DALLAS — The demolition last week of the 112-year-old Highland Park mansion formerly owned by the late Edwin L. Cox Sr., for whom SMU’s business school is named has left a local preservation group with questions.
The 1912 Italian Renaissance-style home at the corner of Preston Road and Beverly Drive designed by Hubbell & Greene Architects was sold to billionaire banker Andy Beal in 2021. Hubbell & Greene are also known for designing the Neiman Marcus building and the Arts District Mansion, formerly known as the Belo Mansion.
The exact sale price wasn’t included in documents, but deed records filed in Dallas show Beal took a $41 million loan on the property.
Cox, the former oilman for whom SMU’s Cox School of Business is named, reportedly bought the home in the ‘70s. Before that, the mansion was the home of socialite Susie Rose Lloyd, who, according to lore, mistakenly received the town’s budget in the mail at her house and, thinking it was a bill, wrote a check for the entire amount.
Records filed with the town of Highland Park show a demolition permit was issued for the mansion on Aug. 1 ahead of its demolition Aug. 23.
“Along with our community, we are saddened to see what started as a restoration of The Cox Mansion has now resulted in demolition. We don’t have answers to our questions of how and why this happened,” The nonprofit group Preservation Park Cities said in a statement. “This Italian Renaissance mansion, originally known as the Rose Youree Lloyd mansion, was a historical icon of Dallas architecture. Its presence will be greatly grieved.”
In recent years, Preservation Park Cities has sought to turn the tide of demolishing historic homes in Highland Park and University Park to make way for new ones by compiling a list of the ‘top 100’ most historically and architecturally significant homes in the Park Cities.
