The Belmont Addition Conservation District is located in Old East Dallas, adjacent to the “M Streets” and Lakewood Heights, bound by Greenville Avenue on the west, Skillman Avenue on the east, Llano Street on the north, and Belmont Street on the south. Walter Caruth owned the area as part of his larger holdings in Old East Dallas until August Belmont Jr., the man responsible for developing the New York City subway and the namesake of the Belmont Stakes (the third jewel of the Triple Crown), bought the property in 1892. Although Mr. Belmont financed major improvements in the Belmont Addition such as extending the streetcar line, carving streets out of cornfields, and building concrete sidewalks, the depression of 1893 prevented builders from buying and developing the lots, causing the majority of the Belmont Addition to remain vacant until the 1910s.

During the 1910s and 1920s Belmont Addition became one of Dallas’ premier neighborhoods. Due to its shaded, raised lots and the variety of architectural styles including Craftsman bungalows, Prairie four squares, and many period revival houses, the Belmont Land Company advertised the Belmont Addition as a neighborhood with “attractive home sites,” and as a place “where the breezes blow.” The booming economy, the establishment of the Hockaday School for Girls, at the site now occupied by Vickery Towers, and the growing population experienced by Dallas in the 1920s further attributed to the popularity of Belmont Addition.

Now, almost one hundred years since its initial development, Belmont’s location, convenient to the entertainment district and North Central Expressway (Hwy 75), as well as its mature trees, historic houses, and cohesive feel, make Belmont Addition Conservation District an appealing, Old East Dallas neighborhood.

Text by: Michelle Stanard
Edited by: Michael Hazel
Photographs by: Michelle Stannard