Preserving A City’s History

architecture | historic preservation PRESERVING Historic properties and districts are essential for maintaining the history of a city, defining it as unique and reflecting its soul. When people A CITY’S understand the history of their neighborhood and city, historic preservation becomes a HISTORY By Claudia Alarcón source of pride in their community, which may be the most important reason for preserving historic buildings.

Historic residential construction in Central Texas reflects many architectural styles, each with their own significance. According to Steve Sadowsky, Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Austin, the city’s residential properties reflect 19th century high styles like Queen Anne, early 20th century period revivals such as Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and Italian Renaissance Revival, and bungalows of the 1920s and 1930s, among others.

“There were many prominent architects working in Austin during the historic period, but many of our historic landmarks also reflect vernacular building trends,” Sadowsky explains. “These include wing-and-gable Victorian cottages, transitional houses of the turn of the 20th century, bungalows, 1930s and 1940s cottages, and minimal traditional houses. We are blessed with an abundance of mid-century modern residential designs as well.”

For designation as a historic landmark in Austin, a property must meet criteria detailed in the Land Development Code. For instance, the council may designate a structure or site as a historic landmark if the property is at least 50 years old and represents a period of significance of at least 50 years ago, and retains a high degree of integrity as defined by the National Register of Historic Places that clearly

Preservation Austin

Preservation Austin has been the city’s leading nonprofit voice for historic preservation since 1953. The annual Homes Tour is Preservation Austin’s marquee educational and outreach event. All proceeds support the nonprofit’s advocacy efforts and educational programming year-round and sustains efforts to protect Austin’s historic places for generations to come. The themes and homes featured change each year — “Downtown Doorsteps” in 2020 — so visit preservationaustin.org for information.

San Antonio Street — 1890

Photography by Leonid Furmansky Austin’s newly appointed internal revenue collector, Major Joseph W. Burke, built this home just west of the Texas State Capitol for his young family. The Pennsylvania native and Union Army veteran was a leading member of Austin’s Republican Party, while wife Nellie came from Texas pioneers. After Nellie’s death in 1925, the home was sold and converted into apartments. The current owner purchased the building in 2002 and peeled back these alterations to reveal beautiful wood finishes and return the space into apartment units. This was the first residential remodel awarded 4 stars by the City of Austin’s Green Building Program.

conveys its historical significance. It must not include an addition or alteration which has significantly compromised its integrity.

In San Antonio, a property must be at least 25 years old to qualify for landmark designation and needs to meet three criteria from a list of sixteen in the city’s Unified Development Code, which are broadly based on the National Register criteria as viewed through the lens of San Antonio’s history. What makes a place significant is unique to each property — it could be an association with an important person or event, its architectural style or construction method, its reflection of cultural traditions or the presence of archaeological resources.

“San Antonio’s local landmarks represent the stories of our community. The architectural history is diverse, reflecting the cultural influences of the people who’ve made the city their home,” says Shanon Shea Miller, Historic Preservation Director for the city. “Since many of our legacy neighborhoods were developed between the late 1880s and 1930, the architectural styles of that time span are prevalent in our historic districts.”

Popular in the Victorian era, Queen Anne and Folk Victorian style homes are found in the King William and Dignowity Hill Historic Districts. Streetcar suburbs like Highland Park and Beacon Hill have dense collections of Craftsman Bungalows, while styles such as Tudor Revival and Spanish Eclectic abound in the Monticello Park and Greenlawn Estates Historic Districts. “Our landmarks also include vernacular structures, built with locally sourced materials including wood, stone and caliche block using traditional construction methods,” says Miller.

