Highland Park Mayor Joel Williams and the Highland Park Town Hall Reopening Celebration Committee invite Highland Park residents to join in celebrating the reopening of their newly renovated Town Hall Thursday, June 5 at 4 p.m. on the plaza. The town celebration culminates the renovation and landscaping project, which was four years in the making from planning to completion. Celebratory activities will include the sealing of a 100-year time capsule, the Highland Park Department of Public Safety Honor Guard, symphony music, a celebrity operatic soloist, an eco-friendly visual delight and some unexpected fun.
Highland Park residents will have the opportunity to become an indelible part of the town’s history by signing and writing brief messages for future generations on scrolls for inclusion in an historic time capsule to be sealed for 100 years and remain on site at the Town Hall. Pierce Allman, who is a Highland Park resident and respected local historian, will give unique highlights of the town’s founding and the Town Hall’s history.
A String Quartet from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will play and acclaimed opera soprano, Angela Turner Wilson, who has performed with the New York City Opera and at the White House, will sing “God Bless America.” La Duni and Mi Cocina will serve tastes of their Latin cuisine and (in cooperation with the Texas Discovery Gardens) there will be a responsible release of 100 Monarch and Painted Lady native butterflies into the Town Hall gardens where eco-friendly flowers are planted for them; plus a delightful surprise.
“Highland Park has a genuine pioneer spirit inherited from our town founders,” said Celebration Committee Chair, Gail Madden. “We have a wonderful, small-town consciousness to help one another and to conserve the natural beauty of our trees and resources. Our Town Hall reopening celebrates this community spirit as well as the beautifully restored facility for our town leaders, police force and residents. June 5 will be a special day in the history of our town.” Also serving on the Celebration Committee are: Susie Adams; Jeanne Cox; Carole Lee; Marilyn Smith; Carol Touchstone and Mayor Joel Williams. The Celebration event design is by Rusty Glenn.
“This is an important milestone in the town’s history,” explained Mayor Joel Williams. “In fact, this truly is an historic event in the first year of the second century of the Town of Highland Park. Our residents will be given the opportunity to memorialize their presence on this momentous day by contributing to the time capsule and to participate in the release of 100 native butterflies. We’ll honor the heritage of the original architecture of our Town Hall, which we’ve restored to serve the town’s needs now and in the future. This is quite an accomplishment for our community and we’re extremely excited about it.”
In keeping with the Spanish Colonial architectural style, which is the signature look of the town, the interior of the building has vaulted ceilings, exposed beam work and an open tower which allows for natural light. The exterior features colorful Spanish tile work in the plaza and balconies on the upper floors. Dallas architect Larry Boerder, who specializes in traditional, pre-1930s architecture worked with Rob Garza and Javier Lucio, principles of RPGA Design Group, on the project. John Armstrong of Armstrong-Berger Landscape Architects explained that the landscaping “continues the architectural theme of Spanish Colonial Revival. The gardens, with water features, pavers and Spanish-influenced tile designs, are modeled after Spanish Colonial gardens with the generous use of roses, azaleas, and crape myrtles. We also chose flowers to attract butterflies, creating a natural habitat for them.”
The renovation further enhanced public accessibility and ensured ADA compliance to office areas, updated DPS communications equipment, increased the utilization of land, incorporated flood protection from the adjacent creek, and provided for considerable cost savings by improving the energy and lighting efficiency of the building.
Highland Park Town Administrator, Bill Lindley, said, “The efforts and dedication of Mayor Williams, the Town Council and the Celebration Committee as well as the architects, staff, project managers, artisans and crews, are an investment in preserving the history and advancing the future of Highland Park.”
Chief Chris Vinson, director of public safety, said that the need to upgrade the department’s dispatch operation was the inspiration for the renovation. “We were definitely in need of upgrading our infrastructure, technology and equipment,” he said. “In the process of addressing these needs, the town leadership wisely chose to develop a master plan and renovate the entire complex which, now, better serves the needs of all the town departments.”
Topographically higher than Dallas, the town was named “Highland Park”, when it was incorporated 100 years ago last year, as the first planned community in the area with planned parks as well. It encompasses 2.2 square miles and is home to 8700 residents.
Information provided by Dedie Leahy & Company.