C.3.0 - 1406 Ethridge Ave — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION PERMITS IN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICTS NOVEMBER 16, 2020 1406 ETHRIDGE AVENUE GF-2020-162558 C.3 - 1 PROPOSAL OLD WEST AUSTIN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT Demolish and reconstruct front porch; apply mortar wash; construct rear and garage addition; replace windows, doors, and siding. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS rafter tails. 1) Demolish existing front porch. Replace with full-width porch with metal roof and exposed 2) Apply mortar wash to existing stone that will leave some stone exposed. 3) Construct an addition. The proposed 1.5-story portion of the addition, clad in vertical wood siding, combines a garage with entry at the east (main) elevation with living space above. It features a side-gabled roof and metal-roofed shed dormers. The 2-story portion of the proposed addition is clad in stone veneer and combines a gabled tile roof with standing-seam metal shed accents atop exposed rafter tails. 4) Apply new wood shutters to east elevation. 5) Replace all windows and doors. 6) Replace metal roof with tile. RESEARCH The house at 1406 Ethridge Avenue was built in 1939 for Reverend Edmund Heinsohn, a lawyer and minister, and his family. Heinsohn served as the pastor of University Methodist Church for over a quarter-century, setting a record for the longest stay in a single congregation for a Methodist minister. Heinsohn was a trustee of Southwestern University for nearly forty years and chairman of the board of trustees at Huston-Tillotson College for thirty. He served on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for twenty-five years. In 1958, Heinsohn was honored as the city’s “Most Worthy Citizen” by the Austin Real Estate Board for his long career in ministry and service. Heinsohn’s Austin legacy is rooted in his anti-war and anti-segregation activism throughout the twentieth century. In the 1930s and 1940s, he spoke up for American neutrality, opposed the religious oppression perpetrated by the Nazi regime, and promoted nonviolence as vice- president of the Methodist Commission on World Peace. University Methodist became one of the first historically white churches to accept Black parishioners in 1957, and Heinsohn chaired the Commission on Human Relations two years later in a bid to prevent violence against civil rights protestors. The reverend’s reputation for inclusivity led to him to maintain friendships among a diverse group of prominent Austinites of all creeds, from Supreme Court judges to J. Frank Dobie. Described as a “legend in his own lifetime” by the Austin American-Statesman in 1979, Heinsohm passed away in 1989 at the age of 100. STANDARDS FOR REVIEW The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation are used to evaluate new construction projects in National Register historic districts. Applicable standards 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 modifications remove historic fenestration and porch, and obscure historic masonry. C.3 - 2 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. Historic-age windows and doors will be removed. The proposed mortar wash and porch construction mimic an older style of building while obscuring or removing character-defining materials. While the wood-clad portion of the addition is appropriately differentiated, the matching masonry treatment makes the 2-story stone addition less so. The garage addition’s placement on the lot may alter the building’s relationship to the street, while its cladding, irregular roofline, and front-facing garage do not appear compatible with the historic structure or surrounding contributing buildings. 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 removed in the future, the proposed modifications would require significant work to reverse. The proposed project does not meet the applicable standards. STAFF COMMENTS The house contributes to the Old West Austin National Register Historic District. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity. 3) Properties must meet two historic designation criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352): Heinsohn. a. Architecture. The building displays Colonial Revival influences. b. Historical association. The building is associated with Reverend Edmund 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 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 building’s association with Reverend E. Heinsohn and referral to the November 30 meeting of the Architectural Review Committee. Should the Commission decide against initiation and referral, comment on the plans, recommending retaining significant features of the front façade, and 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 C.3 - 3  PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos C.3 - 4 Source: City Historic Preservation Office, 2020 Occupancy History City Directory Research, 2020 Note: Post-1959 directory research is unavailable due to facility closure. 