sixth annual Oak Cliff Earth Day kicks off at noon at Lake Cliff Park. Running until 5 p.m., the event features arts and handicrafts exhibits, water-wise gardening information and many local organizations. The 2012 Oak Cliff Earth Day has added a farm animal petting zoo, Blackland Prairie Raptor exhibit, pet parade and microchip service for pets.

Lake Cliff Park, free parking and shuttle service in the 1400 block of N. Beckley, oakcliffearthday.com

Delicious

Mexican seafood

Ifsomeone asks, “Where can I get great Mexican seafood in Dallas?”, the answer is almost always La Calle Doce. The Sanchez family opened the restaurant more than 30 years ago in a renovated Oak Cliff home on Twelfth Street, and the accolades have been piling up ever since. There’s something adventurous about the seven mares, a spicy cocktail filled with octopus, oysters, scallops and shrimp; or the ahi tuna mixteca, fresh raw tuna combined with onions, capers and jalapeños. For the less adventurous, there are simple dishes such as the shrimp kabob with grilled veggies. —EmilyToman

LA CALLE DOCE

415 W. 12th 214.941.4304 lacalledoce-dallas.com

AMBIANCE: CASUAL, HOMEY

PRICE RANGE: $11-$30PER ENTRÉE

TIP: LACALLE DOCE RECENTLY REMODELED ITS BAR.

The seven mares cocktail is filled with octopus, oysters, scallops and shrimp.

Photo by LoriBandi

| MORE MEXICAN SEAFOOD |

1 Veracruz Café

As its name suggests, this Mexican food restaurant draws inspiration from the coastal region of Veracruz. Try the almond-crusted oysters or the grilled shrimp with chipotle sauce.

408N. Bishop, Suite 10

214.948.4746

veracruzcafedallas.com

2 Mariscos la Reyna

It’s the lesser-known spot that specializes in Mexican seafood with scores of platters featuring white fish, catfish, shrimp, red snapper and more.

909 W. Davis

214.941.1704

3 Gloria’s

It has become an essential for Salva-Tex cuisine (Salvadorian and Tex-Mex). Try seafood dishes such as the ceviche or sope siete mares (soup of seven seas), which is a healthy mix of shrimp, scallops, halibut, perch and veggies.

600N. Bishop

214.942.1831

gloriasrestaurants.com

FOOD AND WINE ONLINE

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/dining

Small Town Social

featuring BRAVE COMBO with THE HAPPY CAMPERS

Dinner, Drinks and Dancing Live and Silent Auction

Friday, May 11

7–11 p.m.

Knights of Columbus Hall

3021 South Hampton Road

Tickets are $40/person

www.recpta.org

Benefits Rosemont Enrichment Programs

Presented by

Cafe Maya

Lunch M-Fri 11:30-3:00; Sunday Brunch 11a-3p; Margarita Mondays: $3 Margaritas; Taco Tues.: Half Price Vegetarian Menu Now Available. Open 7 days.

BEE

Open Daily. Now serving breakfast Sat. & Sun 8am-11am: Egg Tacos, Burritos, Egg Dishes and more.

Mon. & Tues Lunch only 11am - 3pm Wed - Sun. open till 9pm

Shrimp kabob with grilled veggies Photo by Lori Bandi

drink local

Haak Green Label Blanc du Bois ($15) Texas

This month marks the fourth annual DrinkLocalWine conference, which is being held in Denver and focusing on Colorado wine. We held the first DLW event, featuring Texas wine, in Dallas four years ago, and no one knew what would happen next.

What has happened is that local wine has grown almost exponentially since then, and Texas has been in the forefront of that growth. The state has 225 wineries, about three times as many as just 10 years ago (and the number of wineries in the states that aren’t California, Oregon and Washington has increased by almost one-half since 2005). Local wine has become more a part of the local food movement than ever before; U.S. chefs, according to a National Restaurant Association survey, pointed to local wine as a top-10 menu trend for two consecutive years.

And quality is better than ever before. A Texas viognier won a gold medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle wine competition this year, and the state’s entries turned in one of their best ever showings at the annual Dallas Morning News-TexSom competition.

