2024 April Oak Cliff Advocate

THE BURKE GROUP

Thani Burke

214.701.4884

thani.burke@compass.com

Thani’s clients benefit from her aptitude to network and connect with people while building long-lasting relationships. This skill set enables her to access off-market deals, and valuable insight into new happenings around the city that can potentially affect buyers and sellers. She dedicates herself to research and education on all market and legal changes to ensure she can best meet her clients’ needs. Thani’s commitment to her business has made her a multimillion dollar producer, with accolades that include Oak Cliff and Lakewood’s Top Realtor, D Magazine’s Best Real Estate Agents, and Tom Ferry’s Top Agents since 2017.

ADVOCATE TOP 25 REALTOR

“What do you call the woman who made it a priority to get to know you better than you knew yourself so she could find the perfect home for you? She improved our lives in every way. More important than friendship; more important than just business. There is no word for it. Just Albany. If you need a real estate agent, you can’t do better.”

DISTRIBUTION/ ADVERTISING 214.560.4212

ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS

Frank McClendon

214.560.4215 / fmcclendon@advocatemag.com

Michele Paulda 214.724.5633 / mpaulda@advocatemag.com

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214.560.4201 / cpate@advocatemag.com

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Classified Manager: Prio Berger 214.292.0493 / pberger@advocatemag.com

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EDITORIAL

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Jehadu Abshiro jabshiro@advocatemag.com

EDITORS:

Alyssa High ahigh@advocatemag.com

Emma Ruby eruby@advocatemag.com

Kelsey Shoemaker kshoemaker@advocatemag.com

Lillian Juarez ljuarez@advocatemag.com

Editorial Assistant: Simon Pruitt spruitt@advocatemag.com

Digital Editor: Christian Welch cwelch@advocatemag.com

Senior Art Director: Jynnette Neal jneal@advocatemag.com

Art Director/Photographer: Lauren Allen lallen@advocatemag.com

Contributors: Patti Vinson, Carol Toler, Sam Gillespie

Contributing photographers: Kathy Tran, Emil Lippe, Hunter Lacey, Yuvie Styles, Shelby Tauber, Sylvia Elzafon, Lo

Victoria Gomez, Julia Cartwright

ABOUT THE COVER

FOLLOW US:

Mural featured in March cover was designed by James Rizzi. Bench outside of Henry’s Majestic on the corner of Pittman and W. Commerce Street

Photography by Lauren Allen.

Talk to us: editor@advocatemag.com

Newsletter: advocatemag.com/newsletter

april 24

PROFILE

6 Balloon bonanza

DINING

10 Cenzo’s Pizza & Deli

FEATURES

17 Home design

20 Tenth Street teardowns

24 Booze boom

34 Kessler Park conservation controversy

COLUMNS

38 From the archives

ADVERTISING

14 Best Of Local Services

29 Top Realtor

This East Kessler home’s living room’s cream tones allows small details like this vase to stand out.

Photography by Kathy Tran.

Molina’s birthday hobby has inflated into a business

Story by EMMA RUBY

Photography by KELSEY SHOEMAKER

Juliette

CrowellJason CucciaJason SaucedoKathy HewittJeremy MooreSteve Habgood

Juliette Molina’s purple balloon baseball hat is pulled low over her eyes while she scrolls through her phone meticulously. She searches through webpage after webpage in search of just the right item for her latest client — a toddler with an affinity for Winnie the Pooh’s Tigger.

“He isn’t interested in any of the other characters from the Hundred Acre Wood,” Molina says. “And sourcing Tigger balloons is not the easiest.”

Molina is the creative mind behind Sweet Celebrations, a balloon decor company based out of her Winnetka Heights home. She offers the “full gamut” of balloon art, from traditional balloon arches to trendy backdrops for baby showers and birthdays.

Her passion for the unconventional medium is rooted in her own childhood, when Molina’s mother went above and beyond for each of her children’s birthdays every year.

“I just remember feeling really loved, and I remember the amount of effort that my mom went to to celebrate me and my siblings,” Molina says. “So when it came time to start doing birthdays for my own kiddos, I was just like, ‘All right, I’ve got to do it big like Mom.’”

Around six years ago, Molina began working with balloons. First for her own kids’ parties, then for close friends and family. As her skills and proficiency developed, she began experimenting with new techniques. In 2021, she began offering her services professionally.

While Sweet Celebrations has been in operation for the last two years, Molina still works full time as an internal auditor for Bank of America. Once her two kids go to bed, it isn’t uncommon for her to be awake until one or two in the morning processing orders or working on upcoming creations.

But the long nights are more than worth it, Molina says. The money from each order goes to the Molina family vacation fund, which has allowed them to make “some invaluable memories together.”

“It’s so crazy to think that balloons sent us to Turks and Caicos this summer for an entire week,” Molina says. “We’re shooting for Disney in 2024, so we’re already working towards that. And we’ve been able to go on a cruise together. So it’s really special for us.”

While Molina does not have a set number of events she works a week, she is mindful of

how large each installation she agrees to is. In September, a corporate job was the only one she booked for a week after she realized she would need a medium-sized U-Haul to move the 1,200 balloons ordered.

Another weekend, Molina was already juggling a 55-helium balloon setup on the same day as her own son’s birthday party when she got a call asking for balloon decor at an event for children whose parents are incarcerated.

“I can’t say no to that,” Molina says. “It was a busy day, I had a lot going on. But the event was something I literally couldn’t turn down. I was like, ‘All right, I got you, we’ll make this happen.’”

Balloon decor, like everything else, is not immune to trends.

Beige and neutral colors were all the rage for summer baby showers, she says. Other themes or color schemes follow the waves of what is seen in pop culture.

Molina uses Pinterest, party invitations and color palettes to design each of her installations, but when a public figure such as a Kardashian posts a photo of an event with balloons, she knows she will likely start hearing requests for a similar setup.

