A.2.0 - 2609 San Pedro St — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS HDP-2020-0231 2609 SAN PEDRO STREET A.2 - 1 PROPOSAL ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH Demolish a ca. 1935 house, originally constructed as a duplex. Two-story frame hipped-roof duplex with horizontal wood siding, 6:6 wood windows, composition shingles, and a second-floor balcony. The building at 2609 San Pedro Street was originally a duplex, built in 1935 as a rental property for medical journalist Josephine Draper Daniel. Daniel resided down the block at another rental property on Salado Street until she moved to San Pedro after 1944. After the 1914 death of her husband, physician F. E. Daniel, Josephine Daniel took over his position as editor of the Texas Medical Journal for the next thirty years. F. E. Daniel, a former Confederate army surgeon and Texas Medical College professor, founded the journal in 1885. It later became the most influential medical publication of its time in Texas. Prior to her tenure as editor, Josephine Daniel contributed as founder of the Texas Medical Journal’s “Women’s Department” section since 1912, appealing to a wider demographic than the predominantly male medical field. As editor, Daniel introduced her audience to early tenets of feminism in healthcare and openly contradicted the eugenicist positions championed by her late husband. In a fall 2001 article for The Historian, entitled “The Woman's Department: Maternalism and Feminism in the Texas Medical Journal,” historian Courtney Shah describes Daniel’s evolution as a journalist: Josephine Daniel, although not openly recommending a radical feminist political platform, quietly introduced feminist ideas to her maternalist audience as well as many male physicians. The Women’s Department walked a narrow path between deference to medical and societal experts, and a demand to liberate women from the very institutions the experts represented: the sexual hierarchy of the family, the medical profession, and the state […] [As editor] she [promoted] her own two-pronged campaign of reform: maternalist issues such as reducing infant mortality and pure food laws, and the more radical feminist edge of birth control and women’s emancipation. (Shah 2001, 96-97) Daniel wrote frankly about the importance of reproductive education, stating that "The health and happiness of every girl demands that she receive when approaching adolescence an intelligent presentation of the vital life process” (95). In 1929, Daniel sold the journal and devoted her time to women’s health and literacy advocacy in Austin. She led an active civic life as a state board member of Planned Parenthood; a board member of the League of Women Voters; a founding member of Austin’s Altrusa chapter, a service organization for women professionals; vice-chairman of the Austin Woman’s Club’s Literature and Lectures Committee; and a contributor to several arts and literacy programs. She was a member of the Quill Club, an organization of women writers spearheaded by another San Pedro Street resident, professional editor and advertiser Ellen Wyse. The 1940 census also lists Josephine Daniel as the manager of a biological laboratory. 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.2 - 2 a) Architecture. The building displays Colonial Revival-style influences. b) Historical association. The building is associated with journalist Josephine Daniel, editor of the Texas Medical Journal. 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 particular 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 recommendation of historic zoning based on the building’s architecture and association with medical journalist Josephine Draper Daniel. Otherwise, encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, then relocation over demolition, then release the 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 A.2 - 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos A.2 - 4 Source: Applicant, September 2020 Source: H-H-M, Inc., 2019 A.2 - 5 Occupancy History City Directory Research, July 2020 Note: Due to facility closure, post-1959 directory research was unavailable. 1959 Address not listed. 1955 1952 1949 1947 Mrs. Josephine Daniel, owner (wid. Ferdinand E.) Mrs. Josephine Daniel, owner (wid. Ferdinand E.) Mrs. Josephine Daniel, owner (wid. Ferdinand E.) Mrs. Josephine Daniel, owner (wid. Ferdinand E.) Mrs. Hattie L. Daugherty, renter (wid. J.J.) Housekeeper (1940 census) 1944 Mrs. Myrtle M. Inks, renter (wid. Roy B.) Clerk, State Secretary Mrs. Wanda O. Keyser, renter Junius P. Ray, renter 1941 Mrs. Myrtle M. Inks, renter (wid. Roy B.) Assistant chief clerk, State Department of Public Welfare Hal C. McLoud, renter Mildred B. Inks, renter Student, U of T James M. Inks, renter Student Mildred B. Inks, renter Student James M. Inks, renter Student 1939 C. W. Ransdell, renter R.B. and Myrtle M. Inks, renters Supervisor of mail Supervisor, State Relief Commission 1937 Henry F., Jr. and Earle Jonas, renters Horace L. and Sidney Roberdeau, renters President, Roberdeau Van and Storage Co., 411 E 4th Street 1935 Address not listed Biographical Information A.2 - 6 The Austin American Statesman: Feb 17 and 18, 1974 Entry on F. E. Draper from 1910’s Library of Southern Literature: Biographical Dictionary of Authors, edited by Edwin Anderson Alderman, Joel Chandler Harris, and Charles William Kent. A.2 - 7 The Austin Statesman: Jan 22, 1941 The Austin Statesman: Apr 9, 1941 A.2 - 8 Texas Medical Association. Texas State Journal of Medicine, Volume 51, Number 7, July 1955. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth599868/m1/89/?q=%20date%3A%2A-1970) Building Permits A.2 - 9 Water tap permit for downstairs apartment, 10-11-35 Water tap permit for upstairs apartment, 10-10-35 Sewer tap permit, 9-13-35