In fact, one of the few remaining obstacles facing Texas wine is that too many consumers know it’s not any good — even though they’ve never tasted it. So, this month, some Texas wines to try, especially if you’ve never tried any before:

Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of this grape; it makes fine wine anyway. Look for citrus flavors and a crisp, clean finish — this is a bone-dry white that pairs with grilled and boiled seafood.

This red blend features tempranillo, a Spanish grape that looks like it will do quite well in Texas. It’s a little funky on the aroma, which is a good thing, and has cherry fruit. It’s a beef and lamb wine.

Not the best name in the world, but a red blend made with more familiar grapes like merlot from a small Hill Country producer that gets good reviews. It’s rich and full, and makes a nice gift for red wine drinkers.

JEFF SIEGEL’S WEEKLY WINE REVIEWS appear every Wednesday on oakcliff.advocatemag.com

—Jeff Siegel

with your wine

Basic vegetable soup

This isn’t much more difficult than opening a can, and it tastes so much better. The ingredients are just suggestions; other than the leek, which gives amazing flavor, you can use pretty much anything in the refrigerator, including chopped mushrooms, shredded cabbage and torn lettuce leaves. Serve with the Texas wine of your choice — a light red or white would do the trick.

GROCERY LIST

6 c water

1 large leek, cleaned and trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1/2 c small pasta, such as thin soup noodles

salt and pepper to taste

1 bay leaf

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the water and vegetables, salt, pepper and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the leek is tender.

2. Bring to a boil, add the noodles and cook until the noodles are tender.

3. Remove the bay leaf, correct seasoning and serve. Serves 4, takes 45 minutes

Ask the wine guy

How many states produce wine?

All 50 — even Alaska (mostl y fruit wines with locally g rown fruit) and Hawaii, inc l u d ing pineapp l e wine.

—Jeff Siegel

T he ar T of restoration

Story by rachel Stone | Photos by Can Türkyilmaz

The house aT 405 s. ClinTon had exactly the qualities Robert Romano seeks: neglected, poorly renovated in the ’70s, listing foundation, a total mess.

“i look for those kinds of houses,” he says. “When you transform the worst ones, it makes the neighborhood transform all the more.”

Romano is not a typical builder, and he finds the term “house flipper” offensive, although he could fit loosely under either of those categories. he and brother Rex Romano own a company, Pro-seal, that preserves exterior wood, such as decks and fences.

Restoring old houses is their hobby, and they’re really, really good at it.

The house on Clinton is the fourth one they’ve renovated in our neighborhood.

Much of the home’s original arts-and-crafts details were stripped in the ’70s remodel, and a roof leak damaged the floors and ceilings. a 450-square-foot addition on the back of the house was unsalvageable and had to be torn down.

Chris and emily Ruth Cannon now live in the house with their 3-year-old son, sawyer. entering through the solid-wood front door, which looks original but isn’t, one would never guess their house has been completely renovated, from foundation to ceiling beams.

The Romano brothers hired carpenters to fabricate built-in shelving, crown molding, door trim

OWNERS Chris and Emily Ruth Cannon

This 1927 arts-and-crafts bungalow is better than ever

Homeowners Chris and Emily Ruth Cannon mix their modern style with the classic look of their 1920s bungalow. The dining room table is made of recycled wood, and they replaced café-style lights with pendant lamps.

and other details appropriate for the 1920s cottage, on site.

They built a fireplace in the home’s 850-square-foot addition, which includes a family room and master suite, and they didn’t use a firebox, the way most builders would. They built it the old-fashioned way, brick-by-brick with no prefabricated elements.

“I want to do everything my own way,” Robert Romano says. “I want it done right.”

He says he doesn’t care whether a house has a usable air-conditioning system or hotwater heater, for example. He wants his houses to have energy-efficient systems. The Clinton Avenue house also is wired for sound, with hidden speakers throughout the house and on a patio off the master suite. The Romanos would rather recoup less profit and make the house perfect to their standards, he says.

“My Realtor scolds me,” he says. “She says, ‘You’ve got to make some money!’ ”

But renovating houses truly is a hobby. Romano says they do make money, but it’s not really about that.

The Romano brothers grew up in the Northeast, where they lived in old houses all their lives. Robert Romano says he’s always admired architecture.