“One of the Kardashian children had a big birthday party and it was ‘under the sea’ themed. They had this giant balloon octopus, and people were like, ‘Well how much is something like that?’ I was like, ‘Do you really want to know?’” Molina says. “There were probably close to $10,000 worth of balloons at that party.”

While Molina isn’t working on $10,000 projects from the workspace of her family home, she says she has had customers balk at the price of her work before.

The size of the balloons a customer orders can impact pricing too. A 10-inch balloon requires significantly less helium to fill than a 36-inch balloon, so the larger sizes carry an inflated price tag.

Many of the Sweet Celebration customers are either people who appreciate Molina’s craft, or people who have tried to make their own balloon art before and “swore to never do it again.”

“I think all of us have this feeling of nostalgia when it comes to balloons. Something about them just warms your heart a little bit,” Molina says. “To be able to do that for people is something that’s been a real blessing for me.”

While Molina follows in her mother’s footsteps “partying big” for each of her children’s birthdays, the year-round exposure to balloons has “totally desensitized” them to the decor.

PRESENTS

THE LAND AROUND US

THURS • APRIL 18 • 7:30PM

Landscape architecture shapes our perception and enjoyment of the world around us. Join Madhavi Sonar, principal of Sovi Landscape Architecture on a journey through our lands.

DANIEL ADAM MALTZ

FORTEPIANO CONCERT TOUR

SUN • APRIL 21 • 3PM

Enjoy Haydn and Mozart’s piano works performed as they intended them to be heard — in a private home on a period instrument. Vienna-based fortepianist Daniel Adam Maltz will be performing a 90-minute private concert for the Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts on a historic Viennese fortepiano.

POET SCAPE

TUES • MAY 14 • 7:30PM

Listen in on Dallas’ vibrant poetry scape as the leading poets in our area read their original works. In cooperation with the Dallas is Lit Festival produced by the Writer’s Garrett.

For ticket info please go to turnerhouse.org/events

The Cenzo’s Kismet

How an old neighborhood filling station became a neighborhood gathering place

Story by EMMA RUBY | Photography by KATHY TRAN

1700

W. 10TH STREET

predates the Winnetka Heights Historic District by at least 50 years.

No one is totally sure when the building was built, but permits filed in 1933 are the first record of what was originally a neighborhood filling station. Over time, the building went from filling station to taqueria, and from taqueria to laundromat.

At some point, the building’s interior walls were painted neon green and the surrounding neighborhood ratified a historic district ordinance.

And so, when chef Chad Dolezal and his business partner Vinnie Sherman bought the building in 2022, they didn’t just inherit neon green walls and the wear and tear that comes with any century-old building. They also inherited all 50 pages of the Winnetka Heights Historic District ordinance governing exactly what changes can be made.

“Putting a restaurant in a historic building is kind of like putting together a puzzle,” Chad says. “We had the landmark commission basically say we have three front yards here …. And it was like, okay, this is going to be interesting.”

After 18 months of renovations, it’s a brightly lit family joint with the pulse of an early ‘90s Deep Ellum grunge-rock show. Chad is the leading man, full of charisma, bearded, with a fork tattooed on his forearm. And he is so into it.

“I don’t think it’s got to be so serious,” he says of the restaurant industry.

He did the chef-driven, highly-acclaimed thing with his Austin eatery Hightower, which applied French cooking techniques to old-school San Antonio-style food. It closed in 2019 after being named one of the best restaurants in town by just about everyone.

Now a father of two, he likes good food served without pretense. He likes places families can relax and enjoy. And he likes Oak Cliff. A lot.

“I’ll sit out (in the yard) and watch people. I mean, just like Paul, who lives across the street, I didn’t know him before this place and now we’re friends,” Chad, who also lives in Winnetka Heights, says. “We’re gonna have his daughter’s rehearsal dinner here. And I’m just like, that’s awesome.”

When they first got the building, a

classic Tudor Revival, there was nothing they wanted to add to the exterior, Chad says. But they did want to enhance it. The porch, created by the building’s large awning, was wrapped in vinyl. Not realizing it was bolted in, Chad climbed onto the building’s roof and “almost died” on day one while attempting to rip it out.

The neighborhood architecture firm DSGN Associates worked on the building’s renovation. So did Chad’s wife, Joy Dolezal, who has a background in interior design and architecture.

“We already loved the building and it already had those unique architectural elements,” Joy says. “We really just tried to come in and sort of strip it back and highlight those details.”

They tore down the interior wood paneling and grid ceiling, which obscured the building’s pitched roof. Patches of paint and plaster scatter the walls up to about 12 feet high, marking where the makeshift ceiling had been installed.

Around that 12-foot-tall mark, slats in the brick show where wooden rafters sat. The wood was repurposed into the restaurant’s tables.

When the grid ceiling came down, Chad found four “old looking” garage doors rolled up into the rafters. Talking with the building’s prior owner, he confirmed the doors had been hidden from view since at least the ‘70s.

“So we found a guy who repaired antique doors and windows and we’re like, ‘Hey, we have what we think are very old garage doors. But I work in restaurants, so I really have no idea what I’m talking about,’” Chad says. “He came in and looked and he was like, ‘This is at least from the ‘40s.’ They were the original garage doors.”

They were able to piece together the hardware to create the two garage doors attached to the pizzeria now.

Joy, inspired by the curved doorway that leads into the kitchen, turned the shape into a motif throughout the restaurant’s design.

“We tried to kind of keep that in the concept with the curved bar, and the curved backsplash on the bar,” Joy says. “And it also plays on the pizza shape.”

Framed photos of every rocker and TV star from Chad’s childhood decorate

Wood from the building’s rafters was repurposed into the restaurant’s tables.

All 11 pizzas on the Cenzo’s menu were named after different Winnetka Heights streets.

the walls. A Miami Vice -era Tom Selleck and Philip Michael Thomas are posted around a sign that reads “celebrities who haven’t been to Cenzo’s, but would probably like it.”

