Dallas Cultural Facilities Portfolio
Dallas, Texas
In 2018, the City of Dallas commissioned Architexas to conduct existing conditions studies and develop rehabilitation recommendations for five City Cultural Facilities including The Sullivan House at Dallas Heritage Village, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Kalita Humphreys Theater, Bath House Cultural Center, and Sammons Center for the Arts.
The Sullivan House is a Queen Anne Style home constructed in 1895 for prominent Dallas resident Dan Sullivan. It is a representative example of homes constructed in the surrounding Cedars neighborhood, once one of the city’s finest residential districts. Architexas provided services for an analysis of existing conditions and documentation for historically accurate replacement of the cedar shingle roof.
Architexas analyzed existing conditions and provided documentation for roof repair and complete window replacement for the Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Originally built as the Moorland YMCA in 1930, the theater was an integral part of the Dallas African American community. The building served as a refuge for black travelers in the era of segregation, a social and educational hub, and a gathering spot for the civil rights movement until it closed in 1970. The Dallas Black Dance Theatre has occupied the building since 2009. The Moorland YMCA is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
Completed in 1959, The Kalita Humphreys Theater is the only municipal Frank Lloyd Wright building in Texas and is the only free-standing theater in his portfolio. The theater takes its name from actress Kalita Humphreys whose parents donated funding as a memorial to their daughter. It has been home to the Dallas Theater Center since its opening. Architexas analyzed existing conditions and provided documentation for roof repair, exterior stair wall repairs, roof terrace wall repairs, and replaced the electrical panels. The Kalita Humphreys Theater is a City of Dallas Landmark.
The White Rock Bath House opened in 1930 in the newly established White Rock Lake Park. The Art Deco Style Building provided a dressing room and concession facilities at the lake’s swimming beach. Removed from service in 1954, the building was repurposed as the Bath House Cultural Center in 1978 and houses a 116-seat theater and two gallery spaces. Architexas designed ADA access from the parking lot to basement performance space, flood prevention measures in the basement, renovation of the lobby, workroom, and kitchen, and renovation of restrooms to meet ADA standards. The White Rock Bath House is a City of Dallas Landmark.
The Turtle Creek Pump Station, designed by Dallas architect CA. Gill in 1909, is an eclectic mix of Richardsonian Romanesque and Italianate influences. The last surviving remnant of a forty-six-acre water diversion and purification system, Dallas’ first, the building was abandoned by the city in 1959. Architexas led the effort to sensitively adapt the building for use as the Sammons Center for the Arts in 1983.
As part of the current project, Architexas analyzed existing conditions and provided documentation for masonry wall restoration, three metal entrance canopies, and monumental door replacements. The Turtle Creek Pump Station is a City of Dallas Landmark, a Recorded Texas Historic landmark, and a State Antiquities Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
