Swiss Avenue, Dallas

Swiss Avenue Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Dallas Landmark
Location	Swiss Ave. between Fitzhugh and LaVista, Dallas, Texas
Area	57.1 acres (23.1 ha)
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Prairie School
NRHP Reference #	74002068
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 28, 1974
Designated DLMK	January 23, 1985

The Swiss Avenue Historic District is a residential neighborhood in East Dallas, Dallas, Texas (USA). It consists of installations of the Munger Place addition, one of East Dallas' early subdivisions. The Swiss Avenue Historic District is a historic district of the city of Dallas, Texas. The boundaries of the district comprise both sides of Swiss Avenue from Fitzhugh Steet, to just north of La Vista, and includes portions of Bryan Parkway. The District includes the 6100-6200 blocks of La Vista Drive, the west side of the 5500 block of Bryan Parkway the 6100-6300 blocks of Bryan Parkway, the east side of the 5200-5300 block of Live Oak Street, and the 4900-6100 blocks of Swiss Avenue. The entire street of Swiss Avenue is not included within the bounds of the Swiss Avenue Historic District. Portions of the street run through Dallas' Peaks Suburban Addition neighborhood and Peak's Suburban Addition Historic District.

Swiss Avenue, at least the portions contained within the Swiss Avenue Historic District, was initially developed by Robert S. Munger, a Dallas cotton gin manufacturer and pioneering real estate developer, as part of a larger development, Munger Place, which was billed as the first deed-restricted community in Texas. Munger had retired from the management of his ginning companies and started working in real estate with his son Collett (for whom Dallas' Collett Avenue is named) in 1902. The subdivision was also one of the first in Dallas to ensure that the front views of homes wouldn't be blocked by utility poles; all utilities were installed through the rear of the lots via alleys. The lots in the Swiss Avenue section of Munger Place were larger than those in other areas of Munger Place, such as on Junius Street, Gaston Avenue, or portions of Worth Street that continue through Munger Place. In order to set off the development from others, Munger had gates erected at the entrances to Gaston Avenue, Swiss Avenue, and Junius Street, major thoroughfares in the development.

The original plat for Munger Place from 1907 showed twenty blocks of Swiss Avenue, Gaston Avenue, Junius Street, Worth Street, and Crutcher Street between Fitzhugh Avenue and Munger Boulevard platted; growth, however, was rapid and lots sold well, and munger extended the development in 1910 to include the south side of Live Oak Street from Fitzhugh Avenue to Dumas Street and both sides of Swiss Avenue to Parkmont Street.

Seventy-foot lots on Swiss Avenue were being sold for $3,500 in August 1908; by comparison, lots on Junius Street that were 60-foot lots were selling for $2,400 at the same time. In the 1978, shortly after the historic district was formed, 5744 Swiss Avenue was marketed for $275,000. Today, homes within the Swiss Avenue Historic District in good or well-remodeled condition routinely sell for over $1 million. Initially, Munger had set aside land for a private drive on the north side of Swiss Avenue, and a part to divide it from the public street on the south. The north side of the street was initially owned by residents, and both sides were intended for their private use. Today, the street and parkway is owned and maintained by the city of Dallas. Like most homes on Swiss Avenue, the community was deed restricted to white buyers only. An early deed to a lot on Swiss Avenue shows also that the front of residences were required to be set back not less than 60 feet nor more than 70 feet from the front line of the lot (the "setback"). Houses or quarters for renting were not allowed, but servant's quarters or stables for the use of the home's residents were allowed.