D.14.0 - 1207 Taylor Street — original pdf

Backup

HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION JANUARY 25, 2021 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS PR-20-191672 1207 TAYLOR STREET D.14 - 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1926 house. ARCHITECTURE One-story, rectangular-plan, front-gabled stone-veneered frame bungalow with a partial- width, front-gabled independent porch on stone-veneered posts and a wood gable tympanum; single 1:1 fenestration; two frame additions to the rear of the house. RESEARCH The house appears to have been built during the winter of 1925-26 by Ernest and Bessie Hicks, who lived here until around 1936. The 1935 Sanborn map shows the house as a wooden structure; the stone veneer was added at some point prior to 1962, when the Sanborn map shows the house as a masonry structure. City records indicate porch and foundation work in 1942, and it may have been at this time that the stone veneer was added, but there is no specific permit to confirm the date that the house had the stone added. Ernest Hicks worked for the Austin Bottling Works, a soft drink company, when he and Bessie built this house. By the late 1920s, he worked as a truck driver for Quality Mills, a flour milling plant on the west side of downtown. City directories of the early 1930s did not list an occupation for either Ernest or Bessie Hicks; by 1937, they had moved to 1204 Taylor Street. He was a bottler; she was a seamstress for Nick Linz, a cleaner and dyer. After Ernest and Bessie Hicks moved across the street, the house became a rental property, with a variety of blue collar tenants, including a floor sander, a couple of mechanics, a truck driver, and a waitress. After World War II, the house was rented by Lee and Mary DeGress; he had a used car lot for a short period of time in the mid-1940s, then went to work for Capitol Chevrolet as a mechanic. Lee DeGress was also a stock car racer while he lived here. The DeGress family moved away around 1950. The house was then rented by Trinidad and Sue Estrada until around 1962. Trinidad Estrada was a painter. Since 1962, the house has remained a rental property; none of the more recent tenants appear to have stayed in the house for a significant period of time. STAFF COMMENTS The house is listed as contributing to a very large potential historic district in the East Austin Historic Resources Survey (2016), and would also be contributing to a smaller potential historic district encompassing just Taylor Street. 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 a stone-clad frame bungalow, reflecting a common style with no real architectural distinction. b. Historical association. The house was the home of a series of blue collar families, both owners and renters, but none of whom appear to represent any significant historical associations. 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 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 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. D.14 - 2 STAFF RECOMMENDATION Strongly encourage rehabilitation and adaptive re-use, or, if the house is in too poor a condition to justify rehabilitation, incorporation of the stonework into a new structure for the site, as this house has distinction as one of the few stone houses in the neighborhood. If the Commission votes to release the permit, staff recommends 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. While the house would definitely be contributing to any potential historic district incorporating this block of Taylor Street, it does not rise to the level of an individual landmark.  LOCATION MAP D.14 - 3  D.14 - 4 1207 Taylor Street ca. 1925-26 2008 photograph 2021 photographs below  D.14 - 5 OCCUPANCY HISTORY 1207 Taylor Street City Directory Research, Austin History Center By City Historic Preservation Office January, 2008 1992 1987 1981 Gerald and Elnora Barrs, renters Supervisor Gerald Barrs, renter No occupation listed 1975 1968 1962 Petra Torres, renter No occupation listed Petra Torres, renter No occupation listed Trinidad and Myrlene Estrada, renters Painter Mary Gonzalez, renter No occupation listed NOTE: The directory indicates that Mary Gonzalez was a new resident at this address.  1957 1953 1949 1947 1944-45 1941 1939 1937 1935 1932-33 1930-31 1929 1927 1924 D.14 - 6 Trinidad and Myrlene Estrada, renters Painter Trinidad and Sue M. Estrada, renters Painter NOTE: Lee and Maribel DeGross [sic] are listed at 1204 Castle Hill; he was a salesman for Marshall Motors, used cars, 320 S. Congress Avenue. F. Lee and Mary DeGress, renters Mechanic, Capitol Chevrolet, 220-24 E. 5th Street. Lee and Mary DeGress, renters Proprietor, DeGress Motors, used cars, 205 W. Riverside Drive. Virginia DeGress, renter Waiter NOTE: Virginia Degress married William March in 1945. NOTE: F. Lee and Mary DeGress are listed at 2108 Swisher Street; he was a mechanic for Capitol Chevrolet, 220-24 E. 5th Street. Thomas P. and Johnnie D. Rickett, renters Driver, Central Freight Lines, 401 Colorado Street. Marvin C. and Alva Patterson, renters Floor sander William L. and Celeste Borders, renters Mechanic NOTE: Ernest L. and Bessie F. Hicks are listed at 1204 Taylor Street. He was a bottler; she was a seamstress for Nick Linz, “master cleaner and dyer”, 611 Congress Avenue. Ernest L. and Bessie Hicks, owners No occupation listed Ernest L. and Bessie Hicks, owners No occupation listed Ernest L. and Bessie Hicks, owners Employed by Quality Mills, 3rd and Nueces Streets. Ernest L. and Bessie Hicks, owners Truck driver, Quality Mills, 3rd and Nueces Streets. Ernest L. and Bessie Hicks, owners Employed by Austin Bottling Works, soda water, ginger ale, lime, lemon, and orange crush, 605 Red River Street. The address is not listed in the directory. NOTE: Ernest L. and Bessie Hicks are listed as living at 612 W. Gibson Street; he was employed as a laborer for Ramsey’s Austin Nursery, 4501 Avenue B. