D.14.0 - McPhail's Florist, 605 Barton Springs Road — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION NOVEMBER 16, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS HDP-2020-0431 605 BARTON SPRINGS ROAD D.14 - 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1928 commercial building, apartment, and greenhouse. ARCHITECTURE The complex consists of a two-story rectangular-plan commercial building with living quarters upstairs; this building has single 1:1 fenestration and corner parapets; it is a stuccoed building. The front section of the two story building is a one-story, rectangular-plan commercial building with large display windows and a round-arched stuccoed trellis at the entryway. Several one-story glass and metal greenhouses flank the west (right) side of the commercial building. RESEARCH This complex was once the home of McPhail’s Wayside Gardens, later McPhail’s Wayside Florist, one of the first and only 24-hour florists in Austin. Virgil and Rosa McPhail came to Austin from Beaumont and established the Wayside Gardens on the south side of Barton Springs Road. They built their home and florist shop on the site around 1928; the business remained in family hands until about 10 years ago. Virgil McPhail had several relatives also involved in the floral business in Austin. A brother owned the Barton Springs Floral Company down the road, and various other family members owned florist shops throughout the city, including the Airport Florists on Airport Boulevard. After Virgil and Rosa McPhail divorced around 1938 (and Virgil moved to 1108 Lavaca Street while Rosa remained here), Virgil McPhail went on to operate the Avenue Florists at 19th (now Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) and the Interregional Highway (now IH-35), while Rosa McPhail continued operations at this Barton Springs Road location. Virgil McPhail also served as the chief floral inspector for the State Department of Agriculture in the late 1930s, and was renowned for traveling the state investigating flowers that he could bring back to Austin to cultivate. The Wayside Gardens and Florists was only one of several business interests Virgil McPhail had in the city. He was also the proprietor of the Hokey Pokey Grocery Store at 709 E. 6th Street in the 1920s, and opened the Sunken Gardens, an amusement area, on Barton Springs Road in the early 1930s. It appears that Virgil and Rosa McPhail reunited after their divorce – she is listed as his widow in his 1965 obituary. STAFF COMMENTS The building is beyond the bounds of any City survey to date. Staff has evaluated this building for designation as a historic landmark and has determined that the building may meet the criteria for designation as set forth in City Code: a. Architecture. The building is a two-story combination commercial florist space with an apartment above, an example of the living arrangements of many “mom and pop” businesses in Austin in the early 20th century where the family lived above or adjacent to their store. The setting for the flower shop is picturesque in its garden environment, but has fallen into serious disrepair over the years since it was vacated. The building may qualify for landmark designation under the criterion for architecture as an example of an early live- work arrangement.  D.14 - 2 b. Historical association. The property was the home of a prominent Austin florist and his family for many years. McPhails Florist was known throughout the city for the quality of their arrangements and variety of flowers through the early 2000s. Virgil and Rosa McPhail were members of a family who owned and operated several flower gardens throughout the city, but especially along the fertile lands between Barton Springs Road and the Colorado River, where they grew many of their own flowers for sale, and raised many others in their greenhouses on site. There may be significant historical associations worth considering for designation. 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. McPhail’s Wayside Florist was one of several flower businesses along Barton Springs Road in the early 20th century, and its prominent location and unusual architecture is known to many in the city. The building may 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, either by postponing the case to December or initiating historic zoning on the site. Staff is well aware that there are major Code violations on this site, and a garage apartment at the rear of the site has already been removed (2018) as a dangerous structure. However, staff also recognizes that this is a building and location known to many people in Austin, and its history represents a chapter of Austin history when flower “farms” and truck farms lined the south bank of the Colorado River along Barton Springs Road. Nothing else remains from that time in Austin’s history to commemorate the former agricultural character of the Barton Springs Road area. If the Commission decides to release the permit for demolition, then staff recommends that the applicant complete 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.14 - 3  D.14 - 4 605 Barton Springs Road ca. 1928 View of the old front of the building West side of the building, showing the old greenhouse  D.14 - 5 View of the east side of the building View of the old greenhouse along the west property line.  