By Norman Alston, FAIA
In recent months, the local community, especially the historic preservation community, has celebrated remarkable progress in the long fight to both recognize and protect our history. Painful losses continue, and the cry that Dallas can’t protect its remaining historic buildings still rings out loudly, but the recent approval of the Deep Ellum National Register Historic District is a victory few thought possible only a few years ago.
Deep Ellum’s historical context
Deep Ellum is known mostly for its importance to the African-American community and for its widely recognized influence on the international music scene. We have all understood that to be a very strong cultural history but not the strong architectural history that is typically the focus of historic preservation efforts.
The buildings were not considered architecturally compelling, and redevelopment has already removed a significant number of them. Many felt the opportunity to save Deep Ellum’s architectural history had passed.
Then, the results of a historic resource survey of the area, conducted by well-respected historic preservation consultants HHM & Associates out of Austin, revealed that far more significance remained than originally imagined. So much so that a nomination for a National Register Historic District was added to the consultant’s scope. Despite our fears that Deep Ellum had been lost architecturally, that district was approved by the National Register just this past June. I think they are still sweeping up the confetti in some places.
The unexpected and unwelcome side of preservation in Dallas.
On January 12, it was announced that 2625 Elm Street, the Dallas Wholesale Furniture Mart Building as it was historically known, had new ownership. They planned to replace the historic two-story building with a new six- or seven-story apartment building.
In their announcement, the new owners mentioned how much they liked the Deep Ellum environment, especially along Elm Street, and how their plans might include retaining the original façade. They seemed to be trying to communicate that they were seeking the best of both worlds: new development interwoven with historic preservation. However, there are multiple problems with this, problems that reveal how good intentions are not necessarily enough.
First and foremost, this treatment of the historic building is not historic preservation. Preservation is based on the value of authenticity and the retention of as much of the authentic, original building as is reasonably possible. We all understand this, do we not? Just as a copy of an important art piece, no matter how well done, is not valued like the original, neither is a modern copy of a structure to be valued as the historic original.
In this case, only a very small portion of the building would be authentic. To remove everything but the building façade is commonly referred to (most derisively) as a “façade-ectomy” or worse. This approach completely misses the point of historic preservation. It destroys the building’s ability to convey its own story and instead leaves only a shallow (literally) reminder of what was there.
Consider 2121 Main Street, Dallas’ most prominent facadectomy. Here you can see the façade of Dallas’ old Central Fire Station. While there are nice architectural details, who can perceive its rich, colorful past or that of the neighborhood in which it was originally placed?
Could 2625 Elm Street be a City of Dallas Landmark?
Compounding this frustration is my previous note about how Deep Ellum’s architecture is not its strongest or most compelling feature. However, 2625 Elm is one of the few that does hold its own in terms of architecture.
In the HHM report, they identify 16 buildings in Deep Ellum out of about 390 that are important enough architecturally to warrant individual listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and 2625 Elm is one of them. It is also identified as a candidate for individual designation as a City of Dallas Landmark. It is one of the best, most significant, and most attractive historic buildings in a critical historic area that has so few such buildings remaining.
… or will 2625 Elm Street be sacrificed?
In a neighborhood that has only recently been nationally recognized as an important historic and cultural area, the loss of 2625 Elm Street to a facadectomy only diminishes that triumph. With so many blocks of non-descript warehouse-type buildings nearby, and knowing that we are likely to lose many of them to coming redevelopment, how unfortunate that one of Deep Ellum’s best buildings is to be sacrificed.
We are reminded yet again of how far we have to go to effectively integrate our city’s past into its otherwise bright future.
