Swiss Avenue Historic District

Swiss Avenue, at least the portions contained within the Swiss Avenue Historic District, was initially developed by Robert S. Munger, a Dallas cotton gin manufacturer and pioneering real estate developer, as part of a larger development, Munger Place, which was billed as the first deed-restricted community in Texas. Munger had retired from the management of his ginning companies and started working in real estate with his son Collett (for whom Dallas' Collett Avenue is named) in 1902. The lots in the Swiss Avenue section of Munger Place were larger than those in other areas of Munger Place, such as on Junius Street, Gaston Avenue, or portions of Worth Street that continue through Munger Place. In order to set off the development from others, Munger had gates erected at the entrances to Gaston Avenue, Swiss Avenue, and Junius Street, major thoroughfares in the development. In 1978, shortly after the historic district was formed, 5744 Swiss Avenue was marketed for $275,000. Today, homes within the Swiss Avenue Historic District in good or well-remodeled condition routinely sell for over $1 million. Initially, Munger had set aside land for a private drive on the north side of Swiss Avenue, and a part to divide it from the public street on the south. The north side of the street was initially owned by residents, and both sides were intended for their private use. Today, the street and parkway is owned and maintained by the city of Dallas. Dr. R. W. Baird is credited as being the first to build on Swiss Avenue in 1905 at 5303 Swiss. He constructed a Classical Revival mansion. In 1910 the surge of building along Swiss Avenue began and, of the approximately 200 homes on the street, the majority of them were constructed during the 1910s and the 1920s. It started out as Swiss Boulevard. ==Deed restrictions drive development==

The deed restrictions Munger put in place required homes to be a least two stories in height, and constructed on the exterior of brick or masonry. Homes were not permitted to face side streets, and each home had to cost at least $10,000 to build. In other parts of Munger Place, the same $10,000 cost to build applied, but other portions of Munger Place, such as homes on Junius and Worth Streets running through Munger Place, were allowed to be made of wood-sided exteriors. As a result, very grand homes were built on Swiss Avenue. Architects and builders engaged by prominent Dallasites to build homes on the street included Bertram Hill, Lang & Witchell, Charles Bulger, Hal Thomson, Marion Foshee, C.P. Stiles, Marshall Barnett, W.H. Reeves, Dines & Kraft, and others. Swiss Avenue also boasts being the first paved street in the city of Dallas. ==Heritage designations==

The entire district, Swiss Avenue between Fitzhugh and La Vista, was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1974, and is a Dallas Landmark Historic District, the city's first, established in 1973. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's study on the district's founding, getting the historic district ordinance passed was just one of many serious problems facing those seeking to preserve Swiss Avenue. Newspapers referred to the group as, "an unnamed group of interested citizens," which the Trust reports numbered only nine people. Two architects, an audiovisual expert, a freelance writer and journalist, a banker, contractor, and two lawyers were part of the initial group. Many absentee landlords of the Swiss Avenue homes felt that the value of the structures was only in the land, much of which was re-zoned for high-rise apartments. Once the boundaries of the district and an ordinance covering the historic district were prepared by city staff, the Dallas Historic Landmark Preservation Committee (now the Dallas Landmark Commission), the Dallas City Plan Commission, and the Dallas City Council had to approve the plans and ordinance. The Trust claims that the City Plan department staff actually initiated the idea of the historic district. ==Architectural styles==

At least 16 architectural styles are visible on Swiss Avenue. These include: Mediterranean, Spanish, Georgian, Prairie, Craftsman, Queen Anne, Jacobethan (English), Neoclassical, Italian Renaissance, Tudor and Colonial Revival. Frank Lloyd Wright's influence is visible is seen in the R. W. Higginbotham House at 5002 Swiss built in 1913. It was designed Lang and Witchell. ==Homes with individual historic designations==

These homes within the district are designated individually on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or as Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks (RTHL). • Aldredge House (RTHL #6586, 1982), 5500 Swiss Ave.—William Newberry Lewis had this residence constructed beginning in 1915. Hal Thompson and Marion Foshee, architects, were responsible for the home's design, which includes features of English Georgian and French Renaissance styling. A Dallas banker, George N. Aldredge, purchased the home in 1921. • Cristler-Rodgers House (RTHL #6660, 1989), 5750 Swiss Ave.—This home was built in 1923 by Dr. J.H. Cristler. Cristler came to Dallas in 1911 after helping in the organization of Childress County, Texas. Starting in 1938, his daughter Edna and her husband, J. Woodall Rodgers, occupied the home from 1938. J. Woodall Rodgers was Mayor of Dallas from 1939 to 1947. 1997), 5439 Swiss Ave.—Designed by architect Marion Fresenius Fooshee, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 9, 1997. • Harris-Savage Home (RTHL #17586, 2013), 5703 Swiss Ave.—Constructed in 1917 for P.A. Ritter, later occupants of the home included William A. Turner, a Texas oil field pioneer, and W.R. Harris, who was a prosecutor during the impeachment of Texas Governor James Ferguson by the Texas Legislature, and Wallace Savage, a former mayor of Dallas. 2001), 6243 La Vista Dr.—This home was completed in 1926, and may have been designed by Dallas architect Otto H. Lang. The home was constructed by Robert Campbell Stubbs, who moved to Dallas in 1887 and started a paving business with his father. R.C. Stubbs' died a year after the home was completed and his wife, the former Marie M. Henke, lived there until 1940. The home was converted to apartments but converted back to single-family use in the 1970. • The Louis Wagner Home (RHTL #6910, 1979), 5320 Live Oak St.—This house was built in 1884 by German immigrant and Dallas businessman Louis Wagner with his wife Anna, the daughter of early Swiss Avenue settler Jacob Pretz. The house was originally located at 2917 Bryan St. but was relocated to the district in 1977 to avoid demolition. ==Other significant and compatible homes==

