More Tree Trouble in the Bubble
Storm splits beloved ole oak on Andy Beal estate at Beverly and Preston
Billionaire banker Andy Beal would like fellow admirers of a grand tree at Beverly Drive and Preston Road to know that he will miss the ole oak too.
“Unfortunately, the tree was damaged and split due to the terrible storm in Dallas a few weeks ago (in early September),” Cassie Preston, an executive assistant to Beal, explained. “Andy had an expert arborist come out to assess the damage to see if there was anything that could be done to save the tree.”
“Disappointingly, they told us that it was too damaged, and it was unsalvageable,” Preston said. “So, it was with sadness that we had to have the tree removed.”
In place of the tree outside the estate, Beal hung a sign explaining the tree’s fate.
“We loved this beautiful tree! We know our community did, too,” the sign read. “We will miss this beautiful tree and treasure our memories of it.”
The loss of the tree at Beverly and Preston, popular among Christmastime passersby, comes nearly three years after Highland Park town leaders had the 150-year-old Big Pecan tree at the intersection of Armstrong Parkway and Preston Road removed.
That tree had served for years as the traditional focus of the town’s annual tree lighting ceremony but needed to come down because of age, disease, and safety concerns.
Beal bought the more-than-century-old estate at the corner of Preston and Beverly in late 2021, sparking speculation about what he would do about the beloved tree at his new house.
The property was previously owned by the late Edwin L. Cox, the former oilman for whom SMU’s business school is named, and before Cox owned it, the property 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.