“The historic buildings of Austin tell the story of our past and continue to be significant in framing the ideals of permanence and recognition,” says Sadowsky, who believes historic preservation is first and foremost an educational

Rio Grande Street — 1905

Photography by Leonid Furmansky Joseph D. Sayers commissioned this gracious home by Page Brothers Architects soon after finishing his second term as governor of Texas. Sayers led the state through numerous tragedies during his tenure, including the Galveston hurricane in 1900. Wife Orline Walton Sayers lived here until her death in 1943. A painter and renowned hostess, she was known as the “Dolly Madison of Texas” for turning the Governor’s Mansion into the “center of the state’s social and cultural life.” The current owner has lived here since 1994.

tool. “People learn the history of a place through the buildings that reflect the stories of the community. We take modern conveniences like air-conditioning for granted now, but historic buildings were built to address the specific needs of the Texas climate, with elements like broad porches, transoms, and other means of keeping cool and circulating air through a house.”

According to Sadowsky, preservation comes down to recognizing and respecting history and architecture. “Historic houses may be modified to suit modern tastes and needs, but modifications must be done sensitively so that the modern changes do not overwhelm the historic character of the structure,” he says. “We encourage rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of historic buildings rather than demolition and encourage repair of deteriorated architectural elements over replacement whenever possible and feasible.”

Respecting the history and architecture of a building means that you should not change it in ways that are not historically appropriate or accurate, he adds. In Austin, exterior changes to historic landmarks and to contributing proper

ties in local and National Register historic districts must be reviewed by the City Historic Landmark Commission. In San Antonio, big changes to the exterior of designated structures require a public hearing by the Historic and Design Review Commission. This group of local experts listens to community feedback and makes recommendations guided by the Historic Design Guidelines.

Austin homeowners participate in creating neighborhood historic districts by gathering support and participating in workshops to develop the set of design standards that the Historic Preservation Office and the Historic Landmark Commission will use to evaluate proposals for modifications to contributing buildings, and for new construction within the district. Once designated, the owners of contributing buildings must coordinate with the city for any exterior or site changes to their properties.

“We have been surveying San Antonio for over 40 years looking for significant historic resources, but those resources get preserved because the community decides to speak up and act,” says Miller, adding that historic districts often start in

S. Pinto — c. 1894

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation Located in San Antonio’s Historic Westside neighborhood, Alfred and Nannie Dieckmann built the turreted home with a wraparound porch that is a textbook example of the Queen Anne style, popular nationwide from 1880 to 1910. A rounded window with a stained-glass border, spindle work in the gables and a fixed pane of blue glass above a prominent window are some characteristics of this landmark.

Monte Vista Neighborhood — 1890

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation San Antonio’s Monte Vista dates to 1890 and was the most prominent neighborhood during the city’s “Gilded Age” of expansion. Architectural styles ranging from Queen Anne, Hollywood Bungalow and Georgian to Tudor, Moorish and Victorian mix within the neighborhood and were homes to notable citizens in the oil and cattle businesses.

The Office of Historic Preservation sponsors workshops throughout the year, hosting individuals and college students in partnership with OHP and UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning where they gain real-world experience in preservation. living rooms where neighbors have conversations about the future they want to see for their community. “Districts can reflect many years of effort by residents and property owners to save what matters most in their neighborhoods. Homeowners are our partners in preservation, so we proactively provide training and educational opportunities, as well as financial incentives, to help us reach our shared goals of economic, environmental and cultural sustainability.”

One of programs that embodies that proactive approach is the Rehabber Club, which provides training, networking, certification and support of sustaining preservation trades in the community. “Our hands-on workshops, which teach anyone how to restore wood windows, porches and other important features of historic houses, have started multiple new businesses that are providing residents with secure, well-paying jobs,” says Miller. “And perhaps, even more importantly, cultural heritage promotes a people-centered approach to building and sustaining community resilience.”

Historic preservation is inherently sustainable, and now more than ever we need to act to address climate change. “Valuing and maintaining historic buildings mean preserving their embodied carbon, which puts us on the road to net zero, a long-term goal of the San Antonio Climate Ready plan,” Miller concludes. “Historic preservation will play a key role in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions through reduced construction waste and adaptations that are grounded in knowledge of traditional building practices.” u