The cushy green booths match the restaurant’s base trim, doors and window frame color, and were inspired by the Pizza Hut booths of Chad’s childhood.

“When I was a kid, Pizza Hut was like a real restaurant. Like it wasn’t a fast food place … (The Pizza Hut) booths were rad,” Chad says. “We thought it would be kind of a cool nod to the building and feels like, nostalgia-wise, what it felt like to be in like one of those neighborhood spots.”

Because, at the end of the day, Cenzo’s is meant to be a neighborhood spot.

Eleven pizza varieties are named for 11 North-South oriented streets in Winnetka Heights. The only street missing is Hollywood; the eponymous pizza was nixed just days before the Cenzo’s opening. Chad swears his next pie will be named after the street.

He did the naming with a Google Map and a draft of the menu side by side.

“No one can get mad at me because this is as diplomatic as I can make it. I’ve had so many people say, ‘Where’s this or where’s that?’” he says. “I was like, ‘If you have a problem, it’s with the City of Dallas and how they lay out the streets and Google Maps.’”

The restaurant may not be a chef-driven concept, but Chad “loves everything” Jason Smith, an “even-keeled” head chef with an expertise in pizza, brings to the table.

Smith’s “meatballs are insane,” leading the Waverly Pizza and the Meatball Sub to be two of the restaurant’s best sellers. One of Chad’s “favorite things in the entire world” is a pistachio butter made in-house, although you won’t see that mentioned on the menu.

“There are all these little things that (Jason) does that we intentionally don’t write,” Chad says. “We try not to beat people over the head with the technique we do.”

When doors officially opened last December, the restaurant completely sold out of food by 7:15 p.m. It was “crushing in the best way,” Chad says. It led them to cut back the menu slightly, but they say

it’s more deliberate this way.

The restaurant playlist is the soundtrack for the punk-rock but unserious dining experience. Chad curated it himself, and refuses to add songs released outside of 1972 to 1996.

Even the name Cenzo’s has become a North Star, representing a fictional Oak Cliff character who reminds us of the good old days. A framed ‘70s era photo of a large-haired man found at a church antique sale became the mascot for Cenzo’s, after Chad confirmed on various Facebook pages that no one actually knew the guy.

“To us, he is like the guy we wanted to know in Oak Cliff. He’s the guy who’s been here forever and he knows everybody. He loves pizza and sandwiches,” Chad says. “In my mind, he left Oak Cliff for a little bit in the ‘70s and ‘80s and traveled and went to a lot of cool cities and met a lot of famous people. And then came back here and started this.”

Cenzo’s Pizza & Deli, 1700 W 10th Street, 972.773.9234, cenzospizzaanddeli.com

After looking across Oak Cliff for a space for their restaurant concept, Chad Dolezal (left) and business partner Vinnie Sherman (right) say it was “kismet” that the old filling station became available at the perfect time.

LOCAL SERVICES

BEST BARBER SHOP

WINNER - OAK CLIFF BARBERS

2ND - BISHOP BARBERS

3RD - BRASS TACKS BARBER SHOP

BEST HAIR SALON

WINNER - GLOW SALON

2ND - MJ CHIC STUDIO

3RD - THE BLOOM SPACE

BEST MED SPA

WINNER - BELLA MEDSPA

2ND - HIGHER LEVEL SKIN & BEAUTY 3RD - DEJA YOU

BEST NAIL SALON

WINNER - RESORT NAIL SPA

2ND - NAILED UP 3RD - B B NAILS

BEST PLACE TO RELAX

WINNER - GSG SKIN & BODY

2ND - JEWEL SKIN STUDIO LLC

3RD - YAYA FOOT SPA BISHOP ARTS

BEST WELLNESS STUDIO

WINNER - BISHOP ARTS WELLNESS & RECOVERY (THE BAWR)

2ND - RESTORE WELLNESS STUDIO, LLC

3RD - YOALI STUDIO

BEST AUTO REPAIR

WINNER - OAKCLIFF AUTO ELECTRIC REPAIR

2ND - STARKEY’S SERVICE CENTER

3RD - AL’S AUTO REPAIR SHOP

BEST CAR WASH

WINNER - HELLO! DELUXE CAR WASH

2ND - HAMPTON’S KWIK KAR WASH

3RD - OAK CLIFF DETAILING

2500 Fort Worth Ave. hellocarwash.com | 469.208.1158

BEST CLEANING SERVICE

WINNER - PINK MAIDS CLEANING

SERVICE

WINNER - MURILLO HOME CLEANING

2ND - KIEST RUG CARE

3RD - BETHEL CLEANING

oakcliff.advocatemag.com

BEST CONTRACTOR

WINNER - OMNI CONTRACTORS

2ND - SOUTHPAW TRADING COMPANY

BEST HOME IMPROVEMENT

WINNER - SOUTHPAW TRADING COMPANY

2ND - CODY & SONS PLUMBING, HEATING & AIR

3RD - SHEFFIELD PLUMBING CO.

