D.8.0 - 1601 Willow St — original pdf

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D.8 - 1 HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION OCTOBER 26, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS GF-20-146072 1601 WILLOW STREET PROPOSAL PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS Partially demolish a ca. 1912 house and construct a new addition. 1) Demolish two-story portion of house. 2) Construct a two-story addition. The proposed addition includes a side gable set atop the existing roof, immediately behind the hipped ridgeline and intersected by a south (rear)-facing cross gable with exposed rafter tails. It is clad in horizontal wood siding to match existing and features double-hung 1:1 mulled and single windows with wood trim to match existing. The existing wraparound porch is extended to the east and south elevations, with all wood details to match existing. The roof is clad in composite shingles to match existing. 3) Add a masonry chimney to rear elevation. 4) Repaint existing siding, trim, railings, doors, and windows. ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH The 2-story house is clad in horizontal wood siding and has 1:1 mulled and single wood windows. Its compound gabled and hipped roof is clad in composition shingles and features exposed rafter tails. Its first-floor wraparound porch is supported by Classical columns. The building at 1601 Willow Street was constructed between 1910 and 1912. The Thomson family, its first occupants, rented the home until James Thomson’s death in 1914; his widow remained in the home for at least another two years. A series of short-term renters lived in the house until 1924, when Leonard and Helen Gillaspy purchased it. It is likely that the Gillaspy family added the two-story portion of the house to accommodate renters, who appear in Austin directories in 1935. Leonard Gillaspy, a postal worker, passed away in 1938. His wife, Helen, married Uel V. Ives, a WWI veteran and American Legion luminary, by 1947; the couple lived in the home until the 1950s. Their daughter Helen and her husband Robert Primose lived with them after Robert returned from service in WWII until at least 1952. After a decade of short-term renters, the home was purchased by Augustin and Reyes Castillo in 1964. Augustin Castillo, a quarry worker, passed away in 1969; Reyes Castillo, a waitress, continued to live in the house until her death in 2017. She raised 11 children there, and her porch became a neighborhood nexus. In a 2016 Austin American-Statesman article, Michael Barnes asked Castillos’s sons what it was like to grow up in the house: “Mama’s house, because of where it’s located on the corner — and us knowing a lot of people — there was always something going on,” says Tony Castillo, 73, her eldest surviving offspring and a retired teacher and coach. “Especially on the porch. There would be music and just about everybody would stop by.” “A lot of people congregated here,” says Derek Castillo, 44, Tony’s son and a business-development director for a video production company. “If something was going on, this was the place to meet.” The Austin American-Statesman, Sep 4, 2016. Castillo’s obituary declares: “She was at her happiest sitting on her Willow St. porch of 52 years, enjoying her time with cherished family and friends” (Austin American-Statesman, 2017). STAFF COMMENTS The 2016 East Austin Historic Resource Survey recommends this property as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as an individual resource and a contributing resource to a  D. 8- 2 potential South East Austin National Register district, as well as designation as an Austin landmark and a contributing property to a potential South East Austin local historic district. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity. Additions appear to have been constructed within the historic period. 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 house is constructed with Craftsman and Folk Victorian influences. b) Historical association. The house’s longest-term residents included working-class lifeways and contributions to their communities echo the households whose neighborhood’s demographic patterns as a whole. 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 was a reportedly active neighborhood nexus due to its corner lot and wide porch, which may contribute to the character, image, or cultural identity of the neighborhood. However, only the three-year period from 1967 to 1970—from the time it was purchased by the Castillo family, who began and encouraged this tradition of neighborhood gatherings, to the end of the historic period—may be considered under this criterion. 