Beckley Club Estates (BCE) is bordered to the north by the Santa Fe Railroad (North Shore Drive), to the west by the Kings Gardens subdivision (South Beckley Avenue), to the south by the Trinity Heights subdivision (Seevers Avenue), and to the east by the Cedar Oaks subdivision (Edgemont Avenue and Appian Way). Streets within the boundaries are North Shore Drive 100-200 block; South Shore Drive 100-200 block; Appian Way 100-300 block; Seevers Avenue 1300-1600 block; Ramsey Avenue 1400-1600 block; Crestwood Drive 200 block; Edgemont Avenue 302 through 307; and South Beckley Avenue (even side) 1400-1600 block. The subdivision counts 130 homes and numerous plots of land that are owned by the City of Dallas, utility companies, and also unincorporated lots.

One of the little-known gems of Oak Cliff, Beckley Club Estates was begun in the 1920s by developer S.A. Temple. Comprised of about 65 homes in a neighborhood bordered by South Beckley Avenue on the west and Ramsey to the east, “Beckley Club the Beautiful” was effusively advertised as “the living place for those who worship at the shrine of the beautiful“.

A quarter-mile south of the Dallas Zoo, Beckley Club is a quiet haven of winding, tree-shaded streets, one-lane bridges and gently sloping hills. Two culs-de-sac, North Shore and South Shore, overlook Cedar Creek.

Defined by natural stone gateways at the entrance at Crestwood, North Shore and South Shore, the development once boasted three artificial lakes—Lake Helen, Lake Junior and Lake Placid—created by damming up the creek. Originally, Beckley Club Estates featured a sales office built to look like a Japanese pagoda. Located in the center of Lake Helen, the sales office could only be reached by footbridge—or boat. Years later, flooding and unsafe conditions prompted the city to dynamite a hole in the dam.

Before his work with Beckley Club, developer S.A. Temple (1879-1968) was also known for his involvement with Kessler Square, parts of University Park and, partnering with Albert Dines and Lee Kraft, Munger Place Heights in Old East Dallas and Country Club Estates in Lakewood.

Perhaps Beckley Club’s most famous resident was Lynn Landrum (1891-1961),longtime columnist for The Dallas Morning News. In his front-page column “Thinking Out Loud,” Landrum frequently wrote of his beloved home on Seevers Avenue, nicknamed Billygoat Hill, and of his wife’s expansive garden.

The original homes feature an eclectic mix of styles ranging from Tudor to Spanish Eclectic. Some of the later homes, built between the mid-1930s and the early 1950s, are a charming mix of brick and stone. Many of the earlier homes feature native stonework and tile roofs.

The Beckley Club Homeowners Association was established in the early 1980s and was resurrected in 2000 to unite neighbors new and old in their love for this unique and handsome area. Along with the adjoining Beckleywood and Cedar Oaks neighborhoods, Beckley Club supports an active crime watch group and works on code enforcement and beautification issues.