DALTX Real EstateDALTX Real EstateDALTX Real Estate
  • Home
  • Guest Post
  • Agents
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise With Us
Reading: The Two Faces of East Kessler Park
Share
Font ResizerAa
DALTX Real EstateDALTX Real Estate
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Guest Post
  • Agents
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise With Us
  • Home
  • Guest Post
  • Agents
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise With Us
Follow US
© DALTX. All Rights Reserved.
DALTX Real Estate > East Kessler Park > The Two Faces of East Kessler Park
East Kessler Park

The Two Faces of East Kessler Park

3 Min Read
SHARE
Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.48.57-PM
Photos courtesy East Kessler Park Neighborhood Association

By Deb R. Brimer
Contributing Writer

East Kessler Park is a breathtaking mix of storied historic homes and natural beauty. The neighborhood not only contains the largest collection of eclectic architecture within the city of Dallas, its residential patriarch – The Rock Lodge – is among the oldest masonry structures in Dallas County.

Screenshot-2019-03-12-at-9.25.52-PM-e1552445791125

Screenshot-2019-03-12-at-9.25.52-PM-e1552445791125Unlike most North Oak Cliff neighborhoods that bear the Kessler name, home styles in East Kessler Park span two historic eras. Residential architecture mainly reflects the late 1930s and ‘40s, which includes the city’s first all-electric home built by Dallas Power & Light in 1936 and the grand 1940 mansion owned by the founder of Austin Industries.

Parts of East Kessler Park, however, contain midcentury contemporary and ultra-modern designs, including a 1950s home shaped like Texas and the former home and studio of AIA award-winning architect David Braden that’s secluded amid a wooded slope and lush native greenery.

Despite the two faces of East Kessler Park, The Rock Lodge predates the neighborhood’s development. According to legend, construction on the house that was once a stop on the Cedar Hill Stagecoach Trail began between 1850 and 1870, and limestone for the walls was quarried in Oak Cliff.

Screenshot-2019-03-12-at-9.25.52-PM-e1552445791125

Architecture in East Kessler Park runs the gamut from Austin stone and ranch to Art Moderne, and home sizes range from cottages to luxe multilevel mansions and hilltop dwellings.

While most of North Texas is either flat or flatter, the hilly topography of the neighborhood is more indigenous to Central Texas. The glittering Downtown Dallas skyline looming across the Trinity River is a reminder that the city’s urban core is within walking distance, but the Kessler Parkway Park and Coombs Creek walking and bike trail along the northern border separates the quiet close-knit neighborhood from the hustle and bustle.

Screenshot-2019-03-12-at-9.25.52-PM-e1552445791125

The John Stemmons family initially owned most of the land where East Kessler Park is today. In 1927, the family donated the land to build Methodist Hospital on Colorado Boulevard. For years, the neighborhood’s moniker was Pill Hill because of the area’s large population of physicians.

Developer Roy Eastus and the Stemmons Family official started East Kessler Park a decade later. Two streets in the neighborhood – Allison Drive and Stemmons Avenue – were named after Leslie Allison Stemmons, the father of John Stemmons and a developer of Winnetka Heights and Kidd Springs.

The Ultimate Guide to the City’s Elite Real Estate in Dallas
No Swimming Upstream With This Salmon Drive Remodel
Join The Best Club: Beckley Club Estates is Charming And Friendly
When You’re Wrong, You’re Super Wrong and We’re Here To Tell You How Wrong
Historic Preservation in Dallas Takes Another Hit as Exchange Park is Razed
TAGGED:Dallas HistoryDallas neighborhoodsDeb R BrimerNeighborhood SpotlightOak Cliff
Share This Article
Facebook Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Ground-Floor Condo Quick Walk to Greenville St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Next Article Industry Pioneer Beth Johnson Continues the Green Fight
Popular News
Landscape Designer

Signature Illumination Designs Showcase Former Penson House on Armstrong Avenue

Bike to Work From This Chic Remodeled Cottage in Maple Springs
From Traditional To Contemporary, It’s All Under One (Faux) Roof
Even in a Hot Market, Staging Can Help Any Home Sell Faster
Female-Owned Mintwood Real Estate is First In Dallas to Break Ground on a Public Facility Corp. Development
about us

DaltxRealEstate.com is the largest real estate blog and the only one in North Texas.

Links

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Contact Us
  • Paid Guest Post Submission

Categories

  • Wednesday WTF
  • East Dallas
  • Monday Morning Millionaire
  • Upon Closer Inspection

Get Involved

  • Advertise With Us
  • Write for Us: Submit Guest Post

Find Us on Socials

© DALTX. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?