A.5.0 - Mutual Building, 905 Congress Avenue — original pdf

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A.5 - 1 ZONING CHANGE REVIEW SHEET HLC DATE: PC DATE: November 16, 2020 November 24, 2020 CASE NUMBER: C14H-2020-0120 APPLICANT: 905, Ltd., owners HISTORIC NAME: Mutual Building WATERSHED: Lady Bird Lake ADDRESS OF PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE: 905 Congress Avenue ZONING FROM: CBD to CBD-H SUMMARY STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the proposed zoning change from central business district (CBD) zoning to central business district – Historic Landmark (CBD-H) combining district zoning. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION: HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION ACTION: PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: The house is beyond the bounds of the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey (1984). ACTION: ORDINANCE NUMBER: CITY COUNCIL DATE: December 10, 2020 ORDINANCE READINGS: 1ST 2ND 3RD CASE MANAGER: Steve Sadowsky NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION: Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION: Architecture: The Mutual Building is one of the finest examples of Art Deco design in downtown Austin. It is a two-story rectangular-plan building with a white cream limestone façade articulated with many facets of the Art Deco style, including carved stone floral motifs, a band of waves, and a recessed entry flanked by a tall, narrow window on either side. PHONE: 974-6454 The Art Deco movement sprang from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Insustriels Modernes in Paris, France in 1925, and is characterized by simple shapes and geometric or stylized ornamentation, drawing inspiration from nature, Native American, Egyptian, and classical motifs. Art Deco was meant to incorporate art into architecture (and all of the other milieux of Art Deco expression, including furniture, home goods, lighting fixtures, jewelry, sculpture, statuary, and the visual arts), and to represent a sleek elegance that reflected modernism, wealth, and sophistication. New materials, such as stainless steel, bakelite, and other non-traditional building and decorative finishes found their way into Art Deco designs. The Art Deco façade of this building, designed by prominent local architect A.5 - 2 Hugo Kuehne in 1930, was for the new offices of a savings and home loan business, embodying the strength, stability, wealth, and refinement of the company during the troubled economic times of the Great Depression. The Art Deco façade of the building originally had a large, square, glass block bay on the second floor; the glass blocks were replaced with a bay window in 1981; an additional modification was the 2003 removal of the bay window and installation of a plate glass window in the opening, with anodized metal dividers to pay tribute to the original glass block design. The façade has been sandblasted, probably in 1981 during the renovation of the building; the sandblasting damaged and softened the contours of the Art Deco motifs on the building, but enough remain to project the original design of the façade. Additional modifications include the replacement of the two windows flanking the recessed front entry, and the addition of a steel canopy over the door. Hugo Kuehne designed the Art Deco façade of the building in 1930 at the height of the popularity of the movement, replacing the older red brick façade that dated from the 1870s and had three bays across each story similar to other buildings in the block on Congress Avenue. The Kuehne façade consists of a pair of fluted pilasters, one on each side of the recessed central entry. Four vertical panels above the entry feature stylized floral bas-relief; the panels graduate down in size from a central panel containing geometric chevron motifs. The base of the parapet is delineated by a horizontal band of stylized waves. A.5 - 3 The Mutual Building with its ca. 1930 Art Deco façade designed by Hugo Kuehne 905 Congress Avenue A.5 - 4 Art Deco panels featuring stylized floral motifs above the central entry. Detail of the fluted pilasters, the top of the central window, and the parapet, featuring a course of stylized wave motifs at its base. A.5 - 5 Historical Associations: This building dates from the mid-1870s and has served a variety of uses prior to its transformation into the Art Deco presence it has now. This section of Congress Avenue was relatively slow to develop in the late 19th century, with most of the business activity closer to the intersection with 6th Street, and south to the railroad tracks traversing the city at 3rd Street. There was activity close to the State Capitol, a block and a half away, but the site of this building appears to have been vacant when it was purchased in 1870. Not long thereafter, business development began filling in the empty lots on Congress Avenue north of 6th Street, and soon small businesses began to be established in this building and the surrounding block. Early mercantile shops in this building included a shoe store, a confectioner and baker, and an ice cream parlor. The Austin Statesman Publishing