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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Another tragic teardown

The Mayrath Home in Dallas was sold at lot value and is scheduled for demolition, in spite of efforts by preservationists to save it. Designed in 1956 by Truett A. Bishop, it has remained virtually unchanged. Word is that the new owners will hold a sale so that mid-century lovers can salvage some history before the structure is bulldozed.

The home was described this way in a Dallas Times Herald article from Sept. 23, 1957, titled "Not a Splinter of Wood Used In Outstanding Home in Dallas":

Wood, the most frequently used material in homes, is completely shunned in the home of one Dallas family. There isn’t so much as a splinter of wood in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Mayrath, 10707 Lennox Lane…Built on columns of steel, the two story house is constructed with aluminum, glass, concrete and Austin stone. It may look like a country club at first glance, but it is a luxury home—one that probably is not equaled in the vast Southwest.

The 5,240 square foot home has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and one half bath. It is situated on a 2.29-acre lot and has three additional structure...a cabana with pool room, bar, and two bathrooms; a one-bedroom apartment; and an office with windows on three sides.

The feature, however, mentioned most often in comments about the impending teardown is the pristine set of mint green Geneva cabinets in the kitchen. With luck, they will find a deserving and appreciative home instead of ending up in a dumpster.

Another architecturally significant home comes down. I suppose most people would call this progress, but I'm not so sure.

From dallas.culturemap.com. candysdirt.com


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10 comments:

  1. I saw this sadness in the Atomic Ranch facebook group, but they didn't have all those lovely pictures you've included here. Hopefully they will at least allow all the reusable components to be harvested.

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    1. Yes, very sad. From what I was able to find out, they had an estate sale scheduled this coming weekend, but it seems to have been cancelled without explanation, and rumors of an auction are floating.

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  2. Progress? I call it a crying shame. That lovely staircase!

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    1. I agree. I honestly don't understand how anyone could look at that house and see a teardown.

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  3. That's insane!! It looks like a film set. I hope plenty of historians get to document it before it goes, what a disaster, it's incredible.

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    1. It's unbelievable to me too. Neighbors have commented in various forums about how destructive and disruptive demolition will be to the neighborhood environment, since so many established trees and shrubs will be lost, displacing wildlife. Dallas isn't like some major cities. There is still plenty of land for new construction. Why the new owners had to have this particular plot is a mystery.

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  4. Not progress to me, but devastation! Hope some miracle saves this amazing house. Thanks for the photos. Oh that retro kitchen!

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    1. Local mid-century lovers are expressing horror that those cabinets might be destroyed. Everything I've read says they have been so well maintained that they look brand new. Can you imagine them being crushed for scrap metal?

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  5. So sad, at least they save more in California. See the cool Eichler for sale at fogmodern.com blog.

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    1. That one is a beauty. I think I'll have to share it here.

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