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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDallas Morning NewsTHE DALLAS "MORNING NEB' §':-=- -tN AA Y - UST - 30,1925' , MIVR� UMP j 7a zo?"es o1: 7A . Dnr7tl Milner and GtjyAds Clara' of melike srve 6 side prevenIx THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS Sunday, August 30, 1925 (Section Three, Page Five) SOLVE PROBLEM OF HOUSING AT A&M COLLEGE Swampy Land Reclaimed by "Profs" to Erect Fine Homes Thereon LIFE THAT'S IDEAL Community Plan Works to the Advantage of Schoolmen By Violet Short The unique little settlement known as College Park is the happy culmination of a problem in home - building. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas is peculiarly and unfortunately situated in so far as living conditions are concerned. There are about a hundred small cottages maintained '6n` the campus which are assigned to the heads of depart- ments and a few members of the teaching staff, but these houses are totally inade- quate to take care of the entire faculty of the institution. Furthermore, the majority of them are only five -room frame structures which are much too small for a large family. Bryan, the nearest town, is five miles away and the only means of transport- ation is the street car which runs once an hour, and the round trip between Bryan and College Station costs 30 cents. As Bryan is only a small town., there are few houses to be rented, so the college professor who is not fortunate enough to secure a house on the campus must take an apartment in town and either purchase a ' car to carry him to and from his work or he must pay out a goodly amount each month for car fare. Such were the existing conditions when a group of college professors determined that they would have homes of their own and yet have the benefits of living in a college community. College Park is in the "woods" south of the campus of the A &M College and, although it is yet in its . infancy, it is doubtful whether a more attractive group of homes could be found in the State. The main street, which is called Clark Boulevard in honor of the promoter of the idea, resembles from a distance only a beautiful shady road encircling a very blue lake. Proximity, however, brings out the fact that back among the giant trees is a row of beautiful houses, or rather homes, for each one has that personal touch which distinguishes a home from just a house. The houses are in a great semi - circle, each one facing the lake and also the road. The shady lawns and the gayly painted rowboats on the water would convince the onlooker that life in such a community would be verypleasant indeed. Because they were built to livein, each house is individual and reflects the ideas and taste of its owner. In appearance they are as varied as the Pied Piper's rats. There are great houses set on two lots in order to have plenty of room for the child- ren to romp and play. There are small houses with one side set aside for the family roadster. There is a log house with steam heat and bizarre walls. There are modern bungalows, Old English farm houses, New England cottages, white - columned Southern Colonials and many that are too original to be classified as to any definite architect- ural style. Although College Park has a great deal of natural beauty, it required the aid of man to make the location a habitable place. Five years ago the site of the little community was nothing more tha a mosquito- infested swamp, the only pretty feature being the great trees and luxuriant foliage. There was not a road leading through this Ian because no one cared to go there. In fact, the college professors purchased a tract of land that the owner was more than glad to sell, and there were numerous kill -joys who said that nothing could ever come from such an investment. But the last few years have wrought great changes in that piece of land. Prof. F. W. Hensel of the landscape art department laid out the plans for the lots. Members of the civil engineering department aided in surveyiing and planning a roadway. The swamp was cleared. A dam was erected, which held the water that had been seeping away and a beautiful lake was the result. A spillway was made to take care of the overflow. Soon afterward in rapid succession the houses were built. The financing of the building was done through a co- operative arrangement, by which the funds were pooled into what was known as the College Park Housing Corporation. This was for mutual benefit and not for profit. The corporation would finance a man in building his home and then he repaid the money in small monthly payments. However, later the demand for homes far exceeded the supply of funds and various building and loan associations offered their services. In some instances homes were put up through such aid. The land which has not been sold is held by the College Park Corporation, headed by Dr. F. B. Clark and composed of all the residents of the community. The proceeds from the sales go into the housing fund. Lots are never sold for speculation and each individual who wishes to buy must show that he is purchasing with the intention of building a home for himself. When a home owner leaves, which occurs more fre- quently in college communities than in other places , his house is sold for him through the housing corporation. Ideal Community Life. The community life at College Park is as interesting and refreshing as the homes themselves. People reside there who were originally from all parts of the United States. There are some from the East, many from the old South, a few from the great Northwestern and Middlewestern States, and, of course, there are many Texas. Because the settlement is yet quite young, its native -born residents are too few and too small to be counted as a definite group. Foreign countries are also represented among the families who live in College Park. The Rev. C. P. Hancock, the college Presbyterian minister, who owns a home in Dllege Park, resided in China twenty years as a missionary. While they are American citizens, several others claim foreign countries as their birthplaces. On the whdle there is a cosmopolitan atmosphere in the community. There is a great variety of social life and the community is conspicuous for the absense of those examples of neighborly strife which usually accompany any group of people living close enough together for the children and the chickens to become mized up. There is little cause for jealousy because the incomes are all approximately the same and the people the same and the people are too busy and contented to indulge in imaginary grievances. Among the forty families who now reside in College Park all branches of the A &M College are represented.