Company occupied the building in the mid- to late 1890s; there was a drug store here at the turn of the century. Plumbers John R. Donnelly and Stephen White established their heating and plumbing supply and contracting business here around 1905, and bought the building in 1921. They later moved closer to the railroad tracks as their warehouse needs expanded, occupying the building at 3rd and Lavaca for many years. Advertisement for Billeisen’s Ice Cream Parlor and Confectionary, aimed at soldiers stationed in Austin Austin Daily Statesman, July 21, 1891 Donnelly and White moved their operations closer to the railroad tracks as their warehouse needs expanded in 1926, occupying the building at 3rd and Lavaca Streets for many years. They sold this building to the Mutual Deposit and Loan Company in 1926, who moved from their original location at 819 Congress Avenue, built a vault in the building and remodeled the interior. The Mutual Deposit and Loan Company, along with its associated Fidelity Mortgage Company, was a building and loan company, offering depositors high rates of return on their savings, and providing loans for the purchase or construction of homes in the city. The incorporators of the company were some of the most prominent businesspeople in Austin, including H.H. Luedecke, O.H. Millican, and Fred C. Morse. Architect Hugo Kuehne, who redesigned the façade of the building for the Mutual Deposit and Loan Company in 1930, was also a director of the corporation. The significance of the Mutual Deposit and Loan Company was manifold: it provided loans to home buyers, provided a means of saving money at a good rate, and perhaps most importantly, stayed in business throughout the Depression, allowing Austin to continue growing with new construction and the development of new subdivisions and neighborhoods. The Mutual also provided savings accounts for school children to inculcate the habits of savings and thrift in young people, who could deposit their small change and watch their savings grow over time. Both the Mutual Deposit and Loan Company and Fidelity Mortgage changed names later in the century – Mutual became the Mutual Savings Institution in 1945, and Fidelity rechartered as the City National Bank in 1955. A.5 - 6 How building and loan associations, such as the Mutual Deposit Company, work Austin Statesman, June 3, 1923 A.5 - 7 Story on the business of Mutual Deposit and other building and loan associations Austin Statesman, October 5, 1924 A.5 - 8 News of the remodeling of the building at 905 Congress Avenue by the Mutual Deposit Austin American-Statesman, May 25, 1930 Company A.5 - 9 News story on the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Mutual Deposit and Loan Company of Austin Austin American-Statesman, September 22, 1935 A.5 - 10 Advertisement for the Mutual Deposit and Loan Company Austin Statesman, June 13, 1936 A.5 - 11 A.5 - 12 A.5 - 13 Advertisement and business booster stories on the history and future of the Mutual Deposit Company Austin Statesman, September 5, 1940 Hugo Kuehne also designed the next home for the Mutual at 1005 Congress Avenue in 1952. The space was then taken over by the Manhattan Restaurant, a Kosher deli operated by Florence and David Robbins, which operated here until 1957, when they moved to 911 Congress Avenue. Recent articles by Michael Barnes in the Austin American-Statesman suggest that the back room of the Manhattan may have been Austin’s first gay bar, but it is not clear if that occurred at the 905 Congress location or the later location at 911 Congress Avenue. The 1959 Austin city directory notes that the 905 Congress Avenue space was vacant. A.5 - 14 A.5 - 15 A.5 - 16 Story on the relocation of the Manhattan Restaurant and Deli to 911 Congress Avenue, after five years in this building Austin American-Statesman, June 23, 1957 In the summer of 1961, Household Finance Corporation of Dallas took over the building, and operated here as a personal loan business until 1980. The building was then converted to offices, and is now the home of Nelsen Partners, architects. A.5 - 17 Ad for the opening of Household Finance in this building Austin Statesman, August 30, 1961 A.5 - 18 PARCEL NO.: 0206031002 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: S 23FT OF LOT 2 BLOCK 111 ORIGINAL CITY ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX ABATEMENT: $20,856 (non-homestead); city portion: $5,829. APPRAISED VALUE: $3,460,000 PRESENT USE: Professional office CONDITION: Excellent PRESENT OWNERS: 905 Ltd. 905 Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701 DATE BUILT: ca. 1872 ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS: Art Deco façade added to the building in 1930-31; modifications to the Art Deco façade in 1981 and 2003, replacing the glass block central window with a bay window, and later a plate glass window. ORIGINAL OWNER(S): Unknown OTHER HISTORICAL DESIGNATIONS: Contributing to the Congress Avenue National Register Historic District.  LOCATION MAP A.5 - 19 A.5 - 20 A.5 - 21 A.5 - 22 A.5 - 23 A.5 - 24 A.5 - 25 A.5 - 26 A.5 - 27 A.5 - 28 1930s photograph of the building showing the original glass block window on the second story. A.5 - 29