Details for Swiss Avenue

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5113006892

Data

Marker Number 6892
Atlas Number 5113006892
Marker Title Swiss Avenue
Index Entry Swiss Avenue
Address 5500 block Swiss Avenue
City Dallas
County Dallas
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 709286
UTM Northing 3632062
Subject Codes land surveys, land companies, promotional towns; neighborhoods
Marker Year 1977
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location Dorothy Wallace Savage Park
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text This wide boulevard was a muddy country lane in 1857, when Swiss immigrant Henri Boll named it in honor of his native land. Swiss Avenue was lengthened and paved as part of Munger Place, an exclusive 140-acre residential area developed in 1905 by cotton gin manufacturer R. S. Munger (1854 - 1923). To assure the unified appearance of the neighborhood, Munger imposed such building requirements as $10,000 minimum cost and two-story height. At the same time, the houses are unique because residents were free to choose from the variety of architectural styles popular during the early 20th century, including Tudor Revival, Georgian Revival, and Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie style. Dr. R. W. Baird's Classical Revival residence at 5303 Swiss Avenue was the first one erected here in 1905. By 1920, about 200 elegant homes had been built in the Munger Place addition. Residents included prominent lawyers, bankers, merchants, industrialists, and doctors. In recent years, the Swiss Avenue area declined, and some of the old homes were demolished or divided into apartments. Efforts of the Historic Preservation League and interested citizens to save the neighborhood resulted in the city of Dallas designating it as the city's first historic district in 1973.
ATLAS_NUM=5113006892

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