The street has been home to many prominent residents of Dallas over the years. The home at 5803 Swiss Avenue was home to Carrie Marcus Neiman, founder of the department store, Neiman Marcus. The home at 5614 Swiss Avenue was home to George F. Gibson, an early pastor of Munger Place Methodist Church and an instructor at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology. 5417 Swiss was owned by A.J. Langford, an executive with Ford Motor Company. • 4905 Swiss Ave.—Contrary to popular belief and some historic records, there were homes constructed on Swiss Avenue that were "speculative construction," meaning that a builder built them hoping and planning for someone to buy them. This home was speculative construction, and built for $15,000. It was first occupied by Lyle Marshall. It has Jacobean detailing influences. • 5400 Swiss Ave.—Collett H. Munger, son of R.S. Munger, and manager of Munger Place, built the home in 1908. • 5619 Swiss Ave.—This home was constructed in 1918, and is attributed to architect Bertram Hill. It was originally built for E.P. Greenwood, vice president of Great Southwestern Life Insurance Company. • 5731 Swiss Ave.—This home was built for Theodore Marcus, later vice president of Neiman Marcus Department Store. in 1927. A.J. Rigg was contractor, and the home was built for $27,000. • 5908 Swiss Ave.—This home, likely another speculative construction home, was built by D.A. Barnett in the Munger Place Heights addition, and was occupied by Robert H. Coleman, assistant pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, and a widely known songbook publisher. ==Centennial photographs of every home on Swiss Avenue==

One hundred years after the Munger brothers created Munger Place as the finest residence park in the South Land, all one hundred homes were photographed. This block by block photographic survey of the homes show the preservation and renovation of these architecturally significant homes over one hundred years. ==Modern controversies==

The Aldredge House, located at 5500 Swiss Avenue, owned by the Dallas Medical Society, was named to Preservation Dallas' 2015 list of “Most Endangered Historic Places.” This is because of an ongoing controversy relating to the zoning of the house allowing it to be used for private events, such as weddings. Preservation Dallas, in naming the house to its list, noted that the home is located in the city's first residential historic district, and is one of architect Hal Thomson's key works in the French Eclectic style featuring Renaissance detailing. Preservation Dallas noted that, while the home isn't threatened with demolition, the removal of the zoning allowing private events to be held at the home would likely mean the home would be required to be sold by its owners, thus closing off to the public historically intact interiors, and subjecting those to modernization. In 2000, a controversy was created when former Texas Secretary of State David Dean requested to add a 400-foot extension on to his home, including space for a closet. The Dallas Landmark Commission refused to allow Dean to make the addition in August 2000. The Dallas City Council, on October 4, 2000, approved his request. Then-mayor Ron Kirk, later mayor Laura Miller, and Councilman John Loza opposed the request. Council members Leo Chaney, Jr., and Donna Blumer recused themselves from the votes citing unspecified conflicts stemming from their relationships with parties in the dispute. Dean, who later chaired the North Texas Crime Commission, served as counsel to Texas Governors William P. Clements, Jr., and Dolph Briscoe. In 1997, the Dallas Observer ran a multi-page article discussing an attempted coup d'état of the Swiss Avenue Historic District Association's leadership, and controversies surrounding the Swiss Avenue Women's Guild. in 1973, the old Terrill Preparatory School home at 4217 Swiss had several mysterious fires, and was a "haven for hippies and transients," and some area residents wanted the house demolished. Also in 1973, a state district judge ordered the city to issue a building permit to a high-rise apartment builder wishing to construct apartments at Swiss Avenue and Collett Streets. The city had denied the permit, because of the expectation that the area was being made into a historic district. The city appealed the case. ==Education==

Swiss Avenue is within the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). Almost all residents are zoned to William Lipscomb Elementary School in Junius Heights, J. L. Long Middle School, and Woodrow Wilson High School. A part of a block is zoned to Cesar Chavez Elementary School, Alex W. Spence Middle School, and North Dallas High School. ==See also==