On July 11, 2002, a French chateau on Strait Lane in Dallas burned to the ground. One firefighting report called it the largest loss to a private home in Dallas history. But the strangest part is what stood on that land before it: a 1934 country estate, bought and torn down to build what D Magazine called the most expensive house ever built in Dallas.

Preston Hollow began in the 1920s as a shaded hollow of creeks and country estates north of Dallas, where the city's old money could have acres instead of a lot. In 1939 the residents made it their own town to protect their estates. Six years later, beaten by flooding septic tanks and gravel roads, they voted 300 to 70 to hand it to Dallas, and they celebrated with a parade that included a truck full of sewer pipes. Then the land became worth more than the houses. D Magazine reported that 30 to 40 old estates came down in just two or three years. "Dallas wants new," the agents said. Charles Dilbeck cottages, a 1971 Bud Oglesby modern house, and a five-acre estate protected by a 1934 deed promising one house forever all made way for something bigger.

This is the story of the neighborhood of George W. Bush, Ross Perot and Mark Cuban, and how it kept tearing itself down to build bigger.

Which old Preston Hollow estate do you miss? Tell us in the comments.

CHAPTERS
0:00 The Fire
1:57 A Hollow in the Woods
4:31 The Architects
7:29 The Town That Voted Itself Away
12:05 Presidents' Row
15:34 Dallas Wants New
19:08 A Chateau of Ashes
21:58 Five Mansions Behind a Wall
26:44 What the Hollow Kept

SOURCES
Advocate – The Town of Preston Hollow: The Municipality's Turbulent Beginning: https://prestonhollow.advocatemag.com...
Advocate – The Annexation of Preston Hollow: https://prestonhollow.advocatemag.com...
Advocate – Preston Hollow History (2002): https://prestonhollow.advocatemag.com...
Advocate – A Visual History of Preston Hollow: https://prestonhollow.advocatemag.com...
D Magazine – Tearing Down the Past (1995): https://www.dmagazine.com/publication...
D Magazine – Inside the Most Expensive House Ever Built in Dallas (1997): https://www.dmagazine.com/publication...
D Magazine – Fire Sale! (2007): https://www.dmagazine.com/publication...
Firehouse – Mansion Fire: Largest Loss of Private Home in Dallas History: https://www.firehouse.com/operations-...
CandysDirt – Bud Oglesby House at 10300 Strait Lane: https://candysdirt.com/2015/08/18/bre...
Dallas Morning News – The Untold Tale of the Doomed Fix House (2018): https://dallasnews.com/opinion/commen...
Dallas Morning News – An Obituary for a Preston Hollow Landmark (2019): https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/co...
Advocate – Preserving Charles Dilbeck's Work in Preston Hollow: https://prestonhollow.advocatemag.com...
Advocate – Jackson Residence Historic Landmark Nomination (2022): https://prestonhollow.advocatemag.com...
The Real Deal – Another Strait Lane Spec Mansion Hits the Market (2026): https://therealdeal.com/texas/dallas/...
The Real Deal – Inside H. Ross Perot's Real Estate Empire: https://therealdeal.com/national/2019...
D Magazine – Preston Hollow: Dallas' Presidential Suite: https://www.dmagazine.com/publication...
D Magazine – Old Preston Hollow (2024): https://www.dmagazine.com/publication...
Preston Hollow, Dallas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston...
Charles Dilbeck: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles...
2019 North Dallas Tornado: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_No...

#Dallas #TexasHistory #PrestonHollow