February Newsletter
FEBRUARY 5, 2026
ADVOCACY ALERT
1978 I.M. Pei Masterpiece at Risk in Dallas
Dallas City Hall, designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei and completed in 1978, could be demolished. A coalition of Dallas residents, nonprofits, and businesses has come together to demand transparency and responsible governance before a rushed February 25th City Council vote on a controversial plan to abandon Dallas City Hall. The Save Dallas City Hall coalition is calling on city leaders to pause the fast-tracked timeline, allowing for an informed decision about how best to redevelop the southern portion of downtown Dallas.
Despite deferred maintenance, the building remains structurally sound and capable of serving the city for decades to come. The coalition envisions new development, including a new Dallas Mavericks arena, coexisting with City Hall and a reimagined public plaza.
Want to help? Share this message with friends in Dallas. If you live in Dallas, contact your City Council representative to support the coalition’s vision! Follow Save Dallas City Hall on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated.
PT NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Preservation Texas Seeks West Texas Program Officer
Preservation Texas is seeking a dynamic, bilingual West Texas Program Officer to serve as the primary face of the organization in El Paso and Hudspeth counties. Based at the West Texas Heritage Center in El Paso, the officer will connect local stakeholders and historic property owners with Preservation Texas programs and statewide resources. This full-time position requires multifaceted expertise, including technical assistance, architectural history research, educational program coordination, community engagement, and relationship cultivation with supporters of Preservation Texas. Visit preservationtexas.org/elpaso-news/wtxpo to learn more and apply by February 27, 2026!
New Preservation Texas Board Members
Preservation Texas has elected four new members to its Board of Directors who will serve an initial three-year term:
ROY CLAY, Athens: Roy has over 30 years of experience in construction and project management, as well as a passion for historic construction techniques. He is a member of the Timber Framers Guild, has trained with the Dry Stone Conservancy in Kentucky, and continues to study traditional timber framing at the Heartwood School in New Hampshire.
DANIEL ELDER, Temple: Daniel is a retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major, and founder and CEO of a defense consulting firm. He has published extensively on leadership, military and organizational history, and enlisted force development. He is currently Chair of the Bell County Historical Commission and a board member of the Temple Chamber of Commerce.
CHARLES PEVETO, Austin: Charles is a preservationist and architectural historian with the Texas Historical Commission. He serves on several boards and committees dedicated to protecting Austin’s historic resources, including Austin History Center Association, Preservation Austin, Old Austin Neighborhood Association, and Mid Tex Mod.
DANELLE BALDWIN SMITH, Dallas: Danelle is a longtime preservation advocate whose career began with the Texas Main Street program and includes leadership roles with Preservation Dallas, the Texas Historical Foundation, and Preservation Texas. She has 25 years of experience in commercial real estate marketing and management, including roles at North Star Mall, The Parks at Arlington, and Downtown Fort Worth, Inc.
2026 Officers:
WILLIS WINTERS, President, Mineral Wells
DAVID MARTINEZ, President-Elect, Corsicana
DERRICK BIRDSALL, Vice President, Huntsville
ZACHARY SABOTA, Treasurer, Tyler
KATE JOHNSON, Secretary, Kyle
Central Texas Intern to Document Historic Stone Houses of Hays and Blanco Counties
Preservation Texas has hired Arianna Hernandez-Antoniewicz as a part-time intern based in our San Marcos office to assist with the development of a Field Guide to Early Texas Stone Houses. This publication will be a comprehensive guide documenting early stone-built domestic vernacular architecture in Blanco and Hays counties, as well as related landscapes, quarries, and geological sites.
Arianna is a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geography with a minor in Architectural Studies. She recently completed fieldwork in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, contributing to the documentation of El Museo Nacional de la Máscara. Her background and interest in cultural geography will be an asset to the development of the field guide. This internship has been made possible by a grant from The Burdine Johnson Foundation.
Pictured: Late 19th Century Stone House in Wimberley. THC Historic Resources Survey Collection provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas Historical Commission.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Historic Window Repair Workshop at the Preservation Texas Institute in Tehuacana - March 27 & 28, 2026
Join Preservation Texas for a hands-on window repair workshop at the Preservation Texas Institute (PTI) in Tehuacana—the former home of Trinity University and Westminster College. This event offers a unique opportunity to work directly on the original windows of Louisiana Hall, a 1914 dormitory building on the historic campus. Designed for beginners and stewards of old buildings, participants will learn the fundamentals of historic wood window repair while making a meaningful contribution to the building’s rehabilitation. Enrollment is limited to 12 participants. Visit PreservationTexas.org/Window-Workshop to learn more and register!
This workshop is the first of many future heritage trades training opportunities to be hosted at the Institute. To learn more about the history of the campus and our vision for the PTI, visit SaveTexasHall.org.
Pictured: 1914 Louisiana Hall
2026 Real Places Conference - April 8-10 in Austin
Preservation Texas will be an exhibitor at the Texas Historical Commission's 10th annual Real Places Conference at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. This event brings together professionals and volunteers who make historic preservation happen in Texas. Attendees will enjoy the opportunity to network with and learn from County Historical Commissions, Main Street managers, historic preservation officers, design review boards, architects, engineers, historians, archeologists, curators, interpreters, educators, nonprofit staff, THC staff, Texas Heritage Trail Regions, and more. We hope to see you there! To learn more and register, visit thcfriends.org/real-places-conference.
Save the Date: Historic Log Building Symposium 2.0 in Huntsville - September 3 & 4, 2026
Preservation Texas will host the 2026 Historic Log Building Symposium on Thursday, September 3, and Friday, September 4, at the Walker Education Center at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Building on the success of our 2024 Historic Log Building Summit in Nacogdoches, this symposium will cover a wide range of topics related to the stewardship of log structures. The symposium aims to support the development of statewide preservation guidelines for preserving Texas log buildings and explore strategies for listing individual log structures on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pictured: Sam Houston's law office building at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville.
EDUCATION PROGRAMS UPDATES
Bonham State Park Preservation Training Workshop Video
In November, Preservation Texas and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department hosted a hands-on workshop at Bonham State Park. Participants learned traditional stone and timber construction techniques from heritage trades experts Ron Siebler, Rick Wood, and Joseph Janota, and put their skills to work repairing the park’s historic 1936 CCC-built Pump House.
The workshop was documented by Dallas-based filmmaker Mark Birnbaum, funded by a grant from the Historic Preservation Education Foundation. Be sure to check out the video on our YouTube channel!
West Texas Regional Preservation Summit Recap
The 2026 West Texas Regional Preservation Summit took place January 29-30 in El Paso, bringing together over 65 preservation advocates from across the Upper Rio Grande region. The event kicked off with a hard hat tour of the historic Kress Building, hosted by Jordan Foster Construction and InSitu Architecture, followed by an opening reception at the West Texas Heritage Center.
On Friday, attendees heard presentations from eleven accomplished professionals, covering a wide range of regionally relevant preservation topics. The summit offered a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas and build connections with likeminded attendees. Many thanks to Destination El Paso for hosting us at their Visitor Information Center.
