Queen City neighbors ask City of Dallas to preserve their history

By Michaela Rush The latest:& At the most recent& City of Dallas Landmark Commission& meeting, South Dallas neighbors presented a request: approval to move forward with a historical designation overlay for the Queen City neighborhood.& The commission unanimously approved the request, moving Queen City — bordered by S.M. Wright, Warren Avenue, Malcolm X Boulevard and Eugene Street — one step closer to establishing itself as a historic neighborhood. Why this matters: Organizers who worked to propose the historical designation overlay, like Eva Nally Jones, have two main reasons for seeking it: First, they believe the neighborhood’s history should be recognized, as it was home to civil rights activist& Juanita Craft, child welfare and education activist& Pearl C. Anderson& and even the pianist& Ray Charles, and also because it is one of Dallas’ oldest neighborhoods, developed in the early 1900s. Second, neighbors believe the City’s historic designation may help stabilize property values in the area, allowing current residents to continue to live in Queen City. Jones cited $300,000-plus homes going up “overnight” as a point of concern.& “Help us stop the gentrification and displacement that has obviously taken place, and will continue to take place if we don’t have protection,” Jones...