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Inventory of Extant Permanent Structures
at White Rock Lake Park
Please note: This is a "work in progess." I will be adding information from time to time, as it becomes available to me, and/or making corrections where necessary.
I was able to compile the following list thanks mainly to the bountiful assistance of Jay Firsching of Architexas. The list includes the following information:
- Name of structure
- Year or approximate year built
- Name of designer or architect
- Name of entity responsible for erecting the structure
I compiled this list for a number of reasons, not the least of which was to address the misconception that many people seem to have, that everything at White Rock Lake Park was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. While it is true that a signficant number of park improvements were made at that time (principally by the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC), some of the park's buildings pre-date that era and some, of course, were built afterward.
Another reason for this list is that I recently learned the City of Dallas is considering applying for National Historical Register status for all of White Rock Lake Park. As a historian and a native Dallasite, I am firmly in favor of that proposition. Perhaps this inventory will be of some use to any interested parties in that effort.
My principal sources were the original architectural drawings and plans of the structures, which have been cataloged by Jay Firsching of Architexas and which probably, by the time you read this, will be housed in the archives of the City of Dallas (administered by Mr. John Slate), where researchers may access them.
I invite comments, suggestions, and corrections. My email address is near the bottom of the page.
Abbreviations:
- DOI - United States Dept. of the Interior
- NPS - National Park Service
- COD - City of Dallas
- CCC - Civilian Conservation Corps
- WPA - Works Progress Administration
- CWA - Civil Works Administration
- bef. - Before
- aft. - After
- abt. - About/Approximately
- prob.- Probably
- ? - Information Uncertain
| Structure Name | Year Built | Designer or Architect(s) |
Built By |
| East Lawther Drive Entrance Portal | 1938 | M. A. Burke | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| East Lawther Drive Lake "Rip-Rap" Retaining Wall |
1939-1940 | no designer | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Winfrey Point Recreation Bldg. | 1941-1942 | Paul E. Pressler | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Winfrey Point Baseball Diamonds | abt. 1954 | COD | |
| Sunset Bay Recreation Bldg. | 1937 | M. A. Burke | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Sunset Bay Caretaker's Cottage | 1937 | M. A. Burke | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| McThurman Branch Bridge | 1935-1937 | WPA | |
| Dixon Branch Automobile Bridge | 1937 | H. C. Moore | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Dixon Branch Area Picnic Pavilion | 1934 | Martin C. Kleuser? | COD/CWA |
| Dixon Branch Stone Picnic Tables | abt. 1931 | COD | |
| Dixon Branch Area Lily Pond & Foot Bridge |
1937 | W. S. McCommas | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Dixon Branch Area Water Fountain | 1937 | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD | |
| Dixon Branch Area Latrine | 1937 | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD | |
| Bath House & Bathing Beach | 1930 | Carsey & Linskie | COD |
| Bath House Parking Lot | 1940 | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD | |
| Big Thicket Recreation Bldg. | bef. 1940 | M. A. Burke? | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Boy Scout Hill Picnic Shelter | COD | ||
| Peavy Road Picnic Shelter | COD | ||
| Doran's Point Overlook - "Flag Pole Hill" |
1935-37 | W. S. McCommas? | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Flag Pole Hill Athletic Bldg. | prob. 1935-1936 | prob. M. A. Burke | prob. DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Flag Pole Hill Picnic Pavilion | 1935-36 | M. A. Burke? | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Flag Pole Hill Latrine | abt. 1936 | M. A. Burke? | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Park Maintenance Bldg. (orig. Concession Bldg.) |
1936-37 | Prob. M. A. Burke | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Park Maintenance Latrine | 1936-37 | M. A. Burke | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Park Maintenance Garage | 1936-37 | Prob. M. A. Burke | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| West Lawther Drive Entrance Portal | 1998? | N.A. | Unknown |
| T P Hill Picnic Shelter | COD | ||
| T P Hill Latrine | late 1930s/early 1940s | M. A. Burke? | DOI-NPS-CCC/COD |
| Boat House | 1930 | Carsey & Linskie | COD |
| Fish Hatchery (now closed) | 1930 | COD | |
| Filtration Plant | 1923 | David Morey, Jr. | COD |
| Pump House | 1911 | J. M. Preston, City Engineer |
COD |
| Dam & Spillway | 1910-11 | J. M. Preston, City Engineer |
COD |
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