Douglas Newby Insights
Neighborhoods, Architects, Architecture, Design, Dallas, and Organic Urbanism
The Carlyle – Bit of SMU
In New York, where else would you see three generations of beautiful women from Portland, Oregon, all with SMU connections, than at The Gallery at the Carlyle! Not pictured is their son and brother, an SMU student, and me, who also has degrees from SMU. And joining us for a moment, seated next to another woman with an SMU graduate degree, is Dimitrios Michalopoulos, the famous general manager of Bemelmans Bar. It is amazing to watch Dimitrios work the room with power, grace, elegance and an enchanting smile. Responsible for one of the most popular bars in New York, often with over an hour long line to get in, it takes a maestro to coordinate the celebrities, the rich and powerful, the hip and the beautiful, and ensure a lovely time is had by all. Besides his expertise in organizational behavior, he is a chemist at heart. Chemistry, his best subject in school, comes into play with the signature drinks he creates – the gin martini-inspired cocktail Bemelman’s Confidential – quickly comes to mind. The Gallery, with music spilling out of Bemelmans Bar, is my favorite place in New York because it attracts the most interesting residents of the city, and lovely guests from around the country, and often those with SMU or Dallas connections.
On another note, the same evening, I was able to say goodbye to my favorite hotel managing director, Marlene Poynder, who was departing the next day to her final career post in her native Australia. Marlene was always a delight and The Carlyle radiated her warmth and professionalism. *The Carlyle – Bit of SMU
@dimitrios_michalopoulos @marlene.poynder @The Gallery at the Carlyle @RosewoodTheCarlyle #TheCarlyle #SMU #TheGallery #BemelmansBar
Gallery Visit – Matisse
Every small and large city I have been to has a museum that I enjoy visiting. But only New York seems to have gallery blockbuster exhibitions of major artists that exceed what you might see in a museum.
Acquavella Galleries at 18 E. 79th St. is a good example. Recently, they had a Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony exhibition featuring Matisse. I also happened to enter the exhibition at the same time as gallerist John McEnroe, who was there to see it as well.
It is also fun seeing an exhibit of great art in a building with great architecture. *Gallery Visit – Matisse
#Matisse #Art #AcquavellaGalleries #UpperEastSide
Remembering John Reoch
Some might think that 45 years ago, when John came to Dallas from Philadelphia as a buttoned-down attorney, he reinvented himself. Others, like me, think Dallas was simply the perfect city to nurture his brilliance as a lawyer and his profound appreciation of art, food, wine, literature, classical and contemporary music, architecture, cycling, and fashion.
John also nurtured the city. He even out-verved Dallas’s most exuberant personalities and fashionistas, always with impeccable manners, grace, and a wry sense of humor.
John’s first Dallas residence was the first new home built in the recently designated Munger Place Historic District. He went on to live in three conservation districts and multiple award-winning architect-designed homes. He filled both his homes and his law firm with art.
John might wear jeans while riding a Harley, but when riding an Italian motorcycle, he would only wear Armani or another Italian designer suit. As a professional cyclist, he would even retape his handlebars to match his racing kit.
John was incredibly generous, and everyone who knew him was the recipient of an unexpected gift. Perhaps his greatest gift was simply being in the room—or at a café table—looking, well, like John, which always brought a smile.
And come to think of it, who was better suited to receive the French Academy of Raffination Medal awarded to a select group of Dallas’ most refined citizens than our friend John Reoch? *Remembering John Reoch
@solreo @Karen.Cowden @levine7571 @LeBilboquetDallas
#JohnReoch #Dallas #Fashion #LeBilboquetDallas #MungerPlace
Allison’s Gazpacho
There is something about fresh-picked produce from East Texas that makes me think of Allison’s Helen Corbitt Gazpacho. What a great way to start summer! * Allison’s Gazpacho
#FM900FarmBox #Gazpacho #Summer @f.m.900_farm
Cafe Celebration
What better place than Cafe Pacific to celebrate a new modern architect-designed home that just closed and to be able to share the news with friends. Attire: Savile Row linen suit, London bespoke shirt by Deema, Hermes tie from Highland Park Village, and pocket square created with cocktail napkin supplied by Cafe Pacific Bar to enable me to satisfy dress code. Cocktail is French 75 made by Jonathon. Service by Lazlo, dining room manager of the day, Jo Ann Terrill. Inspiration: John Reoch. Photograph by Karen Foster. *Cafe Celebration
@CafePacificDallas @kfosterzsb @hp_village @deemaabichahine
#CafePacific #HighlandParkVillage #HighlandPark #Dallas #French75 pocketsquare
1915 – House and Automobile
1915 was an elegant year in Dallas. Wood pavers downtown had largely given way to concrete streets. Following a classic European Grand Tour, Hal Thomson returned to Dallas and began designing the city’s most elegant society estate homes, including this residence on Swiss Avenue in Munger Place, the grand boulevard of Dallas.
The motor court between the original architecturally significant 1915 residence and the later garages and secondary house is the perfect place to park a 1915 Packard Twin Six Seven Passenger Touring Car.
More than a century later, both remain reminders of an era when craftsmanship, engineering, and architecture were celebrated as expressions of progress and elegance. Today, the touring routes are more likely to be White Rock Lake and Swiss Avenue than the roads of 1915, but the Packard still looks entirely at home.
