Garland’s Alston’s Home Place has advanced in its quest to become listed as part of the Garland Downtown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
A board of the Texas Historical Commission, meeting in Fort Worth, May 20, voted unanimously to expand the Garland Downtown district to include the historic Alston House, 212 North 7th, out of which the popular antiques business operates in downtown Garland.
The Garland Downtown district was officially accepted on the National Register in April. At the time downtown Garland’s nomination was submitted, Alston’s was inadvertently omitted from the final boundary map.
Richard D Hargrove of Alston’s (Alston’s Antiques) and Quimby McCoy preservation architects, the city’s consultant on the downtown project, worked together to procure materials to enable an addendum to the original submission. The boundary increase was approved in the May 20 meeting of the THC’s State Board of Review, meeting at the Woman’s Club of Fort Worth building.
Attending as part of the Garland delegation were Becky King from the city of Garland, Louis Moore and Kay Moore of the Travis College Hill Historic District (added to the National Register in February), Justin Curtsinger and Nancy McCoy of Quimby McCoy preservation architects of Dallas and Charley and Amy Thibodeaux, who live near Travis College Hill.
Having purchased the house in 1943, the Alston family has operated a furniture, fruit and antiques business “from this location over the course of 70 years,” wrote Council Member Anita Goebel in a letter King read to the board. The business operates as part of the commercial activity of downtown Garland to this day, the nomination stated.
After the vote, board member Kathryn O’Rourke of San Antonio commended Garland for bringing its third agenda item in a row before the State Board of Review and lauded the city for trying to move forward so rapidly in the area of historic preservation. Before Travis College Hill’s nomination at the Alpine meeting in September 2016 and subsequent federal approval, Garland had no listings on the National Register of Historic Places.
At the meeting’s onset, Greg Smith of the THC presented on screen a recap of recent properties approved by the board and noted that Garland’s first two nominations, Travis College Hill and the Garland Downtown Historic District, form a “really impressive piece” in preservation efforts.
The boundary increase for the Alston House now advances to the National Parks Service for final approval.