1959 Rev. Edmund Heinsohn, renter 1957 Rev. Edmund and Lollie Heinsohn, renters Pastor, University Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe Street Laura L. Heinsohn, renter Student Louise Heinsohn, renter (Widow of C. J. Heinsohn) 1955 Rev. Edmund and Lollie Heinsohn, renters  C.3 - 5 Pastor, University Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe Street Laura L. Heinsohn, renter Clerk, State Comptroller 1952 1949 Rev. Edmund and Lollie Heinsohn, renters Pastor, University Methodist Church, 306 W. 24th Street Rev. Edmund and Lollie Heinsohn, renters Pastor, University Methodist Church, 306 W. 24th Street Laura G. Heinsohn, renter Clerk, State Comptroller 1947 Rev. Edmund and Lollie Heinsohn, renters Pastor, University Methodist Church, 306 W. 24th Street Laura G. Heinsohn, renter Clerk State Employment Service 1944-45 Rev. Edmund and Lollie Heinsohn, renters Pastor, University Methodist Church, 306 W. 24th Street Fay Heinsohn, renter Student, UT Laura L. Heinsohn, renter Clerk, Texas Insurance Checking Office Louis Heinsohn, renter 1941 Rev. Edmund and Lollie Heinsohn, renters Pastor, University Methodist Church, 306 W. 24th Street Laura L. Heinsohn, renter Student 1939 Address not listed. Biographical Information HEINSOHN, EDMUND (1888–1989).Edmund Heinsohn, lawyer and Methodist minister, son of Charles and Louise (Schwecke) Heinsohn, was born in Fayetteville, Texas, on July 17, 1888. The family later moved to Bartlett, where Edmund graduated from high school in 1905. He received A.B. and LL. B. degrees in 1911 and 1912 from the University of Texas and opened a law office in Temple in 1912. He was also appointed assistant county attorney for Bell County at that time. After eleven years in the legal profession he entered the Methodist ministry, in October 1923. Following various assignments, including six years at the First Methodist Church in Georgetown, where he served at Southwestern University, he was assigned to the University Methodist Church in Austin in 1934. From 1931 to 1959 he was a trustee of Southwestern University, from which he received an honorary doctor of divinity degree in 1931. He was chairman of the board of trustees of Huston-Tillotson College, which awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1946. He was also the first alumnus to receive the J.D. degree from the University of Texas law school when that degree was first offered. Heinsohn was a member of the Texas State Library and Historical Commission (later the Texas State Library and Archives Commission) for twenty-five years and was twice chairman. He was a member of the Austin Town and Gown Club. He was a Lion, a Rotarian, and a Kiwanian and was selected Most Worthy Citizen of the City of Austin in 1959. Though he was the grandson of a slaveowner, Heinsohn worked to abolish segregation in the Methodist Church and the University of Texas. In 1957 his church became one of the first in Austin to accept black parishioners. He was opposed to war and was named vice president of the Methodist Commission on World Peace in 1940. He married Lollie Grimes in 1917, and they had three daughters. Mrs. Heinsohn died in 1979. Heinsohn preached his last sermon  at the age of eighty-five in observance of the 100th anniversary of Southwestern University. He died on August 12, 1989, and was buried at Austin Memorial Park. Les Gronberg, “Heinsohn, Edmund,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed November 09, 2020, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/heinsohn-edmund. C.3 - 6 The Austin American (1914-1973): Jul 15, 1951; The Austin Statesman (1921-1973): Feb 15, 1957 The Austin American Statesman (1973-1987): Nov 12, 1979  C.3 - 7 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973): Nov 6, 1933 and The Austin American (1914-1973): Aug 2, 1936 The Austin American (1914-1973): Oct 8, 1939; The Austin American (1914-1973): Dec 3, 1939  C.3 - 8 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Apr 11, 1941 C.3 - 9 Douglass, Neal. [Reverend Edmund Heinsohn Bon Voyage Party - University Methodist Church], photograph, July 25, 1951; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth74692/m1/1/: accessed November 9, 2020) The Austin American (1914-1973); Sep 23, 1951  C.3 - 10 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); May 6, 1952 The Austin American (1914-1973); Jun 8, 1958  C.3 - 11 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Feb 4, 1959  C.3 - 12 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Feb 11, 1959  C.3 - 13 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); May 19, 1959 and May 26, 1959  C.3 - 14 The Austin American (1914-1973); Oct 18, 1959; The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Apr 20, 1960  C.3 - 15 The Austin American (1914-1973); May 1, 1960 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Jun 23, 1960  C.3 - 16 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Apr 5, 1962  C.3 - 17 The Austin American (1914-1973); Nov 4, 1962;  C.3 - 18 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973) May 1, 1964; Sep 6, 1964; Sep 16, 1964  C.3 - 19 The Austin American (1914-1973); Nov 29, 1964  C.3 - 20 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Mar 9, 1966 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Mar 15, 1966  C.3 - 21 The Austin American (1914-1973); Jun 11, 1967  C.3 - 22 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Jul 14, 1968  The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Nov 29, 1969 C.3 - 23  C.3 - 24 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Oct 22, 1972 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Oct 22, 1972  C.3 - 25 The Austin American Statesman (1973-1987); Mar 19, 1979  C.3 - 26 The Austin American Statesman (1973-1987); Dec 23, 1979  Permits C.3 - 27 Water tap permit, 10-4-39 Building permit, 10-4-39 Remodel permit, 10-7-69