I cannot believe this home is on the market. It evokes so many wonderful memories of our younger years in Preston Hollow. Many moons ago, before Preston Hollow was dotted with more McMansions than trees, this home stood out as the lone ranger of a sprawling, enormous, quirky but charming English abode, one of the most talked-about in town. The man who created it was a physician/attorney name Melvin D. Morgan, or rather his very creative wife, Niki Morgan, who remodeled a small 1940’s ranch into an architecturally significant, Dilbeck-esque rambling stone farmhouse with turrent, leaded glass windows, exposed beams, beautiful original hardwoods, knotty pine panels and a sunlit, open stairway that evokes a touch of Colorado mountain living. Located on Meadow, an east-west Preston Hollow thoroughfare that keeps traffic sane with speedbumps. You are in the leafiest heart of Preston Hollow east.
Melvin D. Morgan, M.D., J.D. was a founding partner of what was once the Morgan & Weisbrod law firm. Dr. Morgan died in November, 2004, and the house was sold a year later. One of Texas’ first doctor-lawyer practitioners, he held an MD and a JD, and even was awarded the degree of Solicitor, England and Wales, as he shared his time between a London apartment and this home.
Trained as an endocrinologist, Dr. Morgan was part of the original staff of Medical City Dallas Hospital when it opened in 1974. His contributions to Dallas were numerous — he established Home Health Care of Dallas in 1970, the city’s first program to coordinate shortened hospital stays with sophisticated home health medical and support services, and he was a Founding Director of the nonprofit organization MediSend, a group that collects and distributes surplus medical equipment and supplies to healthcare facilities in developing countries. He had a 25 year long legal career focused on medical malpractice.
It just so happened we had dear friends who lived right next door, to the east, in a 1200 square foot bungalowe now long gone. Preston Road Estates is the kind of place where trick or treating happened on the street, in homes, everywhere, and not just on Halloween. I’m told the neighborhood is still very close and friendly.
6426 Meadow still looks like it did back in the 1990’s, when I was inside it, save for some paint changes and a stunning updated kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances, granite counters, huge island, double oven & microwave, professional double door Electrolux refrigerator, potfiller, Monogram 6 burner gas stove, tumbled marble backsplash, bronze hardware, plus a walk-in pantry & wine cooler. The 3969 square foot home — Lord, I thought it was HUGE back then! — has four bedrooms, three full baths, formals including a HUGE living room, and study/den. The lot is a perfect 150 by 150 square that has a tree-shaded pool. If you don’t know what I mean by that, you have never lived through a Dallas August. Four huge trees cascade leaves over the pool and act as a cooling awning. Of course, the pool and patio appear to need some work, but this house has location nailed. NAILED. And I still think the house has classic charm. I mean, rather than design and build a rambling farmhouse, why not BUY one that actually rambled?
Listed with Nicole Arena of Keller Williams Plano, the asking price is $1,295,000. I may actually look at this one myself: be surrounded by pricey McMansions in a normal-sized home on one of the most perfect lots in Preston Hollow? You’d better call the mortgage folks at Inwood National Bank PDQ… before I get out my checkbook!
