D.4 - 200-06 E. 4th Street — original pdf

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D.4 - 1 HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION APRIL 27, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS HDP-2020-0086 200-06 E. 4TH STREET PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1910 warehouse. ARCHITECTURE One-story, rectangular-plan, flat-roofed brick commercial warehouse building with a raised concrete loading platform along the south (4th Street) elevation. The building has single, rectangular fenestration in segmental-arched openings; all windows have been replaced with plate glass. Each window opening has a rectangular transom above, with a raised brick sill and lintel. Above the transoms is a belt course of raised brick, tapering from top to bottom; above the belt course is a flat-topped parapet with a tablet defined by raised brick. The building has a non-historic continuous metal awning along the south (4th Street) elevation; it replaced a historic metal awning. There is a modern, one-story rooftop addition to the building, set back from the exterior walls. RESEARCH Marks Grain Company, a wholesale and retail feed, hay, and grain business, built this building in phases as its warehouse. At the time the first section was built, around 1910, at the northeast corner of 4th and Brazos Streets, the remainder of the block eastward on 4th Street was still residential; the 1900 Sanborn map shows a line of relatively large houses along the north side of E. 4th Street. Marks Grain Company was established by brothers Harry and Charles Marks before the turn of the 20th century. The 1909-10 city directory, issued just prior to their construction of this building, shows Marks Grain Company at 406 Congress Avenue and their warehouse at the southeast corner of 3rd and Brazos Streets, a block south of the current building. Around 1912, their business address changed to 200-04 E. 4th Street, indicating an expansion to the building. No residences remained to the east of the building along E. 4th Street. By 1920, according to the city directory of that year, the business address for Marks Grain Company was 200-08 E. 4th Street, indicating an additional, and final expansion of the warehouse. Both Harry and Charles Marks died in 1924, within a few months of each other. The business continued out of this building, with James S. Howse as the manager, until around 1931. Lolla Marks, the widow of Harry Marks, is listed as the president of the company in the 1932-33 city directory, the last that the company is listed. Between 1924 and 1931, the Marks successors began leasing out space in this building: to George Reichardt, a merchandise broker, from 1924 to 1928, and then to Wayland Rivers, who operated both the Texas Tobacco Company and Checker Front Grocery Company out of this building. The 1935 city directory shows that the space at the corner of 4th and Brazos was serving as a warehouse for the Patton Transfer Company, while the space further D.4 - 2 east housed the Checker Front Grocery warehouse. This arrangement remained until around 1936 when the Blatz Beer warehouse occupied the middle space between Patton Transfer on the corner and Checker Front on the east end of the building. Patton Transfer moved their warehouse out of this building around 1940; the space on the corner was then occupied by Sunset Freight Lines, while a flour mill occupied the middle space, and Checker Front remained to the east. Waylon Rivers was no longer listed as the proprietor of Checker Front; the business was run by a manager, Edward Westling, who eventually came to lead the company. Sunset Motor Lines occupied the corner space as a warehouse until around 1950, when the space became a warehouse for E.M. Scarbrough & Sons, a downtown department store. The middle space continued to have a flour mill around 1948, when it became the warehouse for another wholesale grocery company. A wholesale food products company is listed in the 1949 city directory as occupying the space shown as 401-03 Brazos Street, the first time that address appears. Checker Front Stores continued to maintain its warehouse and office in the east end of the building until around 1960. Since the mid-1950s, the building has housed a variety of small businesses and warehouses, including an auto garage on the Brazos Street side, an electrical supply warehouse, and as warehouse space for Cabaniss-Brown Furniture Company. One of the more distinctive later businesses to occupy the space was Gordon Fowler’s Caliente Chili, a manufacturer and wholesaler of chili spices in the late 1970s. STAFF COMMENTS The building is listed as 200-04 and 206 E. 4th Street, and as a Priority 1 for research in the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey (1984). Staff has evaluated this building for designation as a historic landmark and has determined that the building may meet the criteria for landmark designation as set forth in City Code: a. Architecture. The building is a vernacular brick warehouse building that still retains its integral form if not all of its original materials. The building exemplifies the distinguishing characteristics of a warehouse, including its concrete