Museum Puts Historic Photos Online

Dateline April 9

Virginia Savage McAlester, the architectural historian, author and preservationist who was a Dallas institution in her own right, died Thursday, April 9, 2020, at Baylor Hospital. She was 76. McAlester had been fighting myelofibrosis for years, a testament to a doggedness she brought to all things in her life. A petite woman with a blonde bob, she had an innate sense of propriety and a beatific smile that hinted at a heritage of Southern gentility. She appeared fragile, but her looks belied a tough constitution and intellect, qualities that together made her a successful advocate for the causes she championed.

They were many. McAlester was a founding figure behind virtually every preservation institution in her native city, including Preservation Dallas and Friends of Fair Park. The distinguished Houston architectural historian Stephen Fox called her the “Queen of Dallas Preservation.” Her dominion, in fact, extended well beyond Dallas. Her book,A Field Guide to American Houses, first published in 1984 and revised in 2015, was a landmark in itself, and has sold millions of copies, teaching Americans about their homes in clear, concise language. “Virginia McAlester tells you exactly what you need to know about your neighborhood,” architecture critic Alexandra Lange wrote in a 2019 appreciation of the book.

Thanks to Dallas Morning News By Mark Lamster