I always enjoy researching the luxury homes of Dallas. When I started digging last week, I found some extraordinary information on our Monday Morning Millionaire. Long before this magnificent Mediterranean estate was built, the original structure at 3601 Lexington Avenue was the first house constructed in Highland Park, “a model suburban city.”
Mr. and Mrs. S.W. Marshall built the original home in 1908, and it was considered a showplace. There were no other homes in sight, except for a couple of distant farmhouses.
Let me take you back in time for a minute with this snippet from The Dallas Morning News archives:
“When Mrs. Marshall and I moved into our home, we had no neighbors north of the Katy Railroad, although at least one other house, that of Hugh Prather, was under construction,” related Mr. Marshall. “Knox street was then an unpaved, unkempt country lane on the outskirts of Dallas.”
The Marshalls were also parents of the first child born in Highland Park, a daughter, named Eleanor.
Lexington is one of those streets that has a certain cachet. That means a great responsibility rests on the shoulders of the architects that design homes here, and the builders that construct them. Fortunately, this magnificent Mediterranean estate was designed by the enormously talented David Stocker of SHM Architects and built by the exceptional Todd James.
Stocker’s credo is “A great doorknob makes a great room, a great room makes a great house, a great house makes a great street, and a great street makes a great neighborhood.”
He believes you must always make the street better. Of course, you must also create a presence without overwhelming the lot or the street. Scale is everything. I’d say Stocker and James succeeded magnificently. This magnificent Mediterranean estate is so beautifully proportioned you don’t think of it as having three floors and 11,107 square feet!
“And every square foot is supremely livable,” Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s listing agent Patrick Harris said. “It’s huge but comfortable. There are no rooms designed solely to impress. Everything has a purpose. For instance, as the home sits on a corner, it’s filled with natural light, which means the large entry can double as a beautiful art gallery.”
Stocker is known for his love of courtyard spaces, and this home is a prime example of why. They provide privacy, yet keep the connection throughout the house, and of course, allow for the all-important flow of light through this magnificent Mediterranean estate. He has designed this home around a central courtyard with five bedrooms, all on the second floor. I think that’s a bit of genius as it allows for the family to be connected in a way most homes don’t.
“It is so well constructed,” Harris said. “It feels like a house that was built for a lifetime. It’s the most livable luxury home I’ve seen at this price point, with the best use of space.”
I think the Marshall’s would be tickled pink to see their land is still home to a showplace, and their neighborhood is still a model city.
Patrick Harris of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty has this magnificent Mediterranean estate at 3601 Lexington Ave. offered at $9.25 million.
Karen Eubank is the owner of Eubank Staging and Design. She has been an award-winning professional home stager and writer for over 25 years. Karen teaches the popular Staging to Sell class and is the creator of the online course, The Beginners Guide to Buying Wholesale. Her love of dogs, international travel, history, white paint, champagne, artificial turf, and Tudor and Midcentury Modern homes, and any house designed by Clifford Hutsell knows no bounds. Her father was a spy, so she keeps secrets very well! Find Karen at www.eubankstaging.com
