Charles Dilbeck was born in 1907 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. At an early age he worked in Tulsa creating and adapting plans for builders and developers. His experience as a lumberyard architect contributed to his use and prominent displays of rough and refined woods and handcrafted details. Usually referred to as a romantic and eccentric architect, he took credit for designing the first Texas ranch house.

While Texas homes are usually attributed to David Williams and O'Neil Ford, Dilbeck was simultaneously designing these homes with fireplaces in the screened-in porches, hand-carved mantles, hammered metal work, herringbone patterned plank ceilings, oversized fireplaces and floor plans to capture the southeastern breezes in the summer. Part of his genius was to create comparable volumes regardless of the space of the room. As a result, small rooms would have soaring ceilings while large rooms could afford more traditional ceiling heights. Dilbeck has captured the imagination of Dallas with his prolific work that includes dozens of small idiosyncratic houses to large estate homes that personify his design and characteristic.

See Charles Dilbeck's Finest Work

This is considered the best home of the famous Dilbeck houses known as the four sisters that occupy the four corners of Shenandoah and Douglas in University Park. Here you see the oversized fireplace, rough hewn woodwork and beamed ceilings.

This is one of the largest homes that Dilbeck originally designed. The other large homes for the most part have been torn down as they were built on several acres lots that have now been replaced by huge estate houses. 5310 Park Lane built in 1939 is additionally pleasing as is across the corner from the Edward Durell Stone designed home built 15 years later.