Architect C. D. Hill (1874–1926) had just established the Dallas office of Fort Worth–based Sanguinet and Staats when he designed this classical house for banker Charles H. Alexander at the eastern edge of the city. A monumental portico of four Ionic columns stands before a cubic block in buff brick with stone quoins and entablature. A prominent front attic story replaces the typical pediment. This, the only surviving mansion on once-elite (now mixed-use) Ross Avenue, was acquired by the Woman’s Forum, a cultural group, in 1930 and renovated in 1967.
Nearby at 4800 Ross, the James W. Fannin Elementary School (1915, Lang and Witchell) was built to serve the rapidly expanding population of East Dallas. The three-story red brick school has contrasting limestone ornament in a modified Tudor style.