loading platform along 4th Street. Utilitarian buildings that reflect and be identified as serving a use significant in the history of the city may qualify for landmark designation. b. Historical association. The building was constructed as a feed and grain warehouse, once a very important business in Austin; the company, Marks Grain Company, was one of the most prominent in the city, and operated here until it closed following the deaths of its proprietors (brothers) during the Depression. The building then became the office and warehouse of the Checker Front Grocery Stores, a franchise of self-serve supermarkets, from mid-1930s until around 1960. In mid-1970s, Gordon Fowler opened Caliente Chili, a manufacturer and distributor of chili and chili products, out of this building. The history of this building supports qualification under the criterion for historical association. D.4 - 3 c. Archaeology. The building was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d. Community value. The building may possess a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the city, the neighborhood, or a particular demographic group. It is located along E. 4th Street, the spur line for the railroad, and represents the warehouses that used to line this street because of the proximity of the railroad. Very few of these rail-side warehouses remain in Austin. e. Landscape feature. The property is not a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Strongly encourage rehabilitation and adaptive re-use. This is one of the very few remaining warehouse buildings in downtown Austin, and one of only two sites where the old loading platforms remain. Staff recognizes that the building has been modified with the replacement of original windows, doors, and awning, and the construction of a rooftop use, but urges the applicants to consider incorporation of this building into their development is feasible. If the Commission votes to release the permit, then staff recommends the completion of a documentation package consisting of HABS Level II drawings, photographs of all elevations, and a narrative history, for archiving at the Austin History Center prior to release of the permit. LOCATION MAP D.4 - 4 200-12 E. 4th Street/401-03 Brazos Street ca. 1910 D.4 - 5 D.4 - 6 2019 Google streetview photograph; all others taken 2008 OCCUPANCY HISTORY 200-12 E. 4th Street/401-03 Brazos Street D.4 - 7 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200 E. 4th Street Vacant 200 E. 4th Street Vacant 206 E. 4th Street Vacant 206 E. 4th Street Nunn Electric Supply Company William L. Collie, manager City Directory Research, Austin History Center By City Historic Preservation Office November, 2008 1987 1977 1967 1957 401 Brazos Street Caliente Chili Spices Gordon Fowler, president 200 E. 4th Street Scarbrough’s Warehouse 200 E. 4th Street Vacant 403 Brazos Street Cabaniss-Brown Furniture Warehouse Hiram S. Brown, president NOTE: The store was at 201 E. 5th Street. 206 E. 4th Street Checker Front Stores Offices and Warehouse Groceries Edward L. Westling, president and general manager 403 Brazos Street Mueller & Benson Garage Auto repairs Dewey F. Mueller and James D. Benson, proprietors D.4 - 8 1953 1949 1944-45 1941 200 E. 4th Street E.M Scarbrough & Sons Warehouse 204 E. 4th Street Jo-Mil Stores, Inc. Wholesale feed John T. Parker, manager 206 E. 4th Street Checker Front Stores Offices and Warehouse Groceries Edward L. Westling, general manager 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200 E. 4th Street Sunset Motor Lines The directory has no listing for Sunset Motor Lines. 204 E. 4th Street Austin Distributing Company Wholesale groceries Coad Robinson, proprietor 206 E. 4th Street Checker Front Stores Warehouse and Office Edward L. Westling, manager 403 Brazos Street J&R Distributing Company Food products Melvin A. Richard, proprietor 200 E. 4th Street Sunset Motor Lines Joseph J. Moritz, branch manager 204 E. 4th Street Liberty Mills Arthur M. Scott, manager 206 E. 4th Street Checker Front Stores Warehouse and Office Edward Westling, manager 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-02 E. 4th Street Sunset Motor Lines  1937 1935 1932-33 D.4 - 9 Joseph J. Moritz, agent 204 E. 4th Street Liberty Mills Flour mills Frank Reynolds, manager 206 E. 4th Street Checker Front Stores Warehouse and Office Edward Westling, manager 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 204 E. 4th Street Blatz Beer Distributors George Mezzetti, proprietor 206 E. 4th Street Checker Front Stores Warehouse and Office Edward Westling, manager 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-02 E. 4th Street Patton’s Inc. Warehouse NOTE: Patton Transfer Company was located at 116 E. 7th Street. 200-02 E. 4th Street Patton’s Inc. Warehouse NOTE: Patton Transfer Company was located at 116 E. 7th Street. 