Historic Tyler on Tour, 2006
The Lassiter House
Tanna & Evan Stanley
514 S. Chilton
This delightful Classical Revival/Craftsman home was built in 1917 by Mr. H.E. Lassiter who lived in the home with his wife Mabel well into the 1930's. The Arts and Crafts style with its clean lines was a reaction to the homes of the more ornate Victorian era. This modestly scaled and appointed bungalow caught on in Tyler as it did every where else in America. This home bears all the elements of the style with tapered wood or square brick porch posts, knee braces and exposed rafter tails.
The home is located in the Brick Streets Historic District which is the largest and best preserved concentration of mid 19th to mid 20th century vernacular, popular and high style dwellings in the city. This district includes all or portions of eleven streets- Chilton, College, Bonner, Bois D'Arc, Kennedy, Robertson, Vine, West Dobbs, West Bryan, West Rusk and West Houston– many retaining their original red brick paving. This lovely representative of Craftsman design was sold by the Lassiter estate in 1959 to Eugene Talbert and was maintained as rental property until sold in 1983 to Jake and Rose James.
The Stanleys, who purchased the home in 2004, feel they are more caretakers of history than owners of this wonderfully maintained home. They knew it would be theirs when they stepped on the deep porch which extends on two sides of the house and serves as an outdoor room for reading, reflecting and entertaining. When you enter the house you are drawn to the fireplace which is the centerpiece of the room. The original cabinetry in the home has leaded glass. The original red pine floors are noteworthy because the material is now extinct due to overuse of this wood during this building period. The home has eleven foot ceilings, and the unusual airy kitchen is lighted by two hanging lights which came out of a foundry in Arp which closed. A curiosity to visitors is the original bathtub which former owners sank in the floor.
Visitors to the basement will find the original boiler which heated the home. The owners plan to restore this area to a more modern "boiler room". Evan and Tanna fondly nicknamed their house "Tallulah" and look forward to enjoying her for many years. We appreciate their allowing us to enjoy her too!