The home of John and Elise Willding was a highlight of this year’s Swiss Avenue Historic District Mother’s Day Home Tour. Mel, the family chauffeur and mechanic, stands by for special occasions and family motoring excursions. *1915 House and Automobile
@JohnWillding @EliseMcDonaldWillding #HalThomson #1915 #Packard #5323 Swiss Avenue #DallasNeighborhood #DallasHistoricDistrict #MungerPlace #Architect #HistoricHome #Dallas #MothersDay #HomeTour
Talking About Dallas
Lunch with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson always leaves me thinking about the future of the city.
Mayor Johnson has an incredible understanding of what is possible for Dallas. Even if he were not mayor, his observations about the city — and his understanding of both its challenges and its potential — would still be exhilarating and unrivaled.
Mayor Johnson is a thoughtful urbanist. The evolution of cities — particularly Dallas — has always been a great passion of mine. The mayor’s clarity of thought about the city may come from the vantage point of having been raised in West Dallas, educated at Greenhill in North Dallas, graduating from Harvard, and maintaining close ties with SMU as the city and the university become increasingly intertwined through shared initiatives.
One thing that dawned on me at lunch was the much-discussed move AT&T is making as it relocates its headquarters from downtown Dallas to a suburban campus. My initial reaction was disappointment. But as we talked, I realized that many AT&T employees already leave Dallas every evening for the suburbs. Their presence has limited impact on Dallas life.
In contrast, the Goldman Sachs headquarters moving to Dallas will have employees who are more likely to live in the city and involve themselves in Dallas life, contributing to the vitality of the city long after the workday ends.
If Dallas were a city in decline, we would cling to every company in an effort to slow the loss. But a vibrant city must continually upgrade — improving the quality of opportunity, participation, and civic life.
For Dallas to continue to flourish, it must sometimes allow some companies to leave so new and better ones can take their place.
#DallasMayor
#DallasDowntown
#Dallas
@cafepacific
Layered Art
John Pomara drew collectors, art patrons, artists, and art aficionados to his opening at Barry Whistler Gallery in the Dallas Design District. Every once in a while, a Dallas gallery opening feels like New York — because of the art, the space, the artist, and those attending.
John Pomara stands in front of the work as we experience shifting layers of color and pattern.
Barry Whistler perfectly displayed John Pomara’s art in the gallery space designed by architect Russell Buchanan.
@buchananarchitecture.
#DallasArt
#DallasGallery
#DallasDesignDistrict
#JohnPomara
City Hall for the City
Dallas City Hall is not an office building for bureaucrats; it is an architecturally significant building designed to promote the city and encourage the people of Dallas to propel it forward.
Unlike many municipal buildings cloistered from their constituents, City Hall’s open floor plan, abundance of windows, and council chamber invert the traditional civic posture. In contrast to the Dallas County Commissioners Court, where the county judge presides with commissioners seated on an elevated dais above the audience, at Dallas City Hall the mayor and city council look up at the public.
The call to tear down City Hall is fueled by its need of repairs. Of course it needs repairs. It is a 50-year-old building, just as Swiss Avenue was 50 years old when it became a historic district over the objections of developers who wanted it torn down. Those homes did not simply need maintenance; each required a major renovation to enter a new era.
Like Swiss Avenue then, the surfaces of City Hall are dingy today, and makeshift partitions make some floors feel closer to the favelas of Brazil than the transparent civic architecture City Hall was meant to embody. Maintenance has become the focus. The opportunity should be modernization — bringing new technology into City Hall that makes the city of Dallas as transparent as the building’s design.
Color media walls integrated into the building could show where crime is occurring, where potholes and infrastructure issues have been reported, and how the city is actually configured — distinguishing single-family neighborhoods, apartment complexes, residential high-rises, and low-income tax credit housing, alongside retail, office towers, and parks — allowing Dallas to see itself clearly as it evolves.
Keep Dallas City Hall a city hall for the city.
#DallasCityHall#Architecture#Dallas
Defining Neighborhoods
For Texas Independence Day Sesquicentennial, HPL (Preservation Dallas) unveiled the book I wrote, Guide to the Older Neighborhoods of Dallas. It was the first book devoted to Dallas neighborhoods — before street sign toppers existed and when neighborhoods were known as general areas rather than specifically defined places.
We marked the Sesquicentennial with a “Toast to Texas” event inviting prominent Dallas residents to offer a toast to Texas. The day was chosen to launch the book because we believed the strength of Texas begins with its neighborhoods.
I recall the late Bill Murchison of the Dallas Morning News editorial board offering a toast to Texas, preservation, and Dallas neighborhoods. Though the editorial board at the time was very conservative — as was Bill — he was a genuine advocate for preservation and Dallas neighborhoods.
The book explored both small and large neighborhoods in Old East Dallas, Oak Lawn, Highland Park, and Oak Cliff. Great care was taken not to overuse the phrase “tree-tunneled streets” when I was describing neighborhoods. By the final edit, I realized “tree-tunneled streets” was not used one time in the book. Also, home prices in neighborhoods were not used so that the book could remain relevant for 20 years. We were successful, in many ways it still feels current.
I recently bought a copy of this book at an estate sale for $12 — only a few dollars less than its original $15 price when it first rose to number two on the Dallas nonfiction bestseller list.
So here in 2026, another Toast to Texas — and to the neighborhoods that continue to shape Dallas.
@preservationdallas
#Dallas #DallasNeighborhoods #TexasIndependenceDay #Preservation #PreservationDallas