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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION AUGUST 24, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS HDP-2020-0293 2816 SAN PEDRO STREET D.5 - 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1924 house. ARCHITECTURE 2816 San Pedro is a 1.5-story stucco residence with rectangular Cape Cod plan. It is side-gabled with a composite-shingle roof, three gabled dormers with 1:1 wood windows and lap siding, and a gabled portico supported by Classical columns. At the main elevation’s southernmost bay is a bank of 4:4 and 6:6 mulled windows framed with decorative shutters. The northernmost bay contains a single 12:12 window with similar shutters. The inset door is surrounded by a fanlight and sidelights. A hipped-roof addition to the south features 2:2 windows and a secondary double- door entry. A detached two-story garage apartment is northwest of the main house. RESEARCH The building at 2816 San Pedro Street was constructed for the Wyse family around 1924. William Riley Wyse, an independent oilman with ties to Austin’s power and water company, passed away shortly after its construction. Ellen Borroughs Wyse, his spouse, remained there with her son and daughter-in-law. Ellen Wyse was a prominent writer, editor, and business owner in Austin. Early in her career, Wyse served as the society editor for the Austin Statesman, then expanded her literary horizons to include her life’s passion: advertising. She established Gossip Advertising in 1911 at the age of thirty-eight, beginning with a single-page newspaper insert. By the 1920s, Gossip had grown into a multi-page publication and household name among Austinites, particularly women. The paper’s offices were located first at the Austin National Bank Building and later at the Scarbrough Building, as noted on its state historical marker. After more than thirty years of continuous publication, Wyse’s declining health shuttered Gossip’s pressroom in 1945. In addition to owning and operating a successful business—an extraordinary accomplishment for a woman in the early twentieth century—Wyse used her talent and charisma to reach out to other women writers. She presented to the Texas Presswomen’s Association across the state, sharing strategies for entering the male-dominated advertising field and establishing successful marketing tactics with a targeted and loyal readership. She was a founding member of the Quill Club (later, the Kwill Klub), a women’s organization that blossomed from a small collection of writers to a thriving consortium whose meetings included educators, librarians, professional authors (including Josephine Daniels, editor of the Texas Medical Journal, who also lived on San Pedro), prominent Austinites, and visiting wordsmiths from around the state. During Wyse’s lifetime, the Kwill Klub met most frequently at her estate, officially named “Owls’ Acre” but later dubbed “Wyseacre” by its literary-minded occupants. Wyse served as an active member in the Austin Woman’s Club, Pan-American Roundtable, and, according to her obituary, a stint on the Planning Commission. She received significant press coverage in the Austin American-Statesman for her role in planning and selecting Austin’s municipal flag design, and is named as the concept’s originator in Mayor A. P. Wooldridge’s 1912 resolution. After his graduation from the University of Texas, William R. (Billy) Wyse, Jr. joined his mother as an editor of Gossip. A founding member of the Austin Advertising Club, Wyse headed its merchandising and advertising school during the 1930s. He and his wife Bessie lived at Wyseacre D.5 - 2 until they moved to Kansas in 1940, where he followed in his mother’s entrepreneurial footsteps by establishing his own radio broadcasting company. Along with a perpetual swarm of authors, academics, and women-about-town, Wyseacre often hosted Ellen Wyse’s sister Margaret, a watercolorist and founder of the Austin Heritage Society, and her husband Wayman Adams, a renowned portrait painter. The Adamses frequently stayed with the Wyses as Wayman Adams traveled around the country for work, family in tow. Adams’ sitters included U.S. presidents, world-famous authors and artists, and notable academics. Upon retirement, Wayman and Margaret Adams moved back to Austin to be close to the Wyses. Their San Gabriel house and studio, “Encina Linda,” burned to the ground in 1976. Ellen Borroughs Wyse passed away in 1947. Like her late husband, Wyse requested her funeral service be held at the estate they both loved. Billy Wyse died three years later. The house’s ownership passed to Colonel O. Parke Houston, Fort Hood’s chief of staff. A series of renters then occupied the home until it was purchased by Dr. William S. Burford in the 1960s. STAFF COMMENTS Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain moderate integrity. 