“It’s a true passion of mine,” he says of renovating. “I don’t think I’m very artistic, but that’s my little artistic outlet. I like to detail them and get them right.”

While the home’s new details are true to its age, some aspects are appropriate for the modern age. The kitchen features light-gray marble countertops and a stainless-steel version of a farm sink. Instead of ceramic subway tiles, which a builder in the 1920 might have used as a backsplash, the Romanos installed glass tiles that are similar size and shape to subway tiles. It’s reminiscent of the 1920s without seeming outdated.

The homeowners’ personal style is modern and artsy. Their dining room table is long and rectangular, made of recycled wood and flanked with molded fiberglass chairs. They replaced a café-style light fixture in the dining room with plainer, more modern pendant lamps.

Emily Ruth Cannon says she appreciates how thoughtful the Romanos were in recreating the house. A pocket door at the back

“I like to detail them and get them right.”

Instead of 1920s subway tiles, remodeler Robert Romano used glass tiles in the kitchen’s backsplash to give it a more modern feel. Opposite page: Romano’s carpenters built shelves, pillars, ceiling beams, wainscotting and moldings that are true to the home’s arts-and-crafts style.

Emily Ruth and Chris Cannon, with son Sawyer at right, are from the Dallas area but most recently moved to Oak Cliff from California. They couldn’t bear to part with a surfboard, far right, that sits in one corner of their bedroom. The master bath, below right, “could easily fit 10 people,” Emily Ruth says.

of the master closet opens to the laundry room, for example. A breakfast nook between the kitchen and family room, which might’ve been nothing more than a hallway, with less imagination, is where the family spends the majority of their time. Everything in the house is perfect, she says.

“There are all these little things that you can tell were difficult or inconvenient for them to accomplish,” she says. “But they did them anyway. Everything is perfectly consistent. You can’t catch him in an error.”

1.

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Oratory excellence

Michael Jones , center, placed third in the 2012 Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition finals in February. He is a fifth-grader at Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary School and is pictured here with his family, DISD District 7 Trustee Eric Cowan , far left, and interim superintendent Alan King .

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TEXAS RANGERS FRONT-ROW BASEBALL TICKETS

Share prime, front-row Texas Rangers baseball tickets (available in sets of 10 or 20 games) during the 2012 season. Prices start at $95 per ticket (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Seats are behind the plate and next to both the first- and third-base dugouts. Other great seats available starting at $55 per ticket; seats also available in the Cuervo Club. Entire season available except for opening day; participants randomly draw numbers to determine draft order so the selection process is fair for everyone. E-mail rwamre@advocatemag.com or call 214-560-4212 for more information.

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ESTATE SALES & LIQUIDATION SERVICES

Moving, Retirement, Downsizing. One Piece or a Houseful. David Turner. 214-908-7688. dave2estates@aol.com

The Dallas Zoo accepts volunteers to help care for animal and plant collections and educate visitors about nature and wildlife conservation. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and provide a negative tuberculosis test. No prior experience is necessary. Contact the Volunteer Services Department at 469.554.7450 or amy. glover@dallaszoo.com.

The city reports that it earned $186,450 from the $15 garage sale permit fee residents have been required to pay during the past fiscal year. According to the city briefing, more than 12,430 permits were issued, and the city also dished out 720 violation notices and 17 criminal citations.

Turner House, the storied landmark mansion in Oak Cliff’s historic Winnetka Heights neighborhood, celebrated its 100th birthday with a salon series party featuring Matt Tolentino and his Hot Five Band, which played energetic tunes from all decades of the early 1900s, including a crowd favorite from 1912. Future salon series events will continue the theme of “Turner House: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” with a silent film program and an early 20th century architecture program.

