6243 La Vista
A former Vaudeville performer and showgirl who rubbed elbows with Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Lawrence Welk, Willetta Stellmacher led a colorful life. Besides being known as an astute businesswoman, Stellmacher was hailed as a tough-as-nails landlord at the apartments she owned — and as the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate says, a “pistol-packin’ mama.”
While we’re terribly sad to hear of such a wonderful and amazing person passing, we are so intrigued to see the estate sale organized by Attics to Basements. It’s advertised as containing “Fine art work, Ivory, Jadeite/Jade, Asian Antiques, French Antiques, 6,000sq feet of quality collectibles and antiques!”
Stellmacher kept a sizable collection of memorabilia from her showbiz days, so it would be interesting to peruse the photos and clippings from her time as a performer and model. Stellmacher’s estate is located inside 6243 La Vista Drive, an incredible five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath historic property at the eastern end of Swiss Avenue, caddy-corner to the Lakewood post office. This amazing property was listed in the 2009 collection of D Magazine‘s Most Beautiful Homes.
Listed as the home of paving mogul Robert Stubbs and his wife, Marie Stubbs (nee Henke), this Tudor — purchased by Stellmacher in 1987 — is a registered Texas Historic Landmark:
His business success led to the construction of this house in the fashionable Swiss Avenue neighborhood. Completed in 1926, the Stubbs House may have been the work of Dallas architect Otto H. Lang. The design drew upon features of England’s Tudor manor houses, a style popular in American residential architecture between World Wars I and II. Hallmark features of the style, including the steeply pitched roof, half-timbered gables, distinctive chimneys and low pointed-arch entry, are present in the house, which was home to Robert and Marie Stubbs and their two children. A separate two-story garage and staff quarters also reflects Tudor characteristics. Following R. C. Stubbs’ death just one year after the house was completed, Marie continued to live and entertain here until 1940. The house subsequently was converted into apartments, but was returned to single-family use in the 1970s.
