The Munger Place Historic District is a neighborhood and historic district in
Old East Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
(
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
), generally lying between North Fitzhugh Avenue on the southwest, Gaston Avenue on the northwest, Henderson Avenue on the northeast, and Columbia Avenue on the southeast. Detailed boundaries are defined in th
Munger Place Ordinance It is a
Dallas Landmark District and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
History
Munger Place was established in 1905 by cotton gin manufacturer
Robert S. Munger on as one of Dallas's first suburbs, and was originally intended to be one of the most exclusive communities in the city. To attract the "right" social element, Munger Place was carefully planned. Just minutes from
downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...
by carriage, Munger Place became the very first
deed-restricted neighborhood in Texas. Homes had to be a full two stories, cost at least
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
2,000 and no house could face a side street. The infrastructure featured such amenities as sidewalks, paved streets, shade trees, sewers, gas mains, and electric street lights. Many of the Dallas' leading businessmen and social elite soon called magnificent Munger Place home.
The
Great Depression led many of the community's mansions to be converted into multi-family housing. The neighborhood lost its elite cachet, and by the 1960s many of the nicer houses in the area had been torn down or condemned. Starting in the 1970s, however, Munger Place began to be rediscovered, as enterprising individuals recognized the historic architecture (particularly
Prairie Style
Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped i ...
) and large spaces behind the neighborhood's dilapidated veneer.
Heritage designations
Only a portion of Munger Place is included in the Munger Place Historic District. Munger Place can be described as having northern, western, and southern portions. The northern and western portion of Munger Place is in the
Swiss Avenue Historic District. The southern portion generally is in the Munger Place Historic District. Separating the two historic districts is Gaston Avenue, and the lots on either side of Gaston Avenue are excluded from either historic district.
In 1978, the National Park Service added Munger Place Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1980, the City of Dallas recognized the historic district as a Landmark District.
The boundaries of the national and city districts are nearly the same.
Comprising over 250 households it is the largest collection of Prairie-Style homes in America. With most of the homes now completely renovated, Munger Place has once again become a desirable neighborhood for families of all types looking for charming, historic homes near downtown Dallas. Each year the neighborhood holds a home tour and art festival that attracts fans of historic architecture and independent artists.
Education
The neighborhood is served by the
Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas ( USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the ...
(DISD).
Residents in the neighborhood northeast of N Fitzhugh Avenue are zoned to
William Lipscomb Elementary School
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
(grades PK-5) in
Junius Heights Junius Heights is Dallas' largest historic district, a neighborhood of more than 800 homes in East Dallas, Texas ( USA) situated east of Munger Place, south of Swiss Avenue and southwest of Lakewood. It is relatively rectangular, bounded roughly b ...
,
J.L. Long Middle School, and
Woodrow Wilson High School. Residents in the neighborhood southwest of N Fitzhugh Avenue (along a short section of Tremont Street) are zoned to
Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary School
Ignacio is a male Spanish and Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" from the word "Ignis" meaning "fire". This was the name of sev ...
,
Alex W. Spence Middle School, and
North Dallas High School
North Dallas High School is a public secondary school located in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas, United States. It enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. As of 2017, the principal adminis ...
.
Residents' children also attend various magnet schools in the district, as well as a variety of private schools in and around the area includin
Holy Trinity Catholic School St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School,
Lakehill Preparatory School
Lakehill Preparatory School is a college preparatory school in the Lakewood, Dallas, Texas neighborhood. The school is accredited through a number of bodies including the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, which works through the State ...
, St. John's Episcopal School and First Baptist Academy.
Photo gallery
Image:Munger Place Historic District4.JPG
Image:Munger Place Historic District3.JPG
Image:Munger Place Historic District2.JPG
Image:Munger Place Historic District1.JPG
Image:Munger Place Historic District6.JPG
See also
*
*
List of Dallas Landmarks
Dallas Landmark is a designation by the City of Dallas and the Dallas Landmark Commission for historic buildings and districts in Dallas, Texas, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historica ...
References
External links
{{NRHP in Texas
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas
National Register of Historic Places in Dallas
Dallas Landmarks
Neighborhoods in Old East Dallas
Houses in Dallas County, Texas