206 E. 4th Street Checker Front Stores Warehouse and Office Wayland C. Rivers, president 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-02 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Mrs. Lolla Marks, president 206 E. 4th Street Texas Tobacco Company Wayland C. and M. Leon Rivers, proprietors Checker Front Stores Warehouse and Office Wayland C. Rivers, president D.4 - 10 1930-31 1929 1927 1924 1922 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-12 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company J.S. Howse, manager Texas Tobacco Company D.S. Bassist, manager Checker Front Stores Office W.C. Rivers, manager 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-12 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company J.S. Howse, manager George F. Reichardt & Company Merchandise brokers George F. Reichardt, proprietor 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-12 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company James S. Howse, manager George F. Reichardt & Company Merchandise brokers George F. Reichardt, proprietor 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-12 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Harrison L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-08 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Grain, hay, and feed Harrison L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors 401-03 Brazos Street D.4 - 11 The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-08 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Grain, hay, and feed Harry L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-04 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Grain, hay, and feed Harry L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-04 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Grain, hay, and feed Harry L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-04 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Wholesale and retail grain, hay, and feed Harry L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 200-04 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Wholesale and retail grain, hay, and feed Harry L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory. 1920 1918 1916 1914 1912-13 1910-11 200 E. 4th Street Marks Grain Company Wholesale and retail grain, hay, and feed Harry L. and Charles J. Marks, proprietors NOTE: 204 E. 4th Street was listed as the home of Edith Cooper, an African-American woman, with no occupation stated. 401-03 Brazos Street The addresses are not listed in the directory.  1909-10 The 200 block of E. 4th Street was residential. D.4 - 12 Advertisement for the Marks Grain Company Austin American, April 7, 1926  D.4 - 13 Obituary of Harry Marks, the owner of Marks Grain Company, the first business in this building. Austin American, May 20, 1924 Funeral notice for Harry Marks Austin American, May 21, 1924 Obituary of George F. Reichardt, who had a merchandise brokerage business in this building in the late 1920s. Austin Statesman, May 2, 1938 D.4 - 14 Funeral notice for George F. Reichardt Austin American, May 3, 1938 Obituary of Wayland Rivers, who operated the Checker Front Stores chain of grocery stores in Austin from this building the early 1930s through the late 1950s. Austin American, January 27, 1959 from Funeral notice for Wayland C. Rivers Austin American, January 28, 1959 Obituary of Edward Westling, the manager of the Checker Front Stores, who had their offices and warehouse in this building from the mid-1930s through the late 1950s. Austin American-Statesman, September 23, 1996 D.4 - 15 Biography of Edward Westling, the manager of Checker Front Stores Central Texas Business and Professional Directory, 1952 HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION MARCH 23, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS HDP-2020-0086 204 E. 4TH STREET D.X - 16 Advertisement for Checker Front Stores, Austin Statesman, January 10, 1936 Checker Front Stores sponsored a softball team Austin American, April 8, 1937  D.X - 17 Water service permit (1930)  D.X - 18 This permit corresponds to the same approximate time as Checker Front Stores moved their office and warehouse into 206 E. 4th Street, an addition to the east of the original building. Sewer service permit to Mr. Marks (1930) Building permit to repair the loading dock (1941)  D.X - 19 The 1900 Sanborn map shows houses along the north side of E. 4th Street between Brazos and San Jacinto (bottom of map). There was a cotton warehouse across the alley to the north. The 1935 Sanborn map shows the current building with addresses of 200-02 E. 4th Street and being used as a transfer and storage warehouse. City directories show that Patton’s Transfer used this building as a warehouse in the mid-1930s. At 204 E. 4th Street is a grocery warehouse, corresponding to the warehouse and office of Checker Front Stores, a grocery chain. Note the small attached outbuildings along the east (right) wall of the building. Note the  D.X - 20 area shown as 403 Brazos Street, separated off from the 200-02 space at the corner, and listed as a storage building. The 1961 Sanborn map shows the current building used as a transfer and storage warehouse, with the northern section of the building being used for auto repair, and the eastern part of the building as a grocery warehouse. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Scarbrough’s maintained a warehouse here; there was an auto repair shop at 403 Brazos Street, and Checker Front Stores had their office and warehouse at 206 E. 4th Street.