3) Properties must meet two historic designation criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2- 352). The property may demonstrate significance according to City Code: a) Architecture. The building displays Classical and Colonial Revival-style influences. b) Historical association. The building is associated with writer and advertising editor Ellen B. Wyse and her son Billy Wyse. It is the only known remaining building in Austin associated with artists Wayman Adams and Margaret Borroughs. c) Archaeology. The house was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d) Community value. The house does not 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 demographic group. 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 Consider initiation of historic zoning based on the property’s historical associations and intact architecture. Should the Commission choose not to initiate, staff recommends encouraging rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, then relocation over demolition, then release of the demolition permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package, consisting of photographs of all elevations, a dimensioned sketch plan, and a narrative history, for archiving at the Austin History Center.  LOCATION MAP D.5 - 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D.5 - 4 Source: Trulia.com, 2020 Source: Code officer Jillian Holbert, report #19-221779 D.5 - 5 1959 1957 1955 1952 1949 1947 1944 1941 1937 1935 1932 Source: Hardy-Heck-Moore, Inc., 2019 Occupancy History City Directory Research, August 2020. Note: Due to facility closure, post-1959 directory research was unavailable. 2816 ½ San Pedro: William D. and Mary R. Blaydes, owners UT Student Ellen B. Wyse, owner (wid. William R.) Ellen B. Wyse, owner (wid. William R.) Editor 1939 Ellen B. Wyse, owner (wid. William R.) Wm S. Burford, renter Laura L. Hawkins, renter Supervisor, State Hospital Milner S. and Anna L. Thorne, renters Physician, 711B W. 14th St. Wallen Allen Daley Jr., renter UT student Ellen B Wyse, owner (wid. William R.) Ellen B. Wyse, owner (wid. William R.) Gossip Advertising, 807 Scarbrough Bldg. William R., Jr. and Bessie Wyse, renters Gossip Advertising Ellen B. Wyse, owner (wid. William R.) Gossip Advertising, 507 Scarbrough Bldg. William R., Jr. and Bessie Wyse, renters Gossip Advertising William R., Jr. and Bessie Wyse, renters Gossip Advertising William R., Jr. and Bessie Wyse, owners Gossip Advertising  1930 Ellen B. Wyse, owner (wid. William R.) Gossip Advertising William R., Jr. and Bessie Wyse, owners Gossip Advertising 1929 William R., Jr. and Bessie Wyse, owners Gossip Advertising, 359 Austin National Bank Bldg. D.5 - 6 Ellen B. Wyse, renter (wid. Riley) Gossip Advertising 1927 E. B. Wyse, owner (wid. Riley) Editor, Gossip Advertising William and Bess M. Wyse Assistant editor, Gossip Advertising UT student 1924 W. R. and Ellen Wyse, owners William R. Wyse, Jr. UT student 1922 Address not listed Biographical Information The Austin Statesman: Aug. 21-23, 1925  D.5 - 7 The Austin Statesman: Feb 8-9, 1947  The Austin Statesman: Feb 10, 1947 D.5 - 8 The Austin Statesman: Jan. 17-19, 1950 D.5 - 9 Austin Daily Statesman: Apr. 21, 1901 The Houston Post: May 8, 1914 D.5 - 10 San Antonio Express: May 11, 1914 D.5 - 11 The Austin Statesman and Tribune: Nov. 17, 1915 and The Statesman: Feb 22, 1917 The Statesman: June 23, 1918 D.5 - 12 The Statesman: Apr. 23, 1919 D.5 - 13  D.5 - 14 D.5 - 15 Flag resolution, Apr. 12, 1919: http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=90107 D.5 - 16 The Statesman: Aug. 17, 1919 D.5 - 17 The Austin Statesman: Mar. 23, 1924 D.5 - 18 The Austin Statesman: Jun. 15, 1925 D.5 - 19 The Austin American: Oct. 25, 1925 and Nov. 15, 1925 The Austin American: Jul. 11, 1926 The Austin American: Apr. 10, 1927 D.5 - 20 The Austin Statesman: Apr. 15, 1930 D.5 - 21 The Austin Statesman: Mar. 8, 1934 The Austin Statesman: Oct. 14, 1935 D.5 - 22 The Austin Statesman: May 15, 1944 The Austin Statesman: May 12, 1946 D.5 - 23 The Austin Statesman: Apr. 24, 1953 The Austin Statesman: Aug. 24, 1976 D.5 - 24 The Austin American Statesman: Jan. 5, 1980 Source: Purcell, John M.; Croft, James A.; Monahan, Rich. American City Flags (PDF). North American Vexillological Association. pp. 26–27. D.5 - 25 The Austin American Statesman: Oct 12, 2016. D.5 - 26 Source: Handbook of Texas Online, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fad09 Source: Austin History Center, Wayman Adams papers: https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/aushc/00597/00597-P.html D.5 - 27 The Austin Statesman: May 13, 1947 and Jun. 19, 1950 Maps and Building Permits D.5 - 28 1935 Sanborn fire insurance map 1940 aerial image 1962 Sanborn fire insurance map D.5 - 29 Sewer tap permit, 6-15-27 Remodel permit and inspection card, 8-10-61