3RD - AFFORDABLE SIDING & WINDOWS

BEST INTERIOR DESIGN

WINNER - BISHOP & IVY

2ND - HOUSS ON BISHOP

3RD - HOUSE OF AMELIA

BEST LANDSCAPING

WINNER - VARGAS LANDSCAPE AND SPRINKLERS

2ND - GUTIERREZ PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

3RD - TEXAS TREE SURGEONS

BEST CHIROPRACTOR

WINNER - THE BLUEPRINT

2ND - URBAN HIPPIE WELLNESS COLLECTIVE

3RD - OUR WELLNESS COMMUNITY

BEST DENTIST

WINNER - OAK CLIFF DENTAL CENTER

2ND - SMILEY DENTAL & ORTHODONTICS

3RD - MINT DENTISTRY - BISHOP ARTS

BEST DOCTOR

WINNER - MERCY FAMILY CLINIC

2ND - RICHARD C. GALPERIN, DPM

3RD - WITHEILER DANIEL D MD

BEST FAMILY DENTAL

WINNER - BELLA FAMILY DENTAL

2ND - OAKHEIGHTS FAMILY DENTAL & ORTHODONTICS

3RD - BEE KIDDS PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

BEST OPTICAL

WINNER - GLASS OPTICAL

2ND - TODAY’S VISION OAK CLIFF

3RD - MY EYELAB

BEST ORTHODONTIST

WINNER - JEFFERSON DENTAL & ORTHODONTICS

2ND - SMILEY DENTAL & ORTHODONTICS

3RD - BRIDENT DENTAL & ORTHODONTICS

BEST PEDIATRICIAN

WINNER - Oak Cliff Pediatrics

2ND - DR. EWE G. GOH PEDIATRICS

3RD - KYLE OHOLENDT, MD

BEST ALTERATIONS

WINNER - VICTOR’S TAILOR SHOP

2ND - DALLAS DENIM REPAIR

3RD - TAILOR SHOP DALLAS- SHEYLA DESIGN

BEST INSURANCE

WINNER - OAK CLIFF INSURANCE

2ND - CARLOS LUEVANO JR- STATE FARM INSURANCE AGENT

3RD - TODD SCHARA- STATE FARM INSURANCE AGENT

BEST LAW OFFICE

WINNER - LAW OFFICE OF BRENDA A. GARCIA

2ND - THE FRANKLIN LAW FIRM, LLP

3RD - LAW OFFICES OF JUAN C RODRIGUEZ PLLC

BEST SHOE COBBLER

WINNER - RAMIREZ BOOT AND SHOE REPAIR

2ND - EAGLE STONE SHOE REPAIR & SHINE

3RD - ALANIS SHOE REPAIR

BEST FLORIST

WINNER - JOYCE FLORIST OF DALLAS

2ND - OASIS PLANT SHOP

3RD - DIRT

BEST PET GROOMER

WINNER - BRUNO’S PLACE DIY DOG WASH (SELF- SERVE ONLY)

2ND - OAK CLIPS PET BOUTIQUE & GROOMING

3RD - CRISTINA’S DOG GROOMING

BEST PET SERVICES

WINNER - PAWLICIOUS COOKIES

2ND - GREEN PET

3RD - BONES AND BACON PET RESORT

BEST DRY CLEANING

WINNER - FAULKNER’S FINE DRY CLEANING

2ND - ARTISTIC CLEANERS OF OAK CLIFF

3RD - BIBBENTUCKERS- KESSLER PARK

BEST GYM

WINNER - OAKFIT

2ND - COLAW FITNESS OF OAK CLIFF GYMS

3RD - CLAIREVISTA HOLISTIC HEALTH & FITNESS

BEST YOGA/PILATES STUDIO

WINNER - OAK CLIFF PILATES

2ND - BLACK SWAN YOGA- BISHOP

3RD - JUNGLE- STUDIO FITNESS

VOTED BEST PILATES STUDIO THREE TIMES

KNOCKING DOWN WALLS

Bishop + Ivy transforms spaces and industry norms

In Oak Cliff, diversity of all forms – people, businesses, ideas – are celebrated. So, it’s no surprise that neighbors and local businesses want to work with a rising Black-owned and woman-led design studio in our own backyard.

Bishop + Ivy Design Studio’s Principal Designer Stephané Boston and Principal Architect Arianna Schall lead the company in its quest to knock down barrier walls, renovate industry stereotypes, and transform Oak Cliff.

“I’m really proud of what we’re doing in an industry that doesn’t necessarily always promote widespread representation,” says Boston. “We live in a vibrant and unique community, and I want our business to reflect that in our personnel and in our work.”

Boston says the main focus is always on utilizing Bishop + Ivy’s expertise to make client dreams come true, without forcing stylistic preferences on them.

“It is really important to us that our clients and community members trust us to take care of something as precious as a personal space or a place of work,” says Schall. “We make sure every project is dictated by the client’s taste, with an eye toward the influences of the community at large.”

By inviting clients into the creative process, Boston says they can

collaborate on the larger picture and offer professional guidance on each project to maximize the potential.

Boston and Schall, who are self-described fangirls of other women in their industry, are obsessive about putting in the work to make Bishop + Ivy’s clients stand out.

“At the end of the day, we provide a transformation of the built environment,” says Boston. “Our team is a collective of experts who respects that rule and collaborates to make those design dreams a reality.”

The women leading Bishop + Ivy see the future, where their incredibly talented partners, vendors, and colleagues get due recognition in the design and architecture industry. They are committed to remodeling what is considered “normal,” and driven to create the most stunning outcomes for their clients.

Learn more about Bishop + Ivy Design Studio by contacting Owner and Principal Designer Stephané Boston at 214-494-1515, or visit bishopivystudio.com.

Photography courtesy of Bishop+Ivy

HOW TO DIY AN ORGANIC TEXAS C OT TAGE

INSIDE

A 1940S HAMPTON ROAD HOME

Story by DANIEL ROCKEY | Photography by KATHY TRAN

Love is a critical ingredient for making a house into a home, but it’s not the only thing that goes into this process. Turning a collection of walls and floors into something more requires a keen eye, a willingness to experiment and a lot of trips to Home Depot. For Angelee and Eddie Fortuna, these were just a few of the key ingredients in their DIY “Texas Cottage.”

Situated along the bustling strip of Hampton Road, the Fortuna’s house does not draw attention. It’s modest and blends right in with the neighbors – for now. The two, having moved fromDowntown three years ago, have spent their time molding, painting and styling the interior first.

“We’re right off Hampton Road, which can deter people from

purchasing this house,” Eddie says. “But in an odd way, it gave comfort. Like the familiar sounds of Downtown.”

Eddie, an architectural designer and photographer, and Angelee, a digital marketer, are no strangers to design and aesthetics. They’ve taken their professional knowledge home with them.

Their relationship helped them decide what does and does not work within their space.

“We’ve really been able to grow and evolve our style organically through travel, life experiences and even social media,” he says.

