I came across an editorial about first world problems a strange neighborhood zoning fight involving a mansion-turned-wedding-venue and its neighbors.
Here’s the gist:
Around the same time that Highland Park was getting started in the early 1900’s, some of Dallas’s richest residents built houses on Swiss Avenue.
Swiss Avenue had unique zoning rules, such as each house had to cost at least $10,000 and had to be built for the intended families (no spec homes.) Swiss Avenue was also the first paved street in the city of Dallas and offered private trolley service to the residents.
By the 1970’s, the original tenants were gone and the neighborhood was in decline. One of the organizations that fought to keep the mansions from being subdivided was the Dallas County Medical Society Alliance Foundation, which bought a mansion at 5500 Swiss, known as the “Aldredge House.”
To keep the house running, the Foundation turned their mansion into a wedding venue. The neighborhood then rebounded, the mansions were restored, and the new residents complained about the raucous parties at the Aldredge House.
Then a shitstorm ensued.
The article about the Aldredge House made us curious, so we decided to take very long dog walk to Swiss Avenue and see what it was about.
A large house on Swiss Avenue.
The wide tree-lined Swiss Avenue.
A mansion with massive trees on Swiss Ave.
There were a lot of Jesuit signs on the Swiss Ave yards.
The historic Aldredge House on Swiss Avenue, which is often used for Weddings.
An old Swiss Avenue street sign in the middle of the boulevard.
Brick mansions in the Swiss Avenue Historical District.
A house at the very end of the Swiss Avenue Historic District.
Swiss Avenue was beautiful and reminded me a lot of Grand Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The walk there was a great workout, I wouldn’t recommend walking to Swiss Avenue from Oak Lawn, because 1) it’s far, and 2) involves a scary trek through the ghetto if you’re not careful.
Next time, we’ll drive.
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