There is new concern about the changing look of Dallas.
When the beloved El Corazon restaurant was torn down in Oak Cliff last month, preservation groups said they had to do something to protect other historic buildings from the wrecking ball.
A town hall meeting is set for Tuesday in Oak Cliff to address growing concerns among residents and business owners when it comes to demolishing old, historic buildings.
“Jefferson [Boulevard] was really the commercial center for Oak Cliff in the 1920s all the way to the 1960s,” said David Preziosi, executive director of Preservation Dallas.
Preservation Dallas, the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League and the Oak Cliff Advocate are sponsoring a town hall on Tuesday. They will seek input from residents about which buildings should be preserved.
“If we get something that’s not… it’s just an anywhere piece of architecture you can get anywhere in America, then Oak Cliff starts to lose its character,” Preziosi said.
The question to residents and business owners: “Is Jefferson important? Is Davis Street important? Are there individual homes that are important,” asked Preziosi.
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Tuesday’s meeting, Preziosi says, is in response to the demolition of El Corazon.
“It just happened so quickly, there wasn’t a lot of chance for public input,” he said. “There were a lot of people in Oak Cliff that were upset by the demolition. There are other buildings that aren’t protected in Oak Cliff that could come down just as quickly.”
Tuesday’s town hall begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Arts Mission Oak Cliff on South Windomere Avenue.
“I think this meeting is very important tomorrow because it’s going to help give us direction of where we want to go,” said Preziosi.
