Seven Sections of Old Highland Park Neighborhood

The first development in Highland Park came in 1907 on 100 acres bounded by Gillon, Armstrong, St. Johns and the Katy Trail. It was not only beyond the dust and smoke as advertised, it was beyond the trolley line or any sense of residential civilization. Despite its slow start, you can still see fine prairie style and Craftsman bungalows built on the large lots of this addition. You will also see some of Highland Park's most beautiful homes in the First Section that have been added in every subsequent decade to take advantage of these lots up to an acre in size. Architect O'Neil Ford designed a historically sigificant home on Armstrong, architect David Williams designed an architecturally significant home on St. Johns and architect Anton Korn and architects Fooshee and Cheek designed homes on Alice Circle. Here, a resident can enjoy the splendor of Old Highland Park, the manicured ravines of Prather Park or Connor Park along St. Johns and still be within walking distance of the Katy Trail and the retail vibrancy of Knox Street.

In 1910 the second addition of 100 acres was developed between Lakeside Park and the rugged terrain of Hackberry Creek, which winds along Drexel and Highland. Armstrong and the Dallas Country Club on Beverly make up the other boundaries. Historically significant homes built along Lakeside Drive are architectural icons. They overlook a linear lake and Lakeside Park, lined with blooming azaleas in the spring matching the landscape of the distinguished homes designed by prominent architects. These architects include Hal Thomson, Lang and Witchell and more recently, Cole Smith and Frank Welch, who designed homes in different styles, but all appropriate to the gracious setting. New and historic homes set along Hackberry Creek in the Second Section of Old Highland Park often take advantage of the topography and more natural setting. Barthomalow Park, Davis Park, Jester Park and Hackberry Creek Park all add to the lush atmosphere of this Highland Park neighborhood. It is a favorite area for people to walk, run, picnic or watch the Fourth of July parade and fireworks display put on at the country club.

This section is 55 acres between Preston Road and Lakeside, but is the location of only a few enormous homes. The mansions here give Preston Road prestige all the way to North Dallas and beyond. The architecturally significant homes in the Turtle Creek Acreage Section of Old Highland Park are placed on three to 11 acres. They have been designed by architects Anton Korn, C.D. Hill, Antoine Predock and Herbert Greene on wide lawns that run all the way down to Turtle Creek.

48 acres of Highland Park real estate make up this section of large lots around a hilly loop of Overhill and St. Johns beside Connor Park, between Wycliff and Armstrong Avenue. This lovely section is off by itself, surrounded by parks and greenbelts. It is not interrupted by traffic and it has land large enough to accommodate early mansions and historically significant estate homes in the Acreage Section of Old Highland Park by architects including John Allen Boyle and Hal Thomson.

In 1915 the 73 acre third addition was developed with large lots. This architecturally significant neighborhood is most closely associated with the 56 acre Dallas Country Club, the oldest Country Club in Dallas. The Fairfield street boundary runs along the fairways of the Dallas Country Club. Mockingbird and Beverly both have entrances to the clubhouse. Drexel and Hackberry Creek make up the final boundary. See featured significant Highland Park homes in the Third Section of Old Highland Park Neighborhood.

The fourth addition was developed in 1917 along Mockingbird across from SMU. Gillon is the southern boundary. Katy Trail and Abbott create the boundary on the Dallas side, historic Hackberry Creek, along St. Johns, make up the western boundary. These 238 acres were developed simultaneously with SMU and many of its streets were named after elite colleges and universities: St. Johns, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth and Harvard. Along with the .25 acre lots, this was the first section to also be developed with now standard 50 x 150 foot lots, the same size as the M Streets on the other side of North Central Expressway. Smaller, older homes are found among new substantial homes built in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This neighborhood is walking distance to the SMU stadium, Red Barr Pool, Meadows Museum, Highland Park Methodist Church, the shops along Mockingbird Lane and several parks (Dyckman Park, and Abbott Park) and Armstrong School, which gives the significant homes in the Fourth Section of Old Highland Park a friendly, old-fashioned atmosphere. Click here to see featured Highland Park homes in the Fourth Section of Old Highland Park Neighborhood.

These spectacular and lush twelve acres are along the meandering historic Hackberry Creek between the First and Second sections and the architecturally significant homes designed by Jim Wiley and Hal Thomson. Architects Lang and Witchell designed the beautiful and historic Highland Park Town Hall. See architect designed homes in the Hackberry Creek Acreage section of Old Highland Park Neighborhood.