The house is something that they’re proud of. There

isn’t a definitive style to their home, but it resonates well. The two have been intentional in their curation so that no two rooms or pieces clash with one another. They carve out the design of their home detail by detail, like the arches crafted into the pony wall to match with the existing kitchen and stairwell.

“It’s a little difficult to pin down the specific style of our home,” Eddie says. “But we would describe it as a kind of Texas cottage.”

Being a DIY-er is no easy task, but the two of them have tackled an abundance of projects in their home. With some help, they have added trim, laid down gallons of paint and constructed a built-in shelf with a mantle in their living room.

“We’ve kind of attacked it with a very DIY spirit, and while I would love to just throw infinite money at somebody to do it fast and do it really well, it has been a point of pride to be

Along with a shared love of design and architecture, the couple also has a common interest in fashion with their style blog HIS+HER.

able to say that we’ve done it ourselves,” Eddie says.

The couple’s work in creative spaces has allowed them access to a wealth of local talent. “We’ve been very fortunate to have immersed ourselves within the creative community here in Dallas over the last 10+ years,” they say. “Through that, we’ve created some very special personal and professional connections that have manifested in friendship, and sometimes, art in our home.”

One of their current favorites is a commissioned painting by Caris Fawcett.

While their home is already a point of pride, the couple still has a lot of blood, sweat and tears to go as they continue to make it the house of their dreams. But, as Angelee will admit, the DIY elements are part of the home’s charm.

“Even if it’s not perfect, it’s fun.”

Three

STREET THE TRAGEDY

OF

TENTH

WHEN THE CITY COUNCIL VOTED to repeal a zoning law that disproportionately aided in destroying historical Black homes, it was a win for preservationists. BUT FOR RESIDENTS OF TENTH STREET, where many of the tear downs took place, THE VOTE WAS TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE. Story by EMMA RUBY

35 HOMES.

That is how many residences in the Tenth Street Historic District have been torn down in the last 14 years due to a city zoning ordinance that allowed for the demolition of residential structures smaller than 3,000 square feet within a Landmark District.

The ordinance made it easier for modest homes to be declared substandard by the city, paving the path to demolition. But it wasn’t enforced evenly across the board.

Dallas’ historic Black neighborhoods, Tenth Street and Wheatley Place, did not have a single home larger than 3,000 square feet within their boundaries when the rule went into effect. Residents of those neighborhoods saw teardowns take place at a fast clip, while residents of primarily white neighborhoods did not.

Fourteen years later, the city has finally acknowledged the disproportionate effect the 3,000 square foot ordinance had on Black and brown neighborhoods.

“The default for these homes became demolition, rather than consideration for rehabilitation,” assistant city manager Majed Al-Ghafry wrote in a memo to the Dallas City Council earlier this year.

On Feb. 28, the council unanimously voted to repeal the ordinance. While the repeal is a win for preservation advocates, it is bittersweet for those who live in the neighborhoods that were crushed by the rule.

In the words of Tenth Street resident Larry Johnson: “At this point, there’s really not a lot of Tenth Street left to tear down.”

THE WRITING ON THE WALL

From the beginning, everyone knew that the 3,000 square foot ordinance was going to impact Black neighborhoods.

Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, who was no friend to preservationists, led the charge on identifying buildings that were urban nuisances as part of a campaign to clean up Dallas. He insisted buildings be brought up to code or else face the bulldozer.

In 2009, the ordinance was beginning to work through the city process. Then-First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers told the Dallas Observer

that the deterioration of historic district homes “primarily in Southern Dallas” was the catalyst.

He referred to Tenth Street, one of the last remaining Freedman’s Towns in the country, as the “poster child” for Dallas’ deteriorating history, and he questioned the viability of the neighborhood’s continued existence.

The ordinance passed unanimously through the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee in 2010 before moving on to the City Plan Commission and City Council. And each step of the way, city preservation planner Kate Singleton was sounding the alarm for the clear impact the “heinous” rule was going to have.

“I was writing memos saying ‘Please don’t do this,’” Singleton says. “Starting in like 2011, Preservation Dallas and the Landmark Commission and the neighborhood tried to get it rescinded because of all the studies about what it was doing to our low-income historic neighborhoods.”

A study by the Dallas Office of Equity and Inclusion found that demolitions in Tenth Street “at least doubled” following the implementation of the 3,000 square foot rule. It also found that the only historic districts that had homes larger than 3,000 square feet, therefore unthreatened by the ordinance, were majority-white neighborhoods such as Junius Heights, Lake Cliff, Munger Place, Swiss Avenue and Winnetka Heights.

Singleton left the city shortly after the ordinance passed, but came back as Dallas’ Chief Preservation Planner last May. When discussion about the 3,000 square foot rule began to gain traction, she felt that “finally” she could fix what she’d always resented.

She credits city council member Carolyn King Arnold, whose district includes Tenth Street, with “kicking the door open” on the ordinance’s repeal process.

But what “got the city’s attention,” according to Johnson, was a 2019 lawsuit filed by the Tenth Street Residents Association under the Fair Housing Act. It points out that in the 25 years following historic designation, 72 Tenth Street homes were demolished in total.

The lawsuit was thrown out, but it did result in the city council temporarily

halting demolitions.

“That it took 14 years for people to realize that this rule disproportionately affects Black neighborhoods shows the condition of our city, of our state, and it shows the depravity of our democracy,” Johnson says. “It’s a rule that never should have been in the first place.”

AN UPHILL BATTLE

In the city council’s discussion of the 3,000 square foot rule, council member Jaynie Schultz applauded the repeal, stating that Tenth Street had been “abused for too long.”

Council member Arnold urged her peers to continue their support of the neighborhood in future initiatives as it continues to face “rapid gentrification.”

And council member Omar Narvaez said he was sympathetic to the history that has been lost to the Tenth Street teardowns.

“We have to protect these neighborhoods,” he said. “We as Latinos also understand, because Little Mexico is no more. It doesn’t exist.”