D.14 - 6 OCCUPANCY HISTORY 605 Barton Springs Road McPhail’s Florist and Greenhouse Rex Minyard, proprietor City Directory Research, Austin History Center By City Historic Preservation Office December, 2018 1992 1985-86 1977 1973 1968 McPhail’s Wayside Florists Rosa McPhail, proprietor McPhail’s Florist and Greenhouse Rex Minyard, manager McPhail’s Florist and Greenhouse Jeannette McPhail Smith, proprietor McPhail’s Florists Rosa McPhail, proprietor A: McPhail’s Florists Rosa McPhail, proprietor A: Vacant 1965 1961 1959 1955 Rosa McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail’s Florist, 605 Barton Springs Road. A: ½: Rosa McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail Florist, 605 Barton Springs Road. H. Earl, Jr., and Beverly Vaughan, renters Laborer, State Highway Department John L. and Gail Surber, renters No occupation listed McPhail’s Wayside Florist Rosa McPhail, proprietor A: Rosa McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist Edward R. and Frances Chaloupka, renters Student ½: Ralph B. and Laverne Hudson, renters Proprietor, Avenue Café, 211 Congress Avenue. Monty W. and Ernestine Smith, renters Examiner, Texas Insurance Checking Office McPhail’s Wayside Florist Rosa McPhail, proprietor Rosa McPhail, owner  1952 1949 1947 1944-45 1941 1939 1935 Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist, 605 Barton Springs Road. D.14 - 7 McPhail’s Wayside Florist Rosa McPhail, proprietor Rosa McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist, 605 Barton Springs Road. McPhail’s Wayside Florist Rosa McPhail, proprietor Rosa A. McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist, 605 Barton Springs Road. McPhail’s Wayside Florists – “Your Patronage Appreciated.” Rosa A. McPhail, proprietor Rosa A. McPhail, owner Widow, Virgil McPhail Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florists, 605 Barton Springs Road. McPhail’s Wayside Florist Rosa McPhail, proprietor Rosa McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist ½: Henry J. and Willie C. Hudson, owners No occupation listed McPhail’s Wayside Florist Rosa McPhail, proprietor Rosa McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist Also listed is Ruth McPhail, a student at the University of Texas. Henry J. and Willie C. Hudson, owners No occupation listed McPhail’s Wayside Florist Mrs. R.A. McPhail, proprietor Rosa A. McPhail, owner Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist, 605 Barton Springs Road Also listed is Ruth G. McPhail, a student at the University of Texas. NOTE: Virgil McPhail was a florist and inspector for the State Agricultural Department. McPhail’s Wayside Florist – “The Original McPhail Flowers for any Occasion, Corsages our Specialty, 1st Greenhouse on Barton Springs Road, corner S. 1st. We never close.” Virgil McPhail, proprietor Virgil and Rosa McPhail, owners Proprietor, McPhail’s Wayside Florist Also listed is Rosa N. McPhail, s a student at the University of Texas. D.14 - 8 McPhail’s Wayside Florist Virgil McPhail, proprietor Virgil and Rosa McPhail, owners Proprietor, Hokey-Pokey Grocery, 709 E. 6th Street; McPhail’s Wayside Florist; and vice-president Barton Springs Floral Company, 1610 Barton Springs Road. NOTE: The address is listed as being on the south side of Barton Springs Road, 3 houses west of South Congress Avenue. Virgil and Rosa McPhail, owners Florist, south side of Barton Springs Road, and proprietor of a grocery at 709 E. 6th Street. NOTE: The address is listed as being the south side of Barton Springs Road, 3rd from Barton Creek. 1932-33 1929 1927 The address is not listed in the directory. NOTE: Virgil and Rosa McPhail are listed at 1909 Wichita Street. He was a grocer at 709 E. 6th Street. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: Virgil and Rosa McPhail (ca. 1928 – ca. 1978) The 1940 U.S. Census shows Rosa McPhail as the owner of a residence with the address of 607 Barton Springs Road, but which is likely the residential unit on this property, as the florist shop had the address of 605 Barton Springs and there is no listing for a residential address of 605 Barton Springs Road in the census report. Rosa McPhail was 43, divorced, and had been born in Arkansas. (Apparently she and Virgil McPhail reunited later; she is listed as his widow in his 1965 obituary). She was a florist. With her lived 2 daughters: Ruth Grace, 19; and Laura Janet, 16. Both girls had been born in Texas, and neither had an occupation listed. Rosa McPhail had a lodger, Annie Burton Atkinson, 20, who had been born in Texas, and was a saleslady in a floral ship. Ms. Atkinson lived in Florence, Texas in 1935. The 1939 obituary of his brother, Francis Marion McPhail, notes that Virgil McPhail was the chief floral inspector for the State Department of Agriculture. The 1930 U.S. Census shows Virgil and Rosa McPhail as the owners of a residence with the address of 510 Barton Springs Road in Austin; that house was worth $2,500. Virgil McPhail was 34, had been born in Louisiana, and was a florist. Rosa McPhail was 35, had been born in Oklahoma, and had no occupation listed. They had 3 daughters listed: Rosa Nell, 13, who had been born in Oklahoma; Ruth, 9; and Janet, 6. The family had a boarder, Miss Vesta Hicks, 25, who had been born in Texas, and was a public school teacher. Rosa McPhail died at the home of her daughter in Port Arthur, Texas in 1978; she had been there for just over 2 weeks before her death. Her last address was 605 Barton Springs Road in Austin. She was a florist who had been born in Arkansas in 1893, and is listed as a widow.  D.14 - 9 Obituary of Virgil McPhail Austin American, November 2, 1965  D.14 - 10 Funeral notice for Virgil McPhail Austin American, November 3, 1965 Obituary of Rosa McPhail Austin American-Statesman, July 30, 1978  D.14 - 11 Advertisement for Virgil McPhail’s Hokey Pokey Grocery Store on E. 6th Street Austin Statesman, July 15, 1927  D.14 - 12 A story of inter-species harmony on Virgil McPhail’s farm on Barton Springs Road Austin Statesman, June 13, 1929  D.14 - 13 Article referencing Virgil McPhail, owner of Wayside Gardens Austin Statesman, February 4, 1933  D.14 - 14 Story on Virgil McPhail’s Sunken Garden entertainment center on Barton Springs Road close to his Wayside Gardens Austin Statesman, July 8, 1933 D.14 - 15 Society page column noting Virgil McPhail’s hobby of discovering new flowers throughout the state. Note that his address is given as 1108 Nueces Street, indicating his separation from Rosa, who was living at Barton Springs. Austin Statesman, January 17, 1939  D.14 - 16 Sanitary sewer permit for this address (1942) NOTE: Mrs. Patterson was the daughter of Rosa McPhail