On February 22nd, Preservation Dallas and The Charles Stevens Dilbeck Architecture Conservancy held an impromptu members-only event to see a newly discovered Dilbeck in Preston Hollow at 5414 Ursula Lane. We had a hand in the discovery!
You may think, how on earth was this house overlooked? Well, it isn’t that surprising.
The house was built for Sam Lobello Jr. and designed in Dilbeck’s signature Texas Ranch style. His designs were widely copied, so there are a lot of faux Dilbecks around. This is also an understated home as seen from the street and most of us are more familiar with Dilbeck’s more flamboyant signature storybook touches. At one point there were more than 600 Dilbeck homes in Dallas. Many of them were custom and in his Texas Ranch style.
This home was built for Sam Lobello Jr. in 1949. The Lobellos were prolific developers in the 1950s and were responsible for several neighborhoods and shopping centers, including Cochran Heights and Lobello Heights. Sam Lobello Sr., Sam Jr., and Louis Hexter developed Preston Center. Sam Jr. was also a restaurateur.
To give you some insight into the depth and breadth of their portfolio, The City of Dallas bought Lobellos Drive-In as part of the Love Field expansion in 1944. Their development at the corner of McCommas and Greenville is now home to the Corner Market Cafe and Buffalo Exchange. It still looks like the original drawings.
The Lobello family were indeed movers and shakers in the real estate industry. Charles Dilbeck was their favorite architect and built several homes for the family. Their daughters even attended Ursuline together.
We would never have known about this home were it not for a diligent Realtor leaving no stone unturned.
Ebby Halliday’s Marty Marks called me a few weeks ago and said, “Karen, I have this house at 5414 Ursula Lane, and I think it’s a Dilbeck.” I about fell out of my chair. Then I gathered my wits about me and sent her contact information for Willis Winters, the ultimate authority on Charles Dilbeck and founder of the Dilbeck Conservancy. I also pointed her to Norman Alston at Preservation Dallas.
The owner bought the house from Sam Lobello and thought it could be a Dilbeck because it had the signature fireplace and interior brick column, but she had no records of the architect. However, the fact that it was a Lobello family home was hard evidence. Winters went to see the house and found it displayed the characteristic features of the architect from his early 1930s work, and he determined it to be an original.
Why is Dilbeck such an important figure in our built history?
“His houses are unique and cherished among Dallas residents and buyers,” Winters said. “I’ve never seen any homes that inspire people like his and that feel as if there is something special here. Each has details and signature elements you don’t find in homes designed by other architects. For example, the fireplaces on his ranch houses are unique. People perceive and cherish the differences and the individuality.”
Sadly only about 200 Dilbeck homes remain because so many people have yet to appreciate the genius of Charles Dilbeck. Thanks to Willis Winters and the Charles Stevens Dilbeck Architecture Conservancy, I’m happy to say that is changing.
Smart Realtors Make The Difference
The essential point in this tale is that the Realtor made the difference. I cannot tell you how important it is for our Realtors to have a historic preservation education, which is easily attainable through Preservation Dallas and the Dilbeck Conservancy. Marks dug for information, used all of her resources, and did the research.
“I thought the value of this home, if it is an original Dilbeck, is important to me and probably will be to a buyer,” Marks said. “I don’t think most buyers know what it means to have a Dilbeck-designed home.”
“That basic decision on the part of a real estate agent changed the path of the home,” Winters said. “It’s a great success story because she communicated the value to buyers and did not market an architecturally significant house as a tear-down. Our organization, the Dilbeck Architecture Conservancy, is really interested in working to educate Realtors and help them understand Dilbeck homes and how to market them.”
This is a major success story for our organization and a great example of the value the Conservancy can offer to other agents in the future to assist them in understanding the intrinsic value of Dilbeck’s work and how this knowledge can be utilized to effectively market the property as a residence worthy of appropriate renovation/updating rather than demolition.
We should be grateful to Karen Eubank, of daltxrealestate.com, for putting us in contact with Marty, and to Marty, for providing us with the first opportunity to test our goal and desire as an organization to establish relationships with real estate agents to ensure the preservation of Charles Dilbeck’s works for future generations.
Willis Winters
daltxrealestate.com was absolutely thrilled to be a part of this journey and hopes the new buyers enjoy this home as much as past generations have.
