Todd Macintire is in town, visiting his favorite person in the world, his grandmother Pat Dilbeck, with him here inside one of the “four sisters” on Shenandoah at Douglas. Todd, who grew up in Dallas and graduated from Highland Park High School, lives in Brooklyn now where he owns a retouching business, 4cimaging.com. He is 36 and single (pay attention girls!) and Todd moved to the City in 1996 to attend the Pratt Institute. Surprise, surprise he LOVES architecture, photographing homes and is looking for an old building to purchase in Brooklyn right now.
What are some of his memories of life with his famous architect grandfather?
“I recall we would go out to eat and my grandfather would draw with us, and tell us stories. Then we’d be running around, and my grandmother would be telling us to sit down, and he’d say no, let them be. Let them have fun. My grandfather was one of the most easy going people in the world.”
We learned some fun Dilbeck lore through the current owners of Dilbeck homes attending SMU’s “The Houses of Charles Dilbeck” Wednesday night. The course, taught by Dr. Jann Mackey, is part of SMU’s Continuing and Professional Education Program.
Dilbeck loved to hang doors upside down.
Why did he do that, I asked his grandson?
“Oh, for fun. He just liked to shock people.”
Did you know that Charles Dilbeck and Henry Ford were going to, at one time, partner on developing homes? Every home they built would come with a Ford in the garage.
“And if only he had met Walt Disney, wow,” says his widow, Pat.
And in some of his homes, Dilbeck left the upstairs, particularly the master bedrooms, fairly stark and unadorned without the elaborate, intricate finish-outs he used downstairs. Like those dining room ceilings (heart beating very fast here)!
“I think the idea was to spend the money downstairs, because people never went upstairs except to sleep,” says Pat. “But I told him, your clients have money, make the upstairs and the master bedrooms a little fancier!”
