North Bishop Avenue Commercial Historic District

The North Bishop Avenue Commercial Historic District lies within the Hillside Addition, one of a series of subdivisions developed by the Dallas Land & Loan Company, headed by Oak Cliff founder T.L. Marsalis. The historic district is significant at a local level for its excellent collection of the 1920s and 1930s commercial architecture. It relates to the historic context of Suburban Development in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas, 1887-1944. The district is representative of commercial districts that arose within formerly residential areas in Oak Cliff, under development pressure created by busy streetcar stops and intersections. The period of significance extends from the construction 1915 of the oldest extant building in the district to 1944, fifty years ago. The district is eligible for inclusion in the National Register under Criterion C at the local level in the area of Architecture.

The Hillside Addition was platted and lots were offered for sale in November 1890, just three years after Marsalis began the development of Oak Cliff. Adjoining the western border of the original plat of Oak Cliff, the Addition included Bishop Avenue as the main north-to-south thoroughfare and followed a formal gridiron street pattern with rectangular blocks and lots. The Addition was much larger than it is today, extending several blocks north of Davis Street. Some of this property was later partitioned and included within the Miller and Stemmons Addition.

Initially, the Hillside Addition grew slowly and was almost exclusively residential in character (Sanborn: 1922; City Directories). Completion in 1904 of the Oak Cliff and Dallas streetcar line through the center of the Addition along Bishop Avenue spurred development by providing easy access to Dallas jobs for prospective residents. By 1922, the district was densely developed by new residents building mostly detached, single-family dwellings.

The streetcar line made a 90-degree turn at the intersection of Davis Street and North Bishop Avenue, to head south. The establishment of a streetcar stop at this busy intersection provided the impetus for a small group of merchants to build stores and other businesses there. Most of these commercial buildings faced onto the 500 blocks and part of the 400 block of North Bishop Avenue. The remainder of North Bishop Avenue was lined with frame houses facing north or south onto intersecting streets.
In time, the small commercial node at the intersection of Davis Street and North Bishop Avenue grew south along North Bishop, encroaching upon the adjacent residential neighborhood. Most of the extant buildings in the historic district were built and occupied by the 1930s.

Predominately vernacular in detailing, these buildings included the 1- and 2-story brick buildings found in the 400 block of Bishop Avenue. Large shop windows, transoms, and double doors were repeated in each of the Contributing properties on this block.
Particular style influences can be discerned in the Tudor Revival 1-story building at 400- 408 North Bishop, which is similar to the smaller building at 313-21 North Bishop found to the southwest across the Eighth Street - North Bishop Avenue intersection. Tudor Revival details on both buildings include the arched door openings with castellated parapets and faux side-gabled roofs.

The district's commercial buildings housed businesses that catered to the residents of surrounding areas including the Miller and Stemmons Addition north of Davis Street. These buildings reflected national and locally common trends in commercial architecture from the 1910s to the early 1930s. Almost all are one-part commercial block forms with limited stylized ornamentation. In the late 1920s, the district housed several specialty stores as well as drugstores, two garages, a movie theater, and a bakery.

The two remaining properties in the district are excellent examples of domestic fabric that was erased by commercial encroachment. Both are 2-story frame bungalows. Each house has Classical Revival details such as Doric porch columns and an open gabled front. The second-story (replacement) windows of the house at 336 W. 8th also retain their Classical Revival palladian grouping on the front and side facades.

Recently, the North Bishop commercial area has been the focus of substantial renovation efforts, resulting in the reversal of unsympathetic alterations. Some of the historic commercial buildings near the north end of the district require the removal of stucco coatings or modern awnings before they can be considered Contributing. Others may need sensitive restoration of their historic fenestration.

While the two remaining houses in the district have been converted to commercial use, they retain a high degree of architectural integrity. Despite unsympathetic changes that have rendered a few of the commercial buildings within the district Non-contributing, the North Bishop Avenue Commercial Historic District retains a high degree of architectural integrity and is an excellent collection of early 20th-century commercial buildings.