For the second time in less than a year, the historic Aldredge House has had its sign vandalized. Last August, the sign was broken into pieces and left on the front lawn. This time, the sign promoting the house as a Texas Historic Landmark is missing. Sometime in the late hours of June the 6th, the cast aluminum sign was stolen, along with its display pole.
Construction began on the home, which would later be known as Aldredge house, in 1915 along Dallas’ elite Swiss Avenue. Built for West Texas rancher William J. Lewis and his Dallas native wife, Willie, the home is a marvel of Georgian and French Renaissance architecture. The house was one of the first built in a neighborhood designed to house Dallas’s most prosperous citizens.
After over 100 years of being home to some of the city’s most prominent lawyers, politicians, and socialites, Swiss Avenue became the first neighborhood in Dallas to be named a Historic District. And Aldredge House became the first house to become a museum.
In 1974, the home was passed from Mrs. Rena Aldrege to the Dallas County Medical Society Alliance and Foundation and has served as their headquarters ever since. The Medical Society restored the home and has made it a prominent feature in the Swiss Avenue Historic District, offering tours and historical reenactments to the public. They also use the house to continue Mrs. Aldrege’s community work by providing it as a location for other non-profits to hold meetings, lectures, and fundraisers. The home can even be rented out for private events and weddings a few weeks out of the year.
The Aldredge House is a beautiful piece of Dallas history. If anyone has information about the whereabouts of their Historical Marker or the three men aged 15-25 who are believed to be involved in the theft, you are encouraged to contact the Dallas Police Department.