Less than half a mile up the water from the iconic Kalita Humphreys Theater sits another Dallas marvel at 3828 Turtle Creek Dr. The sprawling 6,650-square-foot Mediterranean villa is unlike anything listing agent Faisal Halum has ever seen. “Honestly, it’s truly pretty spectacular,” he says.
Designed and built in 1926, the 2.12-acre property is a mix of styles from across the Mediterranean. The base of the house is Spanish, with a few Romanesque details, like a standout dome overtop the spiral staircase. There are cloister-like walkways, lots of arches, wrought-iron details, and Spanish-style painted tilework.
However, many of the ornate carvings in the exterior walls feel Moorish, like what you’d see in southern Spain and Portugal or North Africa, and the bright blue roof and exterior tilework harken to Santorini, Greece. (With regard to Dallas architecture, Halum says, “It’s a little bit unusual to see the Greek.”)
The best view to admire all of these details is not from the street, though. “Probably the most striking view is once you’re in the rear of the home, looking back,” Halum says. “It sits up—[the property] sort of rolls down into the creek.”
Right on Turtle Creek, the grounds have many spots to admire the water, including patios, balconies, secluded lawns, various gardens, and a large creekside terrace, which Halum calls the “perfect entertaining space.”
“You have all these different areas and moments that you just don’t get anywhere,” Halum says.
Neighborhood Spotlight
Turtle Creek
The house was designed 98 years ago by North Texas architect Hubert Hammond Crane, who trained under Texas modernist David Williams and designed many Highland Park homes as well as the iconic Dr. Pepper Building in Fort Worth. Its builder was Elmer E. Norgaard, who turned Crane’s plan to life. “This home is all made of stucco and plaster,” Halum says. “It’s solid.”
The original owner was Nebraska-born engineer Frederick Hess, who worked on several bridges and viaducts in Dallas like the old Forest Avenue bridge. He paid around $40,000—or, around half a million bucks in today’s money—for Crane and Norgaard to build his dream home. Hess’ family lived here for a decade, throughout the Great Depression.
After the Hesses, 3828 Turtle Creek Dr. (previously Blvd.) changed hands many times. Some of its most notable residents have included lawyer George Hutchison, whose family lived there for two decades; Robert and (skeet-shooting champion) Ellen Nelms, who lived there for 12 years; and Monuments Men author and businessman Robert Edsel, who bought the house in 2005.
Over the past 50 years or so, owners have made efforts to preserve the house, renovating the spaces and, in Edsel’s case, commissioning an expansive writeup of the property’s history with Architexas.
Scroll through the gallery to learn more about the home.
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