Historic Dallas, Volume 3, Number 3, Summer 1982 Page: 1 of 16
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Dallas, TexasVol. It! No. 3 A quarterly publication of the Historic Preservation League 1982 Summer '82
Arson: A Major Threat To
City's Landmark Structures
by Joan JacksonArson is one word that triggers fear
and anger in preservationists every-
where. For vulnerable historic build-
ings it can mean losses that no amount
of money can restore. Every year, arson
destroys $1.7 billion in property and
takes more lives than all the natural
disasters in the nation combined. The
incarceration rate for arson, however,
is less than one percent.
Detection and prosecution of arson
fires is difficult at best; evidence is
often destroyed in the fire, witnesses
are few or motive cannot be deter-
mined. Sometimes local firefighters,
police and prosecutors are not ade-
quately trained in arson investigation.
A recent special issue of Conserve
Neighborhoods, published by the Na-
tional Trust for Historic Preservation,
focused on arson problems and solu-
tions around the country.
Arson damage added up to $9.8 mil-
lion in Dallas in the city's fiscal year
1980-81. That is one reason Dallas
property owners pay the highest insur-
ance premiums of any major city in
Texas. Recent losses in the state have
included:
" the 1877 McClendon House in Tyler;
" the Old Main Building and Austin
College Building of Sam Houston
State University in Huntsville;
" the 78-year-old Trinity United Metho-
dist Church in Dallas;
" and the Drummer's Hotel and Gano
Log House at Old City Park in Dallas.
Vernon Smith, Jr., owner of the
League Holds
Annual Picnic
The Historic Preservation League
will hold a summer membership meet-
ing and family picnic on Sunday Sep-
tember 5, 5-8 p.m. on the Wilson k
at 2900 Swiss Avenue.
The event will include a vol teer
fair where committee chairman will be
soliciting volunteers for projects
during the coming year.
Members will have a 'chance to tour
the Wilson block and see the progress
being made on the Arnold House re-
storation project.
Mark your calendars now for this
exciting summer event. Invitations
will be mailed with further details.Trinity Church, has spent the last sev-
eral months purchasing roofing mater-
ial and tracking down bricks to restore
the prairies box-style building. As orig-
inally planned, the church will be used
for office space. Although the $10,000
reward still stands, no arrests have
been made.
There are no leads in the Old City
Park fires and Dr. Tom Smith, execu-
tive director of the Dallas County Heri-
tage Society, has difficulty citing any
motivation for arson. He has offered a
resolution to the Landmarks Commit-
tee that the Dallas legislative delegation
seek stiffer penalties for landmark
structures. And security has been
doubled at the park.
The deliberate torching of structures
falls into 24 categories, from pyromania
to juvenile crime. The two forms found
most in neighborhoods are arson for
profit and juvenile arson. In Dallas,
youngsters age three to ten set nearly
half of the city's fires. To combat this
alarming trend, the Dallas Fire Dept.
has created a voluntary counseling pro-
gram, working with 25 to 30 children
per month.
Arson for profit is done to collect
insurance, stop a declining business,
remove low-income tenants, and cre-
ate new parcels for constructions. The
Tax Reform Act of 1976 penalized de-
velopers and property owners by pre-
venting them from taking standard
(SeeArson-page 2)a19 '1an
South Blvd./Park Row Historic Marker
One of over 300photographsfeatured in Dallas: An Illustrated History, this photo shows
a view of wagons located with cotton bales on Elm Street., As early as 1874 the Dallas
Herald had reported that Elm Street was "one snow-white sea of cotton'. From the
collection of the Archives and Research Center for Texas and Dallas History, Dallas
Public Library.
South Blvd./Park Row Holds
Historic District Ceremonyby Vicki Graff
The South Boulevard/Park Row His-
toric District, established in 1976 as
Dallas' second historic district, cul-
minated many years of hard work in a
dedication ceremony on Saturday,
June 12, to unveil three markers now
on display in the center of the district: a
City of Dallas Historic Landmark, an
Official Texas Historic Marker, and a
plate designating its entry in the Na-
tional Register of Historic Places.
Situated southeast of downtown Da-
las and southwest of Fair Park, the
South Boulevard/Park Row Historic
District is comprised of the area from
Central Expressway to Oakland Avenue
bounded by Grand Avenue and Martin
Luther King, Jr. Blvd. (formerly Forest
Avenue).Attendance at the ceremony may
have been hampered somewhat by the
hot and humid afternoon, but enthu-
siasm was not. The gathering of resi-
dents, former residents, Historic Dis-
trict Task Force members, friends and
dignitaries at South Boulevard and At-
lanta Street heard greetings from Dal-
las City Council member Elsie Faye
Heggins (who represents District #6),
Mayor Pro Tem Don Hicks, Dallas
County Commissioner Jim Tyson,
Texas State Representative Sam Hud-
son, Texas State Senator Oscar Mauzy,
and-via letters-the offices of Gov-
ernor Bill Clements and President
Ronald Reagan.
Highlights of the event were the
reminiscences of former resident Mrs.
Morton H. Sanger, who grew up on
(See Ceremony-page 8)
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Dallas Historic Preservation League. Historic Dallas, Volume 3, Number 3, Summer 1982, periodical, Summer 1982; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth888107/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Preservation Dallas.