There are so many great schools in great Dallas neighborhoods, and one of my favorite school/neighborhood combinations is the basis for the second annual Northaven Home Tour, which benefits Arthur Kramer Elementary PTA.
The tour features five homes in the neighborhoods around Kramer, gorgeous homes that were built in the 1950s and 1960s and now sit among big, treed lots and gentle hills. Each home showcases how homes built 50 and 60 years ago can be preserved and renovated, and how new homes can, with thoughtful and deliberate planning, mesh with existing homes peacefully.
“There’s so much history here.” says tour creator and co-chair, Pete Peabody, who served many years on the Board of Trustees of Preservation Dallas, in numerous positions including, Chairperson of the Dallas Modern Committee, Vice-President in charge of Preservation Issues, and Executive President.
And he’s brought that extensive expertise to the home tour, playing up the post-World War II history of the area and the homes featured.
“Many prominent families, primarily Jewish, moved here in the period from the early 1950’s thru the 1960’s, leaving older areas of Dallas, primarily South Dallas and Oak Cliff,” he explained. “Synagogues and businesses followed. Kramer Elementary is named after Jewish businessman (A. Harris Co.) and former DISD School Board Trustee, Arthur Kramer.”
“Over the years, these neighborhoods have and continue to play a vital role in the dynamic that is North Dallas,” he said. “Multiple generations of families have chosen to return to these neighborhoods, raise families, and attend Arthur Kramer Elementary.”
“The tour leverages that history and sense of community involvement,” he added.
Homes include 7219 Baxtershire, 7206 Azalea, 7405 Kenshire, 7531 Midbury, plus a bonus house that will be announced soon. We’ll be looking at these homes individual in the weeks to come.
And the tour benefits an amazing school, too. Not one week goes by that someone doesn’t email or call me asking about the neighborhoods with the best schools, and Kramer is always part of that discussion.
In addition to being one of Dallas ISD’s 51 two-way dual language schools with Spanish immersion, the school was also recently designated an International Baccalaureate World School, and was the first elementary school in the district to earn that distinction.
The tour will be held Saturday, April 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with check-in at 9 a.m. The title sponsor for the event is Bernbaum/Magadini Architects. Tickets are $25, and include the self-guided tour. For tickets and more information, click here.
