The White Rock Lake Conservancy raised private donations and paid the City of Dallas $113,957 in January of 2015 to cover the entire cost of the renovation of the Pavilion with new roof, paint, stone work and replacement of rotten wood. This phase of the project was completed in 2015 and in 2019 the pavilion renovation received the Preservation Dallas Achievement Awards honoring Dallas’ outstanding residential and commercial historic preservation projects.

In 2017, the Conservancy gave the City of Dallas $15,000 for the Park & Recreation department to restore two of the original stone tables which gave us a better idea of the cost and scope of renovation of each table and lead to an updated landscape plan for the area, done pro bono by MESA Design

Today the Conservancy continues to work with the City of Dallas Park & Rec Department to finish the restoration project of the entire area. Over $500,000 was raised from private donations to White Rock Lake Conservancy and construction completed for the restoration of the stone tables and the surrounding grounds with new grills, stone trash enclosures and improved drainage to the area. The materials from the old tables were sorted and everything that is usable was salvaged and used in recreating the new tables. The materials used to make the original benches were everything from stone and granite to marble remnants and was different at each table. The contractor hired for the project is very familiar with historic preservation and much discussion and thought went into how to best restore these benches and tables within a realistic budget.

The men of the CCC also built a restroom facility with craftsmanship like we don’t often see in public areas. Artist Henry Potter of Potter Art Metal Studios designed natural scenes for the windows in the building, these were cleaned and covered with rust free paint to match the original paint color put on in the 1930s. The stone structure has been repurposed as single use ADA accessible comfort station for park patrons. The wood soffit boards were replaced along with the mortar and masonry in some areas of the structure. In addition to restoring the building two ADA parking spots were added close to the restroom with an ADA pathway to the building. The only ADA accessible restroom in the park!

The 2017 bond match of $250,000 from the Conservancy covered the cost of the renovation of the historic restroom, new ADA parking, ADA path to the restroom and new lighting. Construction on the restroom is complete and it is open daily for park patrons.

Now that the tables and pavilion have been renovated, the lily pond cleaned up and the restroom updated and back open we are working on a new playground for the area. As you can see, what is there now is in desperate need of replacement. WRLC aims to create a thoughtful play area that blends in with the natural surroundings and caters to ages 2-15, creates shade and a sidewalk that loops the area for easy watching and riding.