A century ago, the neighborhood around Pike Park was thriving and dominated by Mexican immigrants, many of whom were fleeing the Mexican Revolution. When Harry Hines Boulevard sprouted up, the road and its economic impact cleaved through the neighborhood in a way similar to I-35’s impact on Tenth Street.

What stands today are the glittery restaurants, bars and luxury living spaces that make up the Harwood District. The pink, Spanish-style apartments known as the Little Mexico Village are one of the last remnants of Little Mexico.

Next to the million-dollar high rises, they look out of place despite dating back to the 1940s.

It is stories like that of Little Mexico’s demise, as well as a history of city redlining and racism, that contribute to the distrust that still permeates many Tenth Street residents’ view of Dallas and those who run it.

James McGee is the President of Dallas Southern Progress, a community development organization focused on improving the quality of life in the Southern half of our city. While McGee is not a resident of Tenth Street, he esti -

mates that he sent well over 100 emails in 2023 regarding the neighborhood.

McGee has been working for Tenth Street pro bono, trying to help the neighborhood identify city, state and federal funding for improvements. Since taking on the self-appointed role of neighborhood advocate, he says he has been told that the city will not engage with him because he does not reside within the district.

McGee shared over a dozen emails with the Advocate that were sent to the District 4 office in 2023 asking for engagement or conversations over Tenth Street issues. Each email went unanswered. Repeated phone calls to the District 4 office also went unanswered, McGee says.

Many of McGees emails are asking about the funds allocated in the 2017 Bond for sidewalk repairs in Tenth Street. The funds remain pending, seven years later.

And in the 2024 Bond, Tenth Street was completely left out despite Arnold telling the horseshoe that she hoped to use discretionary funds for the neighborhood.

small-but-mighty congregation. They moved to a church south of Tenth Street after the demolition, but “like the idea” of returning to the historic space and rebuilding as a community center.

“Given that social services will come out of this building, that makes it a prime candidate for city funding,” Johnson says. “Not only will it provide services for the community, but it will also be a heritage tourist site. People will come from far and wide.”

Johnson says he has petitioned for bond funds that could be used for the church’s rebuilding multiple times over the years, but has repeatedly been told no.

“It’s frustrating, when you have an elected official who doesn’t understand,”

syllabus for the program outlines dates of site visits, virtual Q&A’s with Tenth Street residents and meetings with “key stakeholders” like McGee.

When Johnson met with the students, he was struck by their interest in affordable housing and walkable communities, which Tenth Street models.

“That’s kind of added wood to the fire,” he says. “It’s not just about preservation, but it’s also about building for the future.”

As conversations about affordable housing continue to dominate Dallas city politics, Singleton finds herself “infuriated” when looking to Tenth Street as the perfect example of a missed opportunity. Of the 35 homes demolished due to the 3,000 square foot rule, half could have been rehabilitated, she believes.

Arnold did not respond to requests for comment from the Advocate.

In an interview with the Dallas Observer , Arnold said that she was unable to build a funding package for Tenth Street in the 2024 bond. She allocated the $5 million in discretionary funds for District 4 to the Dallas Zoo, “a neighbor of Tenth Street,” and says that a partnership between the Dallas Zoo and Park and Recreation department could lead to zoo programming about the neighborhood.

Missing out on bond funds was especially bitter for Johnson, who dreams of rebuilding the Sunshine Elizabeth Chapel. The church dates back to 1889 and was demolished in 1999 after falling into disrepair. But when Tenth Street was in its prime, it was a “community hub.”

Where the church once stood is now empty land, still owned by the church’s

Johnson says. “But it’s especially frustrating when that official looks like us. It would be an easier pill to swallow if the council woman was Hispanic or White or Asian, but she’s Black. And she still doesn’t care.”

PRESERVING THE FREEDMAN’S TOWN

Frustrated with the city, McGee has started looking elsewhere for support. He has coordinated a partnership between the Tenth Street Historic District and the Texas A&M University landscape architecture department; students visited Tenth Street earlier this spring and are spending the semester problem solving solutions for the neighborhood.

Four college courses are being offered under the partnership, covering historic preservation, design and architecture. A

“You just let a bunch of (affordable housing) be torn down,” Singleton says. “Those houses (that were lost), a family could have lived there. This could have been a little stepping stone for them to buy a little house, rehab it and build up equity.”

District 4 Landmark Commissioner Robert Swan also warns of the unique home types that could be lost if Tenth Street continues to decline. He says shotgun houses with pitched roofs are a rare home type that make up the district, but other rare houses are less easily described because their style is specific to Tenth Street.

He says a typology based on direct observations of Tenth Street’s design has yet to formally take place. With 72 homes demolished since the historic district was designated, it’s uncertain what has been lost.

While city funding for basic repairs, much less historical signage, may seem like a pipe dream to McGee, Johnson is taking things into his own hands. He plans to install a sign in his front yard honoring the history of his home, which was built sometime between 1895 and 1905, and the people who lived there.

“From a historical standpoint, a lot of (preservation) is about building design,” McGee says. “But Tenth Street is a little different. It’s about the people who lived in those houses.”

THE BISHOP ARTS BOOZE BOOM

New bars popping up across the neighborhood offer something for everyone

Story by EMMA RUBY | Photography by KATHY TRAN

IT MAY FEEL LIKE BISHOP ARTS IS EXPERIENCING A BOOZE BOOM.

At the end of 2023, a wine tasting room out of Fredericksburg opened in the space formerly inhabited by Âme. Then earlier this year, the microbrewery Jaquval opened around the corner. And a gin distillery between the two was expected to open any day now, at the time of publishing.

But Jim Lake, the real estate mogul whose company owns the strip of buildings that Barons Creek Vineyard, Jaquval and Lucky Gin opened in, says viewing these openings as a neighborhood “booze boom” may be some people’s perception, but isn’t quite reality.

