Best-selling author and “Queen of the Dallas Reserve'' Virginia Savage McAlester dies at 76

Virginia Savage McAlester, an architectural historian, author, preservationist, and Dallas institution in her own right, died Thursday at Baylor Hospital. She was 76 years old.

McAlester had battled myelofibrosis for years, a testament to her tenacity in everything in life. A petite woman with a blonde bob, she had an innate sense of politeness and a beautiful smile that hinted at her Southern gentleman heritage. Although she appeared frail, her appearance belied her strong constitution and her intelligence, qualities that combined made her a successful champion of the causes she championed. .

There were many. McAlester is the founder of nearly all of her hometown's preservation institutions, including Preservation Dallas and Friends of Fair Park. Renowned Houston architectural historian Stephen Fox called her the “Queen of the Dallas Preservation District.”

In fact, her sphere of control extended far beyond Dallas. her book,A field guide to American homes, First published in 1984 and revised in 2015, this book is a landmark in its own right, selling millions of copies and teaching Americans about their homes in clear, concise terms .

“Virginia McAlester tells you exactly what you need to know about your neighborhood,” architecture critic Alexandra Lange wrote in a 2019 review of the book.

It has also been a professional tool for conservation organizations across the country, which consider it an essential resource. “This book is on every preservationist's bookshelf, and I guarantee you it's in tatters,” said David Preziosi, executive director of Preservation Dallas. “When the new version was released, it was a real event. It was like a new Bible had been published.”

Her own home, the 1917 Harris Savage House, is on page 514. This is an example of Mission style design, although not typical, and is built of wire-cut she-brick with a slate roof.

She lived in this house during her adolescence – returning again to care for her parents, Wallace and Dorothy Savage – and it shaped her career in some ways. I started it. In the 1970s, Swiss Her Avenue, once the city's most elegant address, fell into disrepair, a victim of the city's relentless suburbanization. McAlester stayed on and led efforts to designate the area as the city's first historic landmark district.

Thanks to these efforts, the area has been gradually restored and restored to its traditional atmosphere and richness. Aldridge House, a landmark on the street that is a cornerstone of the Swiss Street preservation movement, has come under attack as a nuisance by its wealthy neighbors. Its programming. Mr. McAlester rallied defense attorneys and helped broker a deal in 2018 that would protect his future.

A sense of civic responsibility was a hallmark of the family. Her grandfather, William R. Harris, was the lawyer who led the impeachment case against corrupt Texas Governor James “Pa” Ferguson in 1917. Harris also purchased her family's Swiss Avenue home in 1921. McAlester's father, Wallace Savage, was also a lawyer and served as mayor of Dallas from 1949 to 1951.

It was her mother, Dorothy Savage, who sparked McAlester's interest in architecture and its preservation. “She knew there was something wrong with me and her house,” McAlester told the newspaper in 2014. She couldn't say no, but she knew I was just going to go in there and look at the ceiling and the fixtures and everything. She was so angry because all I did was sit in this room and study while she stood there and tapped her foot. ”

McAlester graduated from Hockaday College, attended Radcliffe College, and was able to take classes at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

One night, on her way back to her dormitory, she was accosted. “Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, some kind of unusual man in a strange green suit appeared right next to me and said, 'You should be a model,'” she said in 2016. Ta. Now alone, she hits him with her drawing board and runs away. “I just felt the presence of evil.”

Years later, she read a book about the Boston Strangler and learned that he was notorious for his strange green suit. “I was convinced then that all those years ago I had been alone with the Boston Strangler on Cambridge Common.”

After that fateful encounter, she returned to Dallas, where she married vascular surgeon Clement “Mac” Talkington and moved into a house on Swiss Avenue.

There, she combined her professional and political skills with her activist zeal and took over her mother's fledgling conservation efforts.

Her first efforts were directed toward the crumbling homes of Munger Place, one of the city's first planned developments. When told they didn't meet the city's preservation standards, she led the creation of the Dallas Historic Fund, which purchased 23 homes and helped restore them.

The knowledge that these homes were special attracted new buyers and led to a major revitalization of the neighborhood.

Then, in 1973, Swiss Avenue was designated a Landmark District. Books about these efforts are available at Formation of a historic districtAn introductory book for preservationists co-authored with Lynn DanSavage and published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

She was the author or co-author of numerous other books. Field Guide to America's Historic Districts and Homes in Park City, Dallas: Great American Suburbs.

“It's safe to say she was passionate about her cause,” says her daughter Amy Talkington, a Los Angeles-based film and television producer. He often participated in her mother's conservation efforts. That included sitting in the family's car in front of a bulldozer preparing it for demolition. The bet paid off.

In 1984, McAlester focused on the city's most significant neglected architectural heritage, leading to the creation of the advocacy group Friends of Fair Park. The group raised funds for preservation and planning projects and also worked on plans for the park. However, McAlester quietly fell out with the group over policy differences, particularly the group's refusal to adequately address the needs of its neighbors and its institutional control of the State Fair.

She” field guideShe credits two men in particular with being an inspiration. Her second husband, Southern Methodist University geology professor Lee McAlester, told her that if he could write a book about Earth, he could write one about her home.

Both of McAlester's marriages ended in divorce. Three of her four children, Amy Talkington, CM Talkington, and Keven McAlester became film directors. McAlester attributed their career to his family's decision not to fix their broken television in the early 1970s, and as a result the children were encouraged to make their own dramas and shoot them on Super 8 film. was forced to. Her fourth child, Martin McAlester, works as a volunteer and sales representative in Dallas.

In 2013, she underwent a stem cell transplant to halt the progression of myelofibrosis. She completed the revised version of this book while recovering from an operation that had seriously compromised her health. field guide, once again proving her toughness and unwavering energy. This was a lesson her granddaughters, Clementine and Virginia Adams, learned a year later during a trip to Washington, D.C. McAlester gave an energetic tour of the nation's capital, prompting the question, “Is this a vacation?”

In recognition of her accomplishments and efforts on behalf of the City of Dallas, Mayor Mike Rawlings awarded her the Key to the City in 2014. In 2019 her SMU awarded her an honorary degree.

After her death, she was working on a sequel. field guidefor commercial buildings only.

She is survived by her longtime partner Steve Click, her sister Dorothy Savage, four children and two grandchildren. Her memorial service will be held at a later date.