Dallas

Effort Underway to Preserve One of Dallas' Oldest Homes

A Dallas house that has stood the test of time is now going through its toughest test to see if it deserves landmark designation.

The Struck House sits on a large plot at the corner of North Edgefield Avenue and Stafford Street in West Dallas. Its paint is peeling, but the detail stands out.

"This probably would have been very typical for the time period," said David Preziosi, executive director of Preservation Dallas. "So it's probably the oldest house in this portion of West Dallas here."

The Struck House was named for its second owner, Heinrick Struck, whose initials are etched in the walkway leading to the Folk Victorian-style home. The property has a real estate sign in the yard. It's up for rezoning consideration, and being eyed for development.

"Unfortunately, Dallas has always been a bigger, newer, better city," explained Preziosi. "So things like this fall by the wayside if they're not protected."

The city's Landmark Commission put the Struck House on a list to consider for landmark designation. That means the home is safe for the next two years while it goes through the process to decide if it's worthy of landmark status or open for development.

History intersects at the corner where the Struck house sits. Heinrick Struck is buried a few blocks from the home, in the same cemetery as Clyde Barrow, of "Bonnie and Clyde" infamy. A short distance from that is the Eagle Ford School where Bonnie Parker attended. That building is also on the list to be considered for landmark status.

"Because this is a part of our history in the city of Dallas," Preziosi said. "If we start removing all of our pieces of history, we won't have anything left."

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