Jim’s thumbprint is stamped across the 300 and 400 blocks of Bishop Avenue. As a young man in the late ’80s, he took over the buildings that had been purchased by his father, Jim Lake Sr.

The historic red brick buildings with wood-framed windows are classic Lake. He shaped the district in the late ’80s, oversaw the 2008 zoning case that made it what it is today and was involved in the recent initiative to widen sidewalks and install historic lighting throughout.

“Once people started to come (to Bishop Arts), we saw that it was important to have a mix (of businesses),” Jim says. “We didn’t always get it right the first time, but we had the space to let the creative people and the entrepreneurs do what they did best. And it took a generation to be able to create that and recognize that.”

Each new bar that has opened in the last six months caters to a different crowd, Jim says.

Barons Creek Vineyard solved a “longtime” demand for a wine-centric option in North Oak Cliff. The store is the winery’s fifth tasting room in Texas and the first in Dallas. A five-wine tasting experience costs $21 a person; pizzas, hummus, charcuterie and chocolate chip cookies make up the food menu.

“When that spot opened up, (Barons Creek) was a perfect match,” Jim says. “That space has a significant kitchen area that had to be activated, so that was part of our agreement. That it wasn’t just going to be a wine tasting room, they had to have a pretty strong food component.”

It’s a requirement of each Lake property, says Jim’s wife and business partner Amanda Moreno-Lake.

The district currently holds seven bars within two blocks. But Atlas is no Bottled Blonde. Reveler’s Hall is no Hap -

piest Hour. And Barons Creek Vineyards is no Standard Pour.

The area has an elevated identity compared to Dallas’ party centers, and focusing on a robust food menu, in addition to each bar’s alcohol offerings, helps maintain that, Amanda says.

“We’ve never torn anything down. We like old buildings, and we bring them back to life,” Amanda says.

It was part of what inspired Madison Patrylick to seek out Jim Lake Companies, in hopes of opening a bar, gin distillery and distilling classroom.

Patrylick lives in Fort Worth and learned to distill gin in Ireland. When she started L ə k ē Gin (Lucky spelled phonetically), she realized she wanted to open her own all-gin-focused bar to feature it.

L ə k ē Gin has a build-your-own gin and tonic option and $125 per person classes which include a take-home bottle of gin, a charcuterie board and drinks.

“I love this area, because it’s got the old vintage ceilings, and I didn’t really have to do a whole lot to accommodate that feeling,” Patrylick says. “There’s not a lot of places in Dallas that have front facades with old windows like this type of setup.”

While Jim says he is happy to work with store owners on designing each facade to match their interior aesthetic (Lucky Gin’s window frames went from black to a bright, smurf-like blue) some historic features are not to be messed with.

“Do not touch my tin ceilings,” he says with all seriousness.

In many instances, historic buildings can lead to headaches when it comes time to renovate.

Jaquval may have just opened this winter, but it has been in the works for years, says co-owner Jason Roberts. He and his business partner Amy Wallace Cowan run Oddfellows and Reveler’s Hall in buildings leased from the Lakes.

One thing missing from Bishop Arts was a brewery. So when Roberts approached Jim about opening a beer house and the attached deli, Trades, it was a definite yes.

But they had to completely redo the plumbing throughout the building, install three-phase power and get a specialized water filtration system.

“Our water is highly filtered for the beer and for the bagels, so we can dial in the pH of New York for our bagels and dial the pH of Germany for the beers,” he says.

Roberts was inspired by the ruin bars of Budapest when outfitting Jaquval. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall and communism, the youth of Budapest turned “derelict” buildings into bars full of art to create spaces to “hang out.” He wanted to channel a similar low-pretense, high-comfort space where locals can stumble in.

Plus, he says there was no nearby place to find fish and chips. Jaquval’s menu fixed that.

Seven distinct bars in two blocks. Whether there is a bar cluster or a booze boom, Patrylick is not worried about competing for business. In her eyes, each business is “extremely different.”

Not only in spirits but also in vibes.

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Conservation District CONTROVERSY

Rachel and his wife moved to Kessler Park in 2020 from the Lakewood Conservation District. Their prior experience living in the district left them confident they could navigate renovations and repairs to their new home in the Kessler Park Conservation District.

Rachel hopes the petition can be used to intercede any future permits filed for the construction, as well as encourage the neighborhood association to revisit the bylaws that allowed the construction in the first place.

Construction in Kessler Park has neighbors wondering what constitutes a basement, and what

exactly is

outlined in their conservation district ordinance

Story by EMMA RUBY

They looked forward to the hills and nature that North Oak Cliff is known for, but, for the last 18 months, have found their serene neighborhood disrupted by construction taking place at 1658 Nob Hill Road.

Plans submitted to the city show a modern, four-story home built on the steep, triangular lot. The conservation district ordinance only allows for two-story homes in the neighborhood, but because the lowest level of the structure is greater than 50% below grade, it is classified as a two-story basement.

Once completed, it will be a two-story home with a two-story basement that many neighbors believe is “nonconforming,” in spirit, even if it fits to the technical language of the ordinance.

“They told us it wouldn’t be a teardown, but after tearing down the structure that was there, the next thing they did was flatten it and remove the slope,” Rachel says. “There’s a lot of neighbors who are very angry about this.”

Amber Gracia, managing partner for RDG+B, the firm handling the architecture and construction, told the Advocate that the firm has previously completed two projects within Kessler Park, leaving them familiar with the conservation district guidelines.

Gracia said the steep incline of the site left it “derelict and practically unbuildable,” inspiring the “unique” home design.

“The most important thing to know here is that the design adheres to Kessler Park Conservation District,” Gracia said. “The property owners and our team have received messages of support from other neighbors adjacent to the property who believe the project will positively contribute to the fabric and evolving aesthetic of Kessler Park.”

According to city council member Chad West, the problem may lie in the conservation district ordinance itself.

The lowest level of the than 50% below grade

Over half of the 600 households in Kessler Park have signed a petition opposing the home.