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 alterations to historic properties. Applicable standards may include: 2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided. The proposed project requires demolition of a historic-age addition. Alteration of historic fabric is required for proposed roofline changes. 9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment. The proposed alterations are slightly differentiated from the existing historic building by their placement and massing; however, identical decorative detailing at street-visible elevations may suggest false historicism. The rear and east alterations are compatible with existing material. The side-gabled second floor addition is less compatible with the secondary Comal Street façade due to its scale. 10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired. If the rear and side alterations were removed in the future, the essential form of the historic building would be unimpaired. Roofline alterations would require considerable work to reverse. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Recommend that the second-floor gable be reduced in scale or moved towards the rear of the house to minimize visual impact at the Willow and Comal Street elevations, and that decorative details and/or building volumes be subtly altered to enhance differentiation between new and existing building fabric, 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 D. 8- 3  PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D. 8- 4  Source: Applicant, 2020 D. 8- 5  Occupancy History City Directory Research, 2016-2020, by HPO staff and H-H-M, Inc. 1910 Not listed D. 8- 6 1912 James Thomson, renter 1914 James Thomson, renter Bartender, M. Arnold Packenius 1916 Annie Thomson, renter 1918 W. D. and Mattie O. Neyland, renters Captain, Hose Co. No. 7 1920 W. A. and Ina Tew, renters Residential electrician 1922 Lizzie Lehmann, renter 1924 Lizzie Lehmann, owner (wid Fritz) 1927 Leonard and Helen Gillaspy, owners Carrier, post office 1930 Leonard and Helen Gillaspy, owners 1932 Leonard and Helen Gillaspy, owners 1935 Leonard and Helen Gillaspy, owners Post office clerk Post office clerk Post office clerk H. W. and Eula Strong, renters Salesman, Heffington Pet Co. 1937 Leonard and Helen Gillaspy, owners Post office clerk Lloyd B. and Corine Leffingwell, renters Truck driver, G & H Motor Freight Lines 1939 Leonard and Helen Gillaspy, owners Post office clerk Weldon M. and Erminee Pitman, renters Brakeman 1941 Helen Gillaspy, owner (wid Leonard A.) Grady and Evelyn Cardwell, renters Post office clerk 1944 Walter H. and Lola M. Klingemann, renters Salesman, J.C. Bryant Co. 1947 Uel V. and Helen E. Ives, owners Electrician Note: Helen E. Ives was formerly Helen Gillaspy. 1949 Harold R. and Helen Primrose, renters Student Note: Helen Primrose, née Gillaspy, was born to Helen E. Ives and Leonard Gillaspy. D. 8- 7 1952 Harold R. and Helen Primrose, renters Bookkeeper 1955 a. Mary Rabel, renter Operator, telephone company b. Vacant 1957 Vacant 1959 J. W. Huckabay, renter 1962 J. W. and Faye Huckabay, renters Driver, Tex Construction Service 1967 Augustine Castillo, owner Laborer 1972 Mrs. Reyes Castillo, owner 1977 Reyes Castillo, owner 1981 Reyes Castillo, owner 1987 Reyes Castillo, owner 1992 Reyes Castillo, owner Biographical Information The Austin Statesman: Dec 1, 1914 The Austin Statesman: Nov 22, 1938 and Nov 23, 1938  D. 8- 8 The Austin Statesman: Jan 14, 1949 The Austin American: Nov 16, 1963 The Austin American Statesman: Oct 13, 1976  D. 8- 9 The Austin Statesman, May 25, 1969 and The Austin American Statesman, Sep 11, 1977 Legacy.com, https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?n=reyes- castillo&pid=185162213&fhid=14369  D. 8- 10 The Austin Statesman: Apr 8, 1910 The Statesman: May 27, 1917 The Austin American: Mar 25, 1934  D. 8- 11 The Austin Statesman: Jan 21, 1944 and Jul 3, 1945 The Austin Statesman: Aug 30, 1945 The Austin American: Aug 14, 1955  D. 8- 12 The Austin Statesman: Nov 9, 1956 The Austin Statesman: Feb 19, 1960  D. 8- 13  D. 8- 14  D. 8- 15 The Austin American-Statesman, Sep 4, 2016. https://www.statesman.com/NEWS/20160904/Reyes- Castillo-has-watched-the-world-go-by-from-her-broad-front-porch Maps 1935 and 1962 Sanborn maps showing 2nd-floor addition and outbuildings Building Permits Building/remodel permit, 3-20-39  D. 8- 16 Repair permit, 10-19-51 Water tap permit, 1958