Tucked away in the hills of Lakewood, near Tokalon Park, sits 6882 Avalon Ave. From the street, the property appears lush. The mid-century modern’s vaulted roof peeks over the fence, hinting at its interior. But what makes this property particularly special, says listing agent Ali Stewart, is that legendary Dallas architect E.G. Hamilton built it in 1956 as his personal home.
Lauded as the “architect who made Dallas,” Hamilton’s long Dallas career began in the early 1950s, in office of Arch Swank, one of the early purveyors of Texas modern architecture. A few years later, in 1956, Hamilton and George Harrell formed their own design firm, which eventually became known as Omniplan. Hamilton was famed for his modern, minimalist, and refined buildings, like Republic Tower, Richardson’s Chase Building, and NorthPark Center, which Hamilton designed to feel more like galleries in an art museum than shopping center. In 2014, Hamilton, then in his 90s, was honored with AIA Dallas’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
Because Hamilton spent much of his career on civic architecture in Dallas and across the country, there aren’t many residential properties in the city with his name attached. And several have already been torn down. Hamilton’s most famous residential design, the Hexter House, a mid-century modern mansion at 3616 Crescent Ave. that received several awards from AIA Dallas, was torn down just a few months after his death in 2017.
The Avalon Avenue house isn’t ostentatious, but it keeps with the modern style Hamilton was known for. “The meticulous design and attention to detail throughout the home is really apparent when you when you enter the space,” Stewart says.
The floorplan is “well laid out” for entertaining. A fence hides a front courtyard, which accesses the open-concept dining and living room. From the living room, folks can access the kitchen or the back living room, which itself opens to a secluded backyard. Storage is hidden away throughout the home, and the actual layout accommodates the trees on the property, like in the back bedroom.
Like many mid-century modern homes, “you almost feel like you’re inside and outside at the same time” here, Stewart says. The house has floor-to-ceiling windows in just about every space, including the two living rooms and the three bedrooms. The lighting is “spectacular,” Stewart says, and the house has a “zen-like feel and energy to it.” Other classic mid-century modern details here include a cantilevered roofline, transom windows, exposed brick, and natural elements, like hardwood floors and wood paneled walls.
Stewart isn’t sure when Hamilton moved out of the house, but ownership of the property remained in his family until 2016. It’s had two sets of owners since then. In 2016, the then-owners began to renovate the property. They updated appliances, the bathrooms, and the kitchen, giving the house modern amenities “that still fit with the timelessness of the era,” Stewart says. Most of the current owners’ changes have been cosmetic, she says, like refinishing the kitchen island.
Despite the changes, however, the owners have stayed true to Hamilton’s plans and details. Says Stewart, “a large portion of the home is still the original design.”
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