Miller and Stemmons Historic District

The Miller and Stemmons Historic District is an excellent collection of domestic buildings that date primarily from c. 1910 through the late 1930s. The district represents the typical suburban neighborhood that developed in Oak Cliff during the early 20th century and is linked with the historic context of Suburban Development in Oak Cliff, Dallas, 1887-1944. The period of significance extends from the construction of the oldest extant buildings in the district in 1910 to 1944, fifty years ago. The district is eligible for inclusion in the National Register under Criterion C in the area of Architecture at a local level. Although similar developments survive in Oak Cliff, few retain their integrity to such a noteworthy degree.

The Miller and Stemmons Addition, part of a neighborhood known as the "Kidd Springs," developed near early subdivided property in the Oak Cliff area. The principal focus for the residential development was a collection of natural springs, Kidd Springs, roughly two blocks west. The springs became quite popular in the early 20th century and at one point boasted a recreational center and related properties. The springs area later became a public park.

Miller and Stemmons was originally part of the Hillside Addition, platted in 1893, but that subdivision never fully developed. When the City of Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1903, the Hillside Addition area attracted new interest. T. Scott Miller, Jr. and Leslie A. Stemmons, along with F.M. Haines, J.S. Ballard, Mrs. A.B. Stemmons, and Mrs. R.S. Stemmons filed a plat with the Dallas County Clerk's Office on December 15, 1903, for the Miller and Stemmons Addition. The new developers redrew the lots and blocks of the former Hillside Addition into a gridiron plan oriented to the cardinal directions.

The Miller and Stemmons Addition was initially promoted as an affluent neighborhood, as evidenced by the more substantial houses on Bishop Avenue. This street was particularly popular because it was within sight and walking distance of the streetcar line. Consequently, most of the Addition's early development occurred along Bishop Avenue. The brick fire station on the south end of Bishop anchored the development and provided an essential neighborhood service. As a result, prominent doctors, lawyers, and business leaders soon built houses in the area. The Kessler Park subdivision, part of this multiple-property nomination, was the only other subdivision in Oak Cliff that competed directly with the socioeconomic appeal of Miller and Stemmons.

The house at 729 North Bishop is an example of a more substantial house typical of that owned by wealthier residents. The subtle combination of Prairie School details, including an emphasis on horizontal lines drawn by its wide front porch, and craftsman detailing imply an appreciation for the popular architecture of the early 20th century. This house is in contrast to one at 811 Bishop with its Classical Revival influences and Doric columns. Both of these architectural expressions were popular during the first and second decades of this century.

While the grand houses are important, the district's architectural significance stems primarily from the abundance of 1920s and 1930s bungalows and four-square houses. Because development occurred slowly along Woodlawn, Haines, and Madison streets, houses on these streets display features associated with the bungalow architecture from the 1910s to the 1930s (1922 Sanborn Map, Dallas City Directories). This reflected the necessary transformation of the exclusive development to one that catered principally to the middle class.

Most of the bungalows feature low-pitched roofs with multiple gables, wide porches trimmed with craftsman brackets and columns, and various types of wood siding. Other craftsman details include the wide eave overhang and square columns seen on the bungalow at 705 North Haines. Masonry veneered bungalows in Miller and Stemmons illustrate a high level of craftsmanship, as illustrated by 839 North Madison. Some less-typical bungalow features include side-gable orientation or Classical Revival detailing.

The neighborhood's numerous four-square dwellings and variants often have Prairie School influences, such as a low-pitch-hipped roof and other details that emphasize horizontal lines, as seen at 709 North Haines. Regardless of ornamentation, however, four-square houses in the district share feature characteristic of that type: namely, two stories high with a hipped roof dormer and a 1-story porch that is often extended to create a Porte-cochere.

Most of the historic apartments are four-unit brick veneer buildings, such as 702 North Bishop. Many of these are similar in form and detailing to the four-square dwellings. Apartments built after the 1920s are generally larger, demonstrated by the apartment building at 839 North Bishop.

The neighborhood declined in the years following World War II and many of the houses were leased to tenants. By the 1960s, when much of Oak Cliff was experiencing considerable economic decline, many single-family houses were converted into multi-family apartments. New residential construction often detracts from the historic fabric of the community with unsympathetic details such as decorative ironwork, burglar bars like that at 800 Woodlawn, or vinyl siding. Other intrusions include 1- and 2-story commercial buildings with setbacks and designs out of character with the historic fabric of the neighborhood.

During the 1980s, the area was rediscovered. A small number of single-family houses built in the 1980s indicated a reversal of mid-20th century trends to overdevelop the neighborhood. Although these new buildings do not contribute to the historic character of the district, their scale and placement respect the character established by the historic development. In addition, ongoing restoration activities such as the commercial reuse of the fire station have helped reclaim many historic buildings.

Today, the Miller and Stemmons Historic District consists of a diverse socioeconomic fabric with a mixture of architectural styles, ethnic groups, income levels, and age ranges. The district maintains its historic integrity through the retention of substantial historic fabric, commonality of domestic architectural types and stylistic influences, and relatively consistent development patterns. The forms and architectural detailing found in the historic district are evident elsewhere in Oak Cliff, however, this particular collection of resources retains an unusually high degree of integrity and is eligible under Criterion C for its architecture at the local level.