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: Ernest L. and Bessie Hicks (ca. 1926 – ca. 1936)  D.14 - 7 His 1917 World War I draft registration card shows that Earnest Hicks was living at 1209 Canterbury Street in Austin. He was born in December, 1892 in Llano, Texas, and was a mattress maker for Southern Bedding at 901 E. 4th Street in Austin. He was single and was hard of hearing. He was of medium height, and had a slender build with brown hair and brown eyes. The 1930 U.S. Census shows Ernest L. and Bessie F. Hicks as the owners of this house, which was worth $1,000. Ernest L. Hicks was 37, had been born in Texas, and was a salesman for a bottling works. Bessie F. Hicks was 32, had been born in Texas, and was a minder (or mender) in a tailor shop. They had two daughters: Delta E., 7; and Aline L., 5, both of whom had been born in Texas. Also in the household was Bessie Hicks’ mother, Mary C. Hay, a 56-year od Texas born widow whose parents had been born in Mississippi; she had no occupation shown. In 1920, according to the U.S. Census report of that year, Earnest L. Hicks was the 27-year old son of Sam and Missouri L. Hicks, who rented their home at 1211 Canterbury Street in Austin. Ernest Hicks was the oldest of Sam and Missouri’s five children listed. He was born in Texas, and was a truck driver for a candy factory. His father, Sam Hicks, 50, had been born in Texas and was a teamster for the city. His mother, Missouri, also 50, had been born in Alabama, and had no occupation listed. His next younger sister, Dora, 19, was a clerk for a department store. No other family members had an occupation shown. Also in the household was Sam Hicks’ father, Alvin, 88, who was a Tennessee-born widower and had no occupation listed. By 1940, Ernest Hicks and Bessie Hicks were living in a rented house at 2008-A S. 1st Street in Austin. He was 45, had been born in Texas, and was a mattress maker for a mattress factory. Bessie Hicks was 41, had been born in Texas, and was a cleaner in a dry cleaning establishment. Their daughter Delta, 17, was a Texas-born waitress in a café. Their daughter Ailine, 15, was born in Texas and had no occupation shown. His 1950 death certificate shows that E.L. Hicks was living at 2009-B S. 2nd Street in Austin at the time of his death from chronic emphysema. He was born in 1892 in Texas and was a married mattress maker. Bessie Frances Hicks died in January, 1988.  D.14 - 8 Obituary of Ernest L. Hicks Austin American, May 12, 1950 1940 U.S. Census The 1940 U.S. Census shows the house owned by Rose Lackey, a 40-year old French-born widow with no occupation listed. Rose Lackey was the mother of Francis Lee DeGress as shown on his World War II draft card. She married a Steven Melton in 1943. Virginia, F. Lee and Mary DeGress (ca. 1941 – ca. 1950) His 1940 World War II draft card shows Francis Lee DeGress living in El Paso, Texas, but with an old address of 1614 E. 6th Street in Austin. He was born in Austin in 1915, and was employed by Capitol Chevrolet. His nearest relative was his mother, Rose Lackey, who lived at 1215 Garden Street in Austin. Francis Lee DeGress was 5’-7 ½” tall and weighed 129 pounds. He had a ruddy complexion with black hair and gray eyes. The 1940 U.S. Census shows Virginia and Lee DeGress living in the home rented by Willie May Dittlinger, at 1614 E. 6th Street in Austin. Lee DeGress was 25, had been born in Texas, and is listed as the grandson of Willie May Dittlinger. He was a mechanic in a garage. Virginia DeGress was 22, had been born in Texas, and is listed as Willie May Dittlinger’s grand-daughter; she had no occupation listed. Also in the household was Hunter DeGress, 20, also listed as a grandson of Willie May Dittlinger. He was born in Texas and serviced new cars for an automobile company. Their grandmother, Willie May Dittlinger, was a 66-year old Texas-born widow with no occupation listed. D.14 - 9 Lee Degress is listed as one of the drivers in a modified stock car race Austin American-Statesman, November 30, 1941 Marriage announcement for Virginia Degress and William March at Bergstrom Chapel Austin Statesman, April 12, 1945  D.14 - 10 Ad showing Lee DeGress as the used car manager for Charlie T. Bustin Motors Austin Statesman, December 9, 1948  D.14 - 11 News story on the death of Dr. Maribel Loving, the wife of Lee DeGress Austin Statesman, November 15, 1951 Francis Lee DeGress was born in 1915 and died in Picayune, Mississippi in 1969, where he is buried in the New Palestine Cemetery. There was no obituary in the Austin newspapers. Trinidad Y. and Sue Myrlene Estrada (ca. 1950 – ca. 1962) His 1940 World war II draft card shows that Trinidad Ynostrosa Estrada was living at 1207 Canterbury Street in Austin. He was born in 1917 in Travis County, Texas and was married to Carrie Luna Estrada. He worked in a “brush gang” for the WPA at Marshall Ford Dam. He was 5’-8” tall, weighed 126 pounds and had a light brown complexion with brown hair and brown eyes. It appears that Trinidad Estrada married Carrie Luna in 1937. He married Alice Torres in 1940. There does not seem to be a record for his marriage to Sue Myrlene Estrada, the woman listed with him in the city directories. He married Felipa Limon Sanchez in 1962; they divorced in 1972.  D.14 - 12 Obituary of Trinidad Estrada Austin American-Statesman, June 2, 2004 Taylor Street does not appear on the 1922 Sanborn map. The present Cross Street is shown as Andrews Place.  D.14 - 13 The house is shown on the 1935 Sanborn map, but as a wood-frame structure. The 1962 Sanborn map shows the same configuration as the 1935 map above, but with a masonry exterior. Porch and foundation work were done on this house in 1942; it may have been at that time that the stone cladding was added to the house. Water service permit to Ernest Hicks for this address (1925) D.14 - 14 Building permit to Rose Lackey, the mother of F. Lee DeGress, who is listed in the 1940 U.S. Census as the owner of this house, to replace the front porch and foundation (1942)