Neighbors are raising funds to create a memorial for firefighters Vince Davis and Todd Krodle of Station 26, who died in the line of duty. Krodle died this past summer after falling through the roof of a burning building at Ridgecrest Terrace Apartments. Davis was killed in February 2002 after a wall fell on him as he was fighting a fire at an apartment complex on Jefferson near Plymouth. Neighbors, including Nola Rae Smith, have established a memorial fund to pay for a memorial that costs about $3,300. To donate, make checks out to the CFA (Christian Firefighters Association) Memorial Fund with account No. 1775790 in the memo line. The address is City Credit Union, 7474 Ferguson Road, Dallas, Texas, 75228.

people

Councilmember Scott Griggs presented KatherineHoman of Handley Drive a proclamation for having the city’s first comprehensive green home. Homan and her late husband, Richard, envisioned and built the home long before the word “green” became trendy in construction lingo.

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True Crime

The back door was kicked in.

Allen Watkins lived in Oak Cliff for 28 years. He recently sold his home and moved out of the area, but still owns a house on Hollywood that he rents.

“Right now, people are having a hard time getting loans, so there is a lot of rental activity,” he says.

The Victim: Allen Watkins

The Crime: Burglary

RooFing

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And then someone saw an opportunity. Watkins and his workers decided to leave their tools inside the home until they had the last bit finished inside. After leaving, someone kicked in the door and stole more than $3,000 in tools. Every tool in the home was stolen.

Date: Between Wednesday, Feb. 15, and Friday, Feb. 17

Time: Between 4 p.m. (Feb. 15) and 4 p.m. (Feb. 17)

Location: 1600 block of Hollywood

After his tenants recently moved out, Watkins began readying his house to lease again. While he says he’s a bit too old to do all the work himself, Watkins supervises. He added new paint inside and tile in the kitchen. The house has wood floors throughout and was looking much better after the remodeling.

“It was a mess after the previous tenants moved out,” he says. “We just about had it finished.”

Watkins says he was frustrated by the burglary and also about having to repair the door and door jam after putting so much work into the home and it almost being finished.

Dallas Police Lt. Gil Garza of the Southwest Patrol Division says home remodels and empty homes can be problematic in terms of protecting property.

“We see items from tools, air conditioning units, and appliances taken from empty locations.”

Garza recommends removing tools everyday if at all possible, or renting a secure storage container that will make it difficult for others to take property or tools. Asking trusted neighbors to look after the property also can be a great help in preventing crime, he says.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and editor of pokertraditions.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.

Total amount of money stolen during a burglary at Bolsa Mercado March 10 in the 600 block of West Davis; the suspect shattered the front glass door to gain entry after hours.

03.06

Date when an assault occurred at Family Dollar in the 300 block of West Jefferson after the suspect attempted to shoplift items and then punched a female employee in the face after she confronted him 1

Number of people hospitalized after a car was sideswiped in the 200 block of South Zang; the other driver fled the scene

Source: Dallas Police Department

| crime numbers |

EcclEsiastic avEnuE

In its glory days, Tenth Street held the record for churches per mile

Oak Cliff has wonderful houses of worship peppered all over our neighborhood. But in earlier days, there was only one main “ecclesiastic avenue” around: Tenth Street.

This 3-mile strip of pavement from the east end of Tenth westward, nearly to Hampton Road, held the record in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” for having more churches per mile, on a street, than any other place in the world. And not surprisingly, quite a number of additional congregations “almost” anchored Tenth — setting either one block north or one block south.

The Father of Oak Cliff, Thomas Marsalis, envisioned his community as a spiritual utopia, populated by only the best pioneer folk. Analyzing the earlier La Reunion settlement failure to be the result of the absence of churches, Marsalis worked fervently to establish them.

What is now Oak Cliff United Methodist Church held successful revivals in 1891 and 1907, with Oak Cliff Christian Church holding an “outdoor” revival in 1909. The new pastor of Conventional Baptist Church (now Cliff Temple) held a successful weeklong service at Reagan Public School on Ninth Street that same year. Throughout these early days, other denominations followed suit and founded churches in the community — most of them ending up on or adjacent to Tenth Street.

More than 28 churches called Tenth Street home at some point, but as they moved and merged and the holy dust settled, 18 of those congregations anchored along Tenth Street’s perimeters. Among them are Cliff Temple Baptist Church, which in 1939 held the title of the second largest Southern Baptist church in the world (second only to First Baptist Dallas). Similarly, Tyler Street Methodist Church in 1950 took the honor of having the largest Sunday school enrollment in all of Methodism. Yes, right here in Oak Cliff!

