D.7.0 - 3017 E. 14th Street — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS HDP-2020-0362 3017 E. 14TH STREET D.7 - 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1947 house and a ca. 1950 garage. ARCHITECTURE The house is a one-story, rectangular-plan, clipped front gabled stuccoed frame bungalow with a front-gabled independent porch on battered wood posts and stuccoed piers; metal storm louvers cover all the historic fenestration. The garage is a one-story, rectangular plan stuccoed frame garage with additional fenestrated space to the rear. RESEARCH City building permit records show that Walter E. Moore built this house in 1947, although the style of the house appears to be much earlier so it may have been moved on to this site rather than an original build here. Walter E. Moore was a carpenter and builder; his wife, Mattie, was a beauty operator who worked in an African-American beauty shop prior to moving into this house; once here, she opened her own beauty shop, Dutch’s, in the ca. 1950 garage. African-American beauty shops were generally a site for community gathering, and especially in the 1950s, served as natural gathering places for women interested in civil rights. There is no information at this time as to whether Mattie Moore’s Dutch’s Beauty Shop served in any meaningful capacity as a location for discussion and/or action for civil rights during that period, however, undertaking the establishment of a beauty business on a residential property does reflect some of the norms of the time. Rules regarding beauty salons were especially restrictive for many African-American entrepreneurs in Austin. They were generally subject to more frequent and more rigorous inspections to retain their business licenses. One rule required that the beauty salon had to be completely separated from any residential use of the property, thus likely requiring the construction of a the separate garage and shop seen here for Mattie Moore to be able to operate. Construction of a separate shop posed a greater economic investment into the business that many African-American women could not afford. Mattie Moore had worked in an established beauty shop prior to living in this house, and this property reflects the business practices of the day forced upon African- American women. The house is located in McKinley Heights, a mid-twentieth century African-American neighborhood noted for its middle class housing and character. Its location may also be relevant in the interpretation of significance for this property. STAFF COMMENTS The house is beyond the scope of any City survey to date. Staff has evaluated this house for designation as a historic landmark and has determined that the house does not meet the criteria for landmark designation as set forth in City Code: a. Architecture. The house is an anomaly if city building permit records truly relate the story of its construction. From all appearances, this house is a mid- 1920s bungalow that retains many of the hallmarks of the style. However, city building permit records indicate that it was constructed in 1947 by the long- term owner of the property. The house is a good example of the bungalow style, but its architectural history is not sufficiently clear to warrant a determination of significance under this criterion.  D.7 - 2 b. Historical association. From 1947 through the historic period, this house was the home of Walter E. and Mattie Moore. Walter E. Moore was a carpenter and contractor; Mattie Moore ran a beauty shop in the back building of this property through the 1950s. Research has not identified any particular significance to this beauty shop in the context of civil rights in Austin in the 1950s and 1960s, but it is an example of an African-American woman’s entrepreneurial enterprise is establishing a business that was subject to comparatively oppressive regulation at that time. 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 and beauty shop are located in McKinley Heights, one of several mid-20th century residential developments for the African-American middle class in Austin, but does not appear to 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 Encourage rehabilitation and adaptive re-use, then relocation over demolition, but 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. The house does not meet the criteria for individual designation as a historic landmark.  LOCATION MAP D.7 - 3  D.7 - 4 3017 E. 14th Street ca. 1947 ca. 1947 stucco house ca. 1950 stucco garage OCCUPANCY HISTORY 3017 E. 14th Street City Directory Research, Austin History Center  1957 1955 1953 1949 1947 By City Historic Preservation Office September, 2020 1959 D.7 - 5 Walter E. and Mattie Moore, owners Walter: Mattie: Carpenter, Lott Lumber Company Proprietor, Dutch’s Beauty Shop (at the rear of the house). Walter E. and Mattie Moore, owners Walter: Mattie: Contractor Proprietor, Dutch’s Beauty Shop (at the rear of the house). Walter E. and Mattie Moore, owners Walter: Mattie: Contractor Proprietor, Dutch’s Beauty Shop (at the rear of the house). Walter E. and Mattie Moore, owners Walter: Mattie: Laborer Proprietor, Dutch’s Beauty Shop (at the rear of the house). Walter E. and Mattie Moore, owners Carpenter NOTE: Mattie Moore is not listed separately with an occupation; the rear building on this site was constructed in 1950 according to city building permits. The address is not listed in the directory. NOTE: Walter E. and Mattie L. Moore are listed at 1208 Coleto Street. He had no occupation shown. She was an operator at the Vanity Beauty Shop (William C. Plummer, proprietor), 1200 E. 12th Street. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: Walter E. and Mattie Moore (ca. 1947 - ) The 1930 U.S. Census shows Walter E. Moore living with three of his unmarried siblings in a rented house at 1605 Washington Avenue (now S.L. Davis Avenue) in Austin. Walter Moore was 21, had been born in Texas, and was a carpenter for the public schools. He had two older siblings: Theodore, 23, who had been born in Texas and was a house carpenter; and Christana, 29, who had been born in Texas and was a cook for a private family. Walter had a younger sister, Ora B., 19, who had been born in Texas and had no occupation listed. The parents of the Moore siblings had both been born in Texas. The 1940 U.S. Census shows (Walter) Eugene and Mattie L. Moore as the renters of the house at 1208 Coleto Street in Austin. Eugene Moore was 31, had been born in Texas, and was laborer in the construction business. Mattie L. Moore was 25, had been born in Texas, and had no occupation listed. They had a son, Willie, 9, who was born- in Texas. Walter E. Moore’s World War II Army enlistment records shows that he was born in Texas in 1909 and was married. He lived in Travis County, and had a grammar school education. He enlisted at Fort Sam Houston in January, 1944. Mattie Moore is shown in the 1920 U.S. Census as Mattie Rivers, the 4-year old grand=daughter of James and Lizzie Martin, who owned their farm in Bastrop County, Texas. Her grandfather, James, 54, had been born in Texas to Alabama-born parents, and was a farmer. Her grandmother, Lizzie, 49, was born in Texas to Louisiana-born parents and was listed as a farm laborer. All of Mattie’s uncles and aunts listed in the census report were farm laborers. Mattie  D.7 - 6 was the youngest of the Martins’ 4 grandchildren, but there is no indication of their parents. Everyone in the family is listed as mulatto. MOORE, Walter Eugene, 85, of Austin died Saturday. Services 1 p.m. Thursday, 12th Street Baptist Church. Burial Evergreen Cemetery. (King Tears) Death notice for Walter Eugene Moore Austin American-Statesman, April 20, 1994 Image of Mattie Moore from her headstone Building permit to Walter Moore to build this stucco residence (1947) with a notation that the garage referenced on the permit was not built.  D.7 - 7 Water service permit to Walter Moore for this address (1948) Building permit to Walter Moore to construct the stucco garage that would become Mattie Moore’s Dutch’s Beauty Shop (1950)  D.7 - 8 This area of the city does not appear on any Sanborn map in the historic period. Survey of the property  D.7 - 9 Photo provided by applicant showing the damage resulting from a recent attic fire.