C.6 - NRD-2020-0017 - 1500 Wooldridge Rd — original pdf

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C.6 - 1 HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION APRIL 27, 2020 PERMITS IN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICTS NRD-2020-0017 1500 WOOLDRIDGE ROAD OLD WEST AUSTIN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT PROPOSAL Replace all windows, alter the entrance, relocate and replace garage doors, and remove rear-facing exterior stairs and small attached closet. ARCHITECTURE 2-story irregular-plan house clad in masonry and lap siding. Features include 6-over-6 wood-sash and casement vinyl-sash windows, a masonry chimney, and a covered porch and 2-story attached garage at the rear, facing Stark Place. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS The project has four parts: 1) Replace all windows with 6-over-6 clad-wood windows; 2) Enlarge and replace the front entrance from a single door with sidelights to paired multi-lite clad-wood doors; 3) Replace two garage doors with one double-with roll-up paneled metal garage door; 4) On the north (rear) wall, remove covered exterior stairs and a small attached closet and RESEARCH at the ground floor. The house was constructed around 1937 by James G. and Ethel Umstattd, who lived there at least until 1970 with an interruption around 1949. In 1952 and 1959, the Umstattds shared the building with a renter in a rear unit. Dr. James Greenleaf Umstattd was born in 1896 in Missouri. After finishing high school, James taught at a local school while he earned a B.S. in education from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College. He enrolled in the U.S. Navy during World War I. Afterwards, he worked as a high school teacher and supervisor in West Virginia, while earning his master’s degree from the University of Missouri. He received a doctorate from the University of Minnesota, then moved to Detroit to teach at Wayne State University. In 1938, Greenleaf moved to Austin to teach in the University of Texas’s School of Education, where he remained until 1972. During World War II, he took a one-year break to teach at Biarritz American University in France, returning to the U.S. in 1946. During his time at UT, Umstattd published at least five books and received a teaching excellence award from the UT Students’ Association (1963). James Umstaddt died in Austin in 1988. Martha Ethel McNutt Umstattd was born around 1896 in Kentucky. She married James Umstaddt in 1918; the couple had two sons. She was active in the Delta Gamma sorority alumni chapter, the University Ladies Club, and the Austin Woman’s Club. Martha Umstattd died in Austin in 1970. C.6 - 2 STANDARDS FOR REVIEW The house is a contributing property in the Old West Austin National Register Historic District. It does not appear to meet the standards for designation as a historic landmark. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building retains a moderate degree of integrity. An open front corner porch has been enclosed. 3) Properties must meet at least two historic designation criteria for landmark designation (City of Austin Land Development Code Section 25-2-352). The property does not appear to be significant under any criteria. a. Architecture. The building does not appear to be architecturally significant. b. Historical association. James and Martha (Ethel) Umstattd occupied the house for at least 40 years. There do not appear to be significant historical associations. c. Archaeology. The property was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d. Community value. The property does not appear to possess a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the community, Austin, or Texas as a whole. e. Landscape feature. The property is not a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation are used to evaluate projects in National Register historic districts. The following standards apply to the proposed project: 2) The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided. The project generally retains the property’s historic character by preserving features, spaces, and spatial relationships. New windows will match existing windows in lite patterns. The changes proposed to the secondary and rear elevations will not adversely impact the property’s historic character. The new entrance doors will enlarge the door width to one atypical of the historic period, but the project generally meets this standard. 5) Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved. All windows will be replaced. The project does not meet this standard. 6) Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive features, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Though the historic windows will be replaced, the lite patterns of the new windows will match that of the historic windows. The project somewhat meets this standard. The proposed project somewhat meets the standards. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION Not reviewed.  STAFF RECOMMENDATION C.6 - 3 Release the plans with the advisory recommendation that historic windows and the front door configuration and materials be retained.  LOCATION MAP C.6 - 4  PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos C.6 - 5 Primary (south) façade of 1500 Wooldridge Road. Source: Google Street View, March 2019. East elevation, looking north. Source: Google Street View, March 2019. East elevation. Source: Google Street View, March 2019.  Occupancy History C.6 - 6 Professor, UT Address not listed James G. and Martha Umstattd, renters Professor, UT James G. and Ethel M. Umstattd, owners Professor, UT James G. and Ethel M. Umstattd + 1 child, owners Professor, UT City directory research, Austin History Center By Historic Preservation Office staff April 2020 Note: Directory research available through 1959 only, due to library closure. 1937 1939 1941 1944-45 James G. and Martha Umstattel, owners 1947 1949 1952 1955 1959 Fred Penick Jr. and Isabelle Penick, renters Student, UT (Fred); nurse, Benjamin R. Eppright (Isabelle) James G. and Catherine H. Umstattd, renters Professor, UT Alvin W. and Dorothy Marchak, owners Student James G. and Ethel Umstattd, renters Professor, UT James G. and Ethel Umstattd, owners Professor, UT Rear: Donald I. Wood, renter Professor, UT  Background Research C.6 - 7 “Lecture Use Hit,” The Austin Statesman, 2/10/1965. Death announcement for Martha Umstattd, The Austin Statesman, 1/7/1970.  Building Permits and Maps C.6 - 8 Water tap permit issued to J. G. Umstead, 9/26/1957. Building permit issued to William Madden Hill for a 2-story rock veneer wood-frame residence with an integral garage, 7/9/1937. C.6 - 9 1961 Sanborn map showing open porch at front right corner and original 1-story hyphen connecting the house and garage.