History of the Neighborhood
Overview
In the early 1900's Vickery Place was mostly cotton fields, and was considered North Dallas, with Goodwin Avenue the northern city limit. With the introduction of street cars in 1888, people began to move outward from the city. Platted in the year 1911, Vickery Place was developed by the Works‑Coleman Land Company. The Land Company was directed by R. Vickery, J.E. Coleman, Osce Goodwin, George W. Works, and J. Houston Miller, with many streets now bearing their names. As Vickery Place developed, so did the relationship between R. Vickery's daughter, Lillian and George W. Works. The featured home on 5605 Vickery was built for George W. Works and his wife Lillian. A few years later, he built a duplicate house at 5435 Vickery, with minor modifications. Interestingly, Mr. Works was also the Secretary and manager of the Dallas Street Railway, and used this resource to help convince people to move to Vickery Place through advertising on the back of his street car transfer tickets.
Transportation
Railways, streetcars, and model T’s were the means of transportation for residents of Vickery Place. The Houston and Texas Central Railroad, now Central Expressway, formed the western boundary of the platted neighborhood. In 1927, where the H&TC railroad traveled Central Boulevard Expressway was proposed. Construction began on the project twenty years later in 1947, pushed by J. G. Rollins, Dallas’ Director of Public Works. Reconstructed Central Expressway was completely rebuilt.
The McMillan Avenue Streetcar ran parallel, to Central, four blocks to the east. The Streetcar ran from Ross Avenue and ended at Vickery Blvd. This electric line was used until the late 1930's. George Works one of the founding fathers of Vickery Place was the Secretary and Manager of the Dallas Street Railway.
One block east of Greenville Avenue, where Matilda Street is, ran the Interurban Lines, that served Richardson and extended as far north as Denison. This line was discontinued in the fifties. Greenville Avenue was a part of the Federal Highway system, U.S. 75, and always functioned as the commercial center of the neighborhood.
Significant Buildings
In 1923, Reverend W. M. Williams and L. B. Haskins built the Greenville Ave. Christian Church. This three story structure at the 2700 block of Greenville Ave. was built at the cost of $60,000. The congregation began with 75 members and reached its peak in 1945 with 1,200 members. Due to post war suburban migration and the aging congregation, the church had a final service on August 29, 1982. In the early 1990's Vickery Place lost this wonderful piece of history to fire.
In 1922 North Dallas High School opened. Today the building remains as an outstanding piece of architecture with many unique features. The school's staff included, a history teacher‑coach, E. D. Walker, the father of football star Doak Walker. Many students went on to be prominent figures in Dallas, including Rufus Burleson IV, founder of Baylor Hospital, State Representative and Mayor Earl Cabel, Judge Barefoot Sanders , the Cullen family (founders of Tom Thumb), "Little Anthony" a singer in the 60's, columnist Bob St. John and Pulitzer Prize winner James Dickman.
Of all the schools in Dallas, the most prominent was Hockaday. It was established in 1913 and moved to Vickery Place in 1919 with a campus at the corner of Belmont and Greenville Ave. Hockaday School, founded by Ms. Ela Hockaday, was established with the vision of giving young women knowledge, culture, courage and high moral standards. By 1928 the school had acquired a national reputation for their academic achievements. In the 1960's the school relocated to north Dallas but still carries on the dreams established by Ms. Hockaday. The original campus in Vickery Place is now a home for assisted living, Vickery Towers. Many of the surrounding homes of Vickery Place was built for the teachers of Hockaday; the featured home on 5552 Belmont is one such home.