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The Dealey House In Westlake Is Added To The Dallas Dilbeck Tour Line Up!
Once upon a time there was a man named George Bannerman Dealey. Most of you are aware of him and have visited his namesake Dealey Plaza, the leading tourist attraction in Dallas. The plaza was completed in 1936 and Dealey’s statue erected in 1949. Dealey was a businessman and longtime publisher of The Dallas Morning News, and owner of the A.H. Belo Corporation. He also founded an early newspaper owned radio station, WFAA, in 1922. The New York Times called him the Dean of American Publishers.
In 1915, George’s son, Edward “Ted” Musgrove Dealey, secured a job at Belo and began moving up through the ranks. Ted succeeded his father as publisher upon George’s death in 1946. This was quite a turnaround considering he was expelled from sixth grade and sent to a school for boys. That school’s strict disciplinary code attributed to Ted’s reform which led him to receive a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and a master’s degree from Harvard in 1914.
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24 years after Harvard, Ted commissioned Charles Dilbeck to design his sprawling Westlake, Texas home. Dilbeck was among a Dallas group known for identifiable designs including Clifford Hutsell, Hal Thomson and Lang & Witchell. The Dealey House contains many of the romantic and idiosyncratic elements that helped contribute to Dilbeck’s trademark designs, including several inaccessible doors, eight distinctly designed chimneys, deep overhangs and porches, and a rambling plan in which the house consistently remains only one room deep (true regional design).
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After the house had been abandoned for years, Scott and Kelly Bradley purchased it in 1977 and in 1998 sold the property. The Bradleys were given 90 days to remove the house or it would be demolished. Although the house’s rambling plan and masonry exterior created serious challenges for relocation, they eventually decided that the house could be relocated to a new site about two miles away. The house was carefully documented, cut into six pieces and moved. All the wood, brick and stone were salvaged for reinstallation, and templates were created for each of the special fireplaces to ensure accuracy.
The house was sited with the same orientation as the original and landscape elements were added that also matched the original site including a pond. Or in the Bradley’s case, three ponds were added! During the relocation the Bradleys also expanded the house with a rambling basement, a new wing and guest house. The total project took ten years to complete and the attention to craftsmanship throughout is stunning.
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Photograph by Carolyn Brown
Join the Dallas Preservation Society on Saturday, October 27th, to explore the Westlake Dealey House as well as other Charles Dilbeck designed residences in Dallas. Westlake is a quick drive and completely worth it to see this remarkable home, and its distinctive setting.
MORE INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS HERE
Or visit https://www.preservationdallas.org/events/architectural-tours/ Proceeds benefit the Dallas Preservation Society
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