A history lesson at the arboretum
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The library setup of our dreams. Photo: Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi/Axios
Past the colorful flowers and the winding paths of the Dallas Arboretum is an easily missed historic house worth a visit.
Why it matters: The DeGolyer House is the reason the 66-acre arboretum exists.
- The city of Dallas bought the 44-acre estate off White Rock Lake in 1977, paving the way for the site to be converted into the beautiful greenspace it is today.
The big picture: Everette DeGolyer was a petroleum geologist and geophysicist in the first half of the last century. Nell DeGolyer was active in charity work and a supporter of the arts. She was also the first president of the League of Women Voters' Dallas chapter.
- The couple's legacy lives on in the arboretum.
The fine print: The 21,000 square-foot DeGolyer house was built between 1938 and 1940 to reflect the couple's love of Mexico, the Southwest and hosting people. The house also reflects her love of gardening and music, and his love of rare books.
Flashback: The house has a framed invitation that Nell DeGolyer received to a luncheon with President John F. Kennedy in 1963. After waiting for hours at the Trade Mart, the crowd learned that the president had been assassinated.
- Everette died in 1956. After Nell's death in 1972, the estate was gifted to Southern Methodist University. The university later sold it to the city.
The intrigue: Jessica Faselt, an opera singer visiting from Iowa to perform with the Fort Worth Symphony, toured the house last weekend.
- Faselt did impromptu performances in two of the rooms — a dining area with a band shell-like wall and a sitting area with acoustic paneling on the ceiling — to portray what the DeGolyers envisioned when building out their home.
- "I saw that Mrs. DeGolyer was a patron of opera and a huge music lover. I felt a connection to that — it [the singing] was in honor of her loving music," Faselt said.
If you go: The house tour is included with admission to the arboretum. Tours take place every hour from 10am-4pm.