3525 Turtle Creek in the 1990s

Over the weekend, I mentioned to Clinton Smith that I was working on a few posts about 3525 Turtle Creek, and of course he knew: 1) exactly which building I was writing about 2) that Greer Garson had once lived there and 3) that Elle Decor had published an apartment in the building back in 1999. (If you know Clinton, then you know that this kind of knowledge is hardly surprising. He has a mind like a steel trap.) He was kind enough to loan me the May 1999 issue of Elle Decor in which the apartment of real estate investor Pat Patterson was featured. Ms. Patterson purchased her penthouse unit at 3525 from the estate of Greer Garson. (You know, Mrs. Miniver.)

What is striking about the home- besides the brise-soleils outside of the windows, of course- is the blend of traditional antiques, modern furniture, and contemporary artwork. Who knew that Flora Danica and Yves Klein would get along so well together? But what I think that I admire most are those chairs covered in an animal print pony hair. The pair of chairs, as well as the living room's curved sofa, were purchased from Garson's estate. Obviously, Ms. Garson was one chic character, and I think it fair to say that Ms. Patterson is too.




A Platner table and chairs. (Did I ever mention that the first time I sat in a Platner chair was in the ladies clothing department at Neiman's? I sat there often while my mother tried on clothes.)

A view from the top.






Impressive looking bookshelves.






Patterson's collection of antique Flora Danica hangs above a traditional dining table and chairs. Greer Garson's circular sofa is in the foreground.





I love the juxtaposition of Flora Danica china and King Edward flatware against the backdrop of the brise-soleil. It gives the table setting an edge.





The kitchen still retained the original cooktop, ovens, and cabinets.

All images from Elle Decor, May 1999; Ka Yeung photographer.

3525 Turtle Creek circa 1966

Continuing with the Howard Meyer designed high-rise in Dallas...

This apartment, featured in the July 1966 issue of House & Garden, was owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lambert, Jr. Thanks to Google, I learned that Joe Lambert was a prominent landscape architect, and his wife Evelyn was a socialite and noted art collector. Looking through the photos, it appears that the apartment was quite large, had high ceilings, and boasted a spacious terrace. All of this makes me wonder if the Lamberts lived in a penthouse apartment. You'll also see that many of the windows only had the concrete sun screens on the upper portions, meaning that these windows were not on the West side of the building. (You'll recall from yesterday's post that only the West side had continuous screens.) As soon as I saw the photos of the windows shielded by the perforated concrete, I knew that it had to be the same Dallas building as the apartment of designer Christopher Ridolfi, and in fact, it is.

Update: After I wrote this post, a reader of mine confirmed that in fact the Lamberts' apartment was one of two penthouse units. The other one belonged to Greer Garson.

In the living room, the Lamberts hung a Stanley Hayter painting on the ceiling. A dining/garden room lies beyond the glass partition.




The drawing room boasted white and black artwork including a few Castellanis, a Mathieu, a canvas by Lucio Fontana, and a work with white wood beads and tennis and ping-pong balls by van Hoeydonck.




The morning room with more artwork.


All images from House & Garden, July 1966.

3525 Turtle Creek circa 2000s

I have always believed that had I not been born in Atlanta, I would have wanted to be a native of Dallas. Why? First (and maybe most importantly), it's the hometown of Neiman Marcus, my very favorite store in the world. Also, Dallas women love to wear makeup and jewels- and the heavier the makeup and jewelry the better. And finally, most Dallas people seem to love small talk and chit-chat just as much as I do. I will never forget calling the Porthault store in New York a few years ago to order additional pieces of my breakfast china. The surly saleswoman could have cared less that I wanted to buy more place settings. After giving up, I decided to call the Porthault store in Dallas, and not only was the saleswoman nice as pie, we proceeded to have a five minute conversation about how the espresso cups would be perfect for serving eggs en cocotte at a ladies brunch. See what I mean about chit-chat?

And let's not forget about the homes of some of Dallas' most stylish citizens. Look through a copy of Domestic Art: Curated Interiors (one of my very favorite design books) and you'll see some very sophisticated homes. One that has really fascinated me is the high-rise apartment of designer Christopher Ridolfi. I'm showing images of the apartment below, and perhaps you might feel as I do that the home has a well-edited flair. But it's not just the interiors that caught my eye; it's that perforated concrete screen that covers the windows and terrace. How cool is that?

The book mentions that this apartment is located in a Howard Meyer building, so I did a little research. Meyer was a modernist architect who moved to Dallas during the Depression. I'm pretty sure that the apartment featured here is in a 22-story building located at 3525 Turtle Creek Boulevard, one that was built in 1957. What makes the high-rise unique are its "brise-soleils", those cast concrete screens that were constructed to shield each unit from the intense Texas sun. Three sides of the building have screens that only cover the top portions of windows, while the West-facing side has continuous screens in order to help protect from the intense afternoon sunlight. The striking building is one of the few Modernist high-rises in the country that has earned a place on the National Register for Historic Places. And in case you're interested in a little trivia, the actress Greer Garson and entertainer and sausage maker Jimmy Dean both lived there.

Funny enough, I was looking through my old 1966 House & Gardens last weekend and found photos of a Dallas apartment that had the very same sun screens. A little sleuthing uncovered that this apartment was also in the same Howard Meyer designed building. I'll show those images tomorrow.











Image of building's exterior courtesy of Briggs Freeman; apartment photos from Domestic Art: Curated Interiors by Holly Moore, Ka Yeung photographer.