The document was originally drafted for the much flatter landscape of Vickery Place in East Dallas. It’s “a fantastic overlay document for that area” that was “picked up and laid down over the Kessler Park area” with no account for the typography of North Oak Cliff, West says.

When questions began about the

Kevin

Nob Hill construction’s conformity, West looked at the conservation district bylaws and felt they were “ambiguous,” so he asked for an opinion from the city attorney.

“The city attorney opinion that came back was that the way the conservation district documents were drafted does permit this type of construction in this location,” West says. “Especially this par ticular hill, it’s an interesting and very beautiful natural formation. When analyzing whether a basement of this type is allowed or not, staff can only go by the conservation document.”

Rachel also expressed concerns over the num ber of trees that have been taken down during construction. While Gracia declined to provide a number of how many trees have been removed, Rachel says he has counted around 20.

“We consulted and worked with a professional arborist early in the project to assess the condition of the trees,” Gracia says. “The site has significant grade change, solid rock below the surface and was extremely overgrown with volunteer trees and vegetation that were neither maintained nor cared for. Several of the existing trees on the site were in poor condition and we continue to have issues with trees ‘falling apart’ during storms.”

According to Mary Ellen Cowan of Mesa De sign Group, the landscape architects on the project, there are plans to reforest the site following construction.

The home being built would “fit perfectly” with the more modern homes of East Kessler, but the fact that it has been deemed acceptable with in the neighborhood leaves Rachel questioning whether the conservation district documents should be rewritten “to make sense” or “aban doned completely.”

the structure is greater grade and is a basement.

“‘Unique’ in a conservation district is typically not what everyone’s going for,” he says. “The concern is that real estate developers obviously see the land down here and the age of the homes and things like that, and they just want to come in and tear down what they want. And I don’t think that’s what the people who live here and have lived here want.”

NOB HILL - VIEW

KESSLER CANYON VIEW

NOB HILL - VIEW

Renderings courtesy of Kevin Rachel.

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By GAYLA BROOKS

From the archives: The Origins of Interstate Highway 35

The north-south interstate cut a swath through my childhood

In the late 1950s, rumors were rampant concerning a new interstate highway slated to cut straight through Oak Cliff. But it wasn’t a rumor.

Before circa 1963, traveling by car from Oak Cliff to Downtown Dallas and beyond typically required a northward trip up Beckley, Zang, Marsalis or Lancaster, all of which more or less merged with Zang. Drivers crossed the Trinity River via the Houston Street Viaduct before landing Downtown. And from there they chose a pattern through or around Downtown and on to other destinations.

To provide land for the new interstate, the eminent domain law required hundreds of Oak Cliff families to sell their homes to the highway department. Many of the structures were re-sold and moved to different locations by the new owners. Others were demolished.

Former Cliffite Sandy Almand, who lived at the corner of Illinois Avenue and Toluca, says she and her husband would be awakened in the middle of the quiet night by the large trucks moving houses down Illinois and on to their new locations.

And then construction began.

The first significant section stretched from Downtown to the current Clarendon-Zang exit. The next expansion continued south to Illinois, and then to the Saner entrance/exit. Cliffites living in the southern portion of the community drove north, up Polk, Hampton or Beckley, and then took Saner, Illinois or Clarendon to an interstate entrance. From there on, it was smooth sailing.

Construction went on for months, kicking up dust and keeping the area’s noise level at a high decibel. But for some Oak Cliff adventurers, this situation offered a constantly beckoning temptation.

While the interstate remained under construction, and obviously without traffic, then 13-year-old Alan Elliott considered the newly paved surface his own private bicycle route to the Dallas Zoo. Elliott regularly took advantage of the smooth, wide-open thoroughfare by peddling his way, unbothered, from his house on Vanette to the zoo and back.

There was, however, one problem.

When the highway did open, Elliott had no idea that his bicycling among the ferocious U.S. interstate traffic would be problematic. Thus, after being pulled over and reprimanded by the Dallas Police, he became convinced. His cycling-on-the-interstate days came to an end.

Another incident took place late one night when two Adamson High School students (who shall remain nameless) decided to “drive” a piece of the highway department’s heavy equipment. It was left on the construction sites at night with keys still in the ignition. Moving forward on the massive machinery for only about 10 feet, the pair speedily abandoned their hijinks when a stealthy but alert security guard appeared. Some guys spoil all the fun.

Upon completion, Oak Cliff welcomed the beautiful, new north-south traffic lanes, which made trips to Downtown much easier. Today, traveling to and from Downtown Dallas without the Interstate 35 option seems unimaginable. But, before

the interstate, it really used to be that way.

My grandmother’s house was among those removed by the highway department. Except for two homes that still stand, her block — the 300 block of West Montana — no longer exists. On the east end of the block, the red brick house at Montana and Toluca remains, peering down on the northbound traffic. On the other end, at the corner of Montana and Brookhaven, is the Lundys’ two-story home where I played with daughters Penny and Vicki.

Gone is the home across the street, with the parakeet aviary in its backyard and Tanya’s house next to that. Gone are the sycamore trees that lined the avenue, whose root growth caused the sidewalks beneath to heave and brake. And gone is Major and Mrs. Clement’s ranch-style house next door to my grandmother.

Because of the interstate, all vestiges of these childhood days have been erased.

But whenever I drive north into old Oak Cliff, my car passes directly over the property. I enjoy that.

The construction of I-35 is an integral part of the United States Interstate Highway grid. We need it. It has worked. And it certainly helps navigate others into the “Cliffs” and to Downtown.

But it would be comforting, if only for a few hours, to once again have all those homes and families and streets back in place. A walk along the sycamore trees ... down the broken sidewalk ... past the Clements’ ranch-style house ... visiting with Tanya ... listening to the chirping parakeets ... playing with the Lundy girls. And no interstate noise.

Now that would be nice.

This photo depicts the junction of Interstate Highway 35 and U.S. Route 183 as it was in 1960. Originally published June 2010 edition of the Oak Cliff Advocate.