Austin historic sites

I was just recently in Austin and did a post about several vintage neon signs I was able to locate. The focus this time will be on structures (such as private residences) which are considered to be historic sites.

Sometimes I get to these historic sites and the sun is in a bad spot or trees obscure my view, as was the case with The Martin House, considered to be a significant example of a Late Victorian T-plan, one-story house, constructed in 1897, today invisible (and in a "rough" neighborhood):


or this, The Robinson-Macken House, c. 1876, French Second Empire/Italianate style:


I least I got a good glimpse from the side:

And if there isn't an issue with either the sun or trees, sometimes these old places are either gone or irreparably diminished by the time I get to them, like with The John Henry Brewer House, c. 1926:


Here is why this place is considered to be important (from the Texas Historical Commission Atlas narrative):

In early 1995 the house is in poor condition and under threat of demolition by the City of Austin. Despite its condition, the house retains a significant degree of integrity and may be repaired.

The John Henry and Minnie Tate Brewer House (1926) served as the principal and only remaining residence of the well-known Brewer family of East Austin. The Brewers played a significant role in the development of Austin's African- American community for most of the 20th century. Because of its proximity to Huston-Tillotson College, the Brewer House served as a reception area, center of social life, and occasionally dormitory. Moreover, John Mason Brewer, nationally recognized chronicler of African-American folklife and folklore, lived in the house at various times during his most productive teaching and writing years (1928- 1968). This is the only extant property closely associated with him.


So, this is why it is so nice when I have found a place, the sun/sky is good, I can work around the trees (if there are any), and it looks pretty much like it does in any old photographs I've seen of it, such as with The Covert House, a Queen Anne Victorian, estimated to have been built around 1898:

Nice, huh? And I found the presence of children's toys out front gave it strangely, yet pleasantly, a Victorian mood.

a side view in different light:



The Page-Gilbert House, c. 1895, Victorian


The Connelly-Yerwood House, c. 1904, Late Victorian/Queen Anne


Community Center, c. 1929-30, Mission/Spanish Revival


The Haynes-Delashwah House,
ca. 1890, Queen Anne/Eastlake Victorian


The Gilfillan House, c. 1905, Spanish style



La Casa de Suenos, c. 1947-53 (main house), Mexican-American folk art


The North-Evans Chateau
Begun as family residence by Mrs.Catherine North in 1847. Completed in style of a French chateau by Austin banker, Maj. Ira Evans, 1892.

The North Cottage, c. 1879, Italianate style


The Eugene Bremond House, c. 1874, Italianate Victorian


The Pierre Bremond House, c. 1880s, Queen Anne Victorian


The John Bremond House, c. 1886, French Second Empire style

The Bremonds must have been something, huh?

The J.P. Schneider Store, c. 1873, Commercial Victorian
This place may not look like much, but there it has been as the downtown area has completely changed around it for one hundred and thirty years. The Schneiders first had a store on this spot in 1870. Their personal residence was right across the street, which is where the busy Warehouse District is now.



The Daniel H. Caswell House,
c. 1900, Late Victorian/Colonial Revival/Chateauesque styles



The William T. Caswell House, c. 1906, Classical Revival


The William Braxton Barr House,
c. 1898, Queen Anne Victorian/Colonial Revival


House at 209 East 39th Street (my current desktop wallpaper)


and last, but not least:

The Col. Monroe M. Shipe House,
c. 1892, Swiss Chalet/Eastlake/Stick styles