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LATEST UPDATE, SPRING 2018 – In the spring of 2018 the Rosenfield House at 1423 W. Griffin Street a large celebration was had to kick off the journey of the house to its new home at the corner of Browder and Beaumont Streets, only a short distance from its original location and still in the Cedars neighborhood. The house was cut into four pieces for the move and will be reassembled and rehabilitated on its new site.

One of Dallas’ oldest homes, built in the Cedars in the 1880s, ready for its new life on a new lot

The Blue House, One of Dallas’ Oldest Surviving Homes, Is Ready For Its New Life Just Two Blocks Away

PREVIOUS POST – The Landmark Commission at their February 1, 2016 meeting decided not to initiate the Landmark Designation Process for the house at 1423 W. Griffin Street in order to give Time Warner Cable time to work on moving the house off the site. At the meeting Time Warner cable agreed to pay reasonable costs to move the house to another lot in the Cedars neighborhood. There is a developer in the Cedars neighborhood who is exploring the moving of the house to his lot.

Time Warner will move Victorian home in The Cedars it planned to raze

PREVIOUS POST – You may have seen in the news lately the story about the potential demolition of the blue house on W. Griffin Street in the Cedars. It’s the one that is very visible from Interstate 30 near the old Ramada Plaza Hotel currently undergoing renovation. The building is owned by Time Warner Cable who would like to demolish it for the expansion of their hub building next door, which would require additional room for parking.

This issue came to light late Friday afternoon January 8th when someone from the Cedars noticed the large piece of equipment on the front lawn with “Southwest Demolition” emblazoned on it. Dallas Heritage Village was contacted about the house and they subsequently contacted Preservation Dallas. Since the area falls under the new Demolition Delay Ordinance the city was then contacted to investigate. The city could not find a demolition permit on record for the property and on Saturday the City of Dallas marked the property with a “Stop Work” notice.

The following weekend Preservation Dallas went to work on the issue. Staff and board members visited the house to evaluate its condition and began researching its history. The house is very solid and doesn’t appear to have structural issues. The interior has been cleaned out and all plaster, doors, mantels, etc. removed.

Preliminary research has determined that the house dates back to at least 1885. Two board members are digging through records at the Dallas Public Library and Dallas County Records to see what they can find.

On January 11th the property was authorized to be placed on the February 1st Landmark Commission agenda to consider the initiation of the Landmark designation process. Time Warner will not be able to pull a permit to demolish the building before that time. The Landmark Commission will hold a public hearing at that meeting to get comments for and against the initiation of the Designation process. We will need as many people as possible to show up to the meeting to support the property.

Another option for the house is for someone to move it and restore it on another site, hopefully in the Cedars. Dallas Heritage Village has also been brought up as a possible relocation site for the house. However, they cannot consider taking the house unless it comes with enough money to move and restore it.

Preservation Dallas has also been in touch with Time Warner, specifically their Community Relations person in San Antonio, to discuss the situation and our interest in the historic house.

To read more about the house and the situation check out these article in the Dallas Morning News by clicking below:

Victorian home in The Cedars, built in 1880s, soon to become a Time Warner parking lot

Dallas to consider protecting historic Cedars home that Time Warner wants to raze

Near-demolition of Victorian house: Here’s what Dallas got right