The Soul of a neighborhood

Our list of the six most-endangered places in Oak Cliff

Story by RACHEL STONE , ALICIA QUINTANS and MICHAEL AMONETT

Photos by DANNY FULGENCIO

ometimes neighbors come together to preserve a piece of historic Oak Cli .

The Texas Theatre, for example. Twelve Hills Nature Center.

Thankfully, there also are realestate investors who see the value in historic buildings — Je erson Tower, Top Ten Records, Spinster Records and the Belmont Hotel are shining today because of them.

Grassroots e orts and sensitive developers keep a vein of old Oak Cli alive.

But we’re outmanned and outmoneyed by investment funds, townhome builders and ever-looming big development. About four reviews come through the City of Dallas every week for old buildings that people want to demolish in the Bishop Arts area and Downtown Dallas. That’s according to Mark Doty, the city’s chief planner for historic preservation.

It’s now part of Doty’s job to decipher which buildings should trigger a 45-day stay of execution under the rules of a new historic overlay that delays some demolitions within its boundaries.

Demolition and dramatic new construction are reshaping Oak Cli at a terribly fast rate.

In a reaction adopted from Preservation Dallas, we o er this list, Oak Cli At Risk.

Heritage Oak Cli and the Advocate cooperated to identify places that we think are at high risk for demolition — either immediately or through a futurist lens — but are worthy of historic preservation.

We hope to draw attention to the history, architecture and cultural values of our neighborhood and start a conversation about what we can and should preserve in this climate of constant target.