Our community earned the title “Land of Churches,” as it was highly touted that more than 300 houses of worship were located in Oak Cliff — said to be the nation’s largest concentration of churches per square mile.

Tenth Street ran parallel to Jefferson Boulevard (which at the time was the largest

commercial thoroughfare in the Southwest outside of a downtown business district). Hundreds of Tenth Street parishioners were able to take advantage of an inexpensive but efficient transportation option by traveling to and from church via the Jefferson Boulevard streetcar line.

Everything worked well, as long as the streetcar was king, and before a series of zoning changes and the 1950s alcohol ban in Oak Cliff. Then came the post-baby boom. Boomer families grew, causing more and more Cliffites to relocate to the burbs. And things changed.

The good news? With more 1960s fami-

lies able to afford a second car, and with more teenagers having their own wheels in the 1970s, it became easy to get to church independently, replacing the former need for public transportation. The bad news? Simply put, there weren’t enough parking spaces to accommodate the growing number of vehicles.

As a result of the Cliffite migration both south and southwestward, a slew of new churches sprang up — away from Oak Cliff’s center — and before long the Tenth Street temples found their congregational rolls decreasing. Although several congregations simply packed up and relocated, quite a few

A Sunday morning in the early ‘60s at Tyler Street United Methodist Church, which celebrates its centennial this year.

remained. And other churches managed to find a leveling-off place and have survived well despite the challenges. Some have refocused their ministries and thus discovered new life.

Some congregations have established schools, some have community ministries, some support Spanish and other foreign language services on their campuses, and others are researching new ways to use their large-but-aging buildings. In many cases, memberships are up, and so is the enthusiasm.

The life-altering experiences from yesteryear, the ones that took place in one of Tenth Street’s earlier houses of worship, will never be forgotten, especially to those who were there — and for those who hear their stories. But undoubtedly, the remaining, stalwart “Church Street” congregations are as dedicated to their current missions as were those early pioneers. Now, with new people moving into the neighborhood, Oak Cliff churches and the faith walks they share are still changing lives. And these folks will have their own stories to tell.

Will the former glory days ever return to Tenth Street? It doesn’t seem likely. But the remaining congregations do have fresh visions and renewed hope. And hope springs eternal

See you in church!

YOUR STORIES

Longtime Cliffites recount memories and reconnect on oakcliff.advocatemag. com/backstory. Last month, Kokel sparked conversation with her article on Dallas’ first millionaire, Sarah Cockrell.

“I bet Ms. Sarah Cockrell would not let the Calatrava Bridge open without being completed. She sounds like the kind of woman who would have gone to the bridge worksite and “heads would have rolled” until it was completed on time. We will have an official opening of the Calatrava Bridge, but we won’t be able to get on or around the bridge for weeks until its completion.”

—Janice Myrlin

“Sarah Cockrell dared to live her life on her own terms and established a precedent and a tradition for women to be significant role players in developing a major city. Without bridges, the best-built roads lead nowhere, the most impressive visions remain invisible, and the best-laid plans fall.Sarah built the bridge, made the connection, and brought Dallas to success.The Sarah Cockrell Chapter, DAR, was named in her honor and is dedicated to keeping her memory alive. Thank you for the article and the connection to today’s world.” —Kim Clark

Gayla Brooks Kokel can date her neighborhood heritage back to 1918, when her father was born in what was then called Eagle Ford. She was born at Methodist Hospital and graduated from Kimball High School. Kokel is one of three co-authors of the recently published book, “Images of America: Oak Cliff”, and writes a monthly history column for the Oak Cliff Advocate Send her feedback and ideas to gkokel@advocatemag.com.

When Kathleen and her husband became pregnant later in life, serious complications developed. e couple instinctively reached out to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where specialists in high-risk pregnancy expertly addressed her condition and helped her deliver a healthy, beautiful baby girl. She valued the extraordinary care of her doctors and nurses, the assurance of a level III NICU and other technological capabilities close at hand, and the family-centered amenities in a room with a view. e couple remained con dent that Methodist had thought of everything so she and her husband could expect the very best.

When her pregnancy took an unexpected turn, Kathleen turned to us.