D.12.0 - 905 E 2nd Street — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS APRIL 26, 2021 GF-2021-050281 905 EAST 2ND STREET D.12 – 1 PROPOSAL ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH Partially demolish and construct a two-story rear and side addition to a one-story ca. 1906 house. One-story L-plan Folk Victorian house with cross-hipped metal roof; horizontal wood siding; a partial-width, shed-roofed porch with chamfered posts and jigsawn brackets; and 2:2 wood windows with screens. The house at 905 E. 2nd Street was constructed around 1906. Its earliest occupants were renters, who mostly worked at the nearby railyards and stayed in the home for relatively short periods, often sharing the building with another family. Other occupants included clerks, drivers, carpenters, and telephone company employees. In the late 1920s, the home was occupied by the Rollings family. William Rollings worked at the City Water and Light Department. His wife Bertha worked as a finisher at the Austin Hotel’s laundry, and some of the Rollings daughters also worked as laundresses and hotel laundry staff along with their mother. Their sons worked as a truck driver and a chauffeur. Other longer-term renters included Levi and Mary Van Sickle, an engineer and his eventual widow, and Milton B. Ayers and his wife and son. Ayers was an elevator operator, while his son worked as a machinist and carpenter. Paul and Alma Fick, a cigar company employee and clerk, lived in the house in the late 1950s along with their son, Paul Jr., who also found a job at Eli Witt Cigars. By 1959, butcher Tom Resendez and his wife Mary were the home’s primary residents; they remained there until at least 1968. STANDARDS FOR REVIEW The City of Austin’s Historic Design Standards (March 2021) are based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and are used to evaluate projects at potential historic landmarks. The following standards apply to the proposed project: 1.1 Locate additions to the rear and sides of historic buildings to minimize visual impact. 1.3 If an addition adds a story to the historic building, set it back from the front wall to minimize visual impact. a. If the historic building has a side-gabled, cross-gabled, hipped, or pyramidal roof form, set the addition behind the roof ridgeline or peak. 1.5 Minimize the loss of historic fabric by connecting additions to the existing building through the least possible invasive location and means. Recommendation: Locate additions behind the rear wall of the historic building. The proposed two-story addition is located to the rear of the existing building and preserves most of the shape of the historic building from the primary street. It is set back from the front wall and is located behind the ridgeline. The rear wall and rear half of northwest and southeast portions of the historic building will be demolished to connect the proposed addition to the existing house. 2.1 Design an addition to complement the scale and massing of the historic building, including height. The addition must appear subordinate to the historic building. 2.2 Minimize the appearance of the addition from the street faced by the historic building’s front wall. a. If the addition connects to the historic building’s rear wall, step in the addition’s side walls at least one foot (1’) from the side walls of the historic building. b. The historic building’s overall shape as viewed from the street must appear relatively unaltered. Recommendations: Design one-story additions to one-story buildings. Minimize the roof height of multi-story additions. Construct a large addition as a separate building and connect it to the historic building with a linking element such as a breezeway or a hyphen. The proposed addition is set back from the main house but does not appear subordinate due to its size at side elevations and height at front elevation. It is stepped in more than 1’ at the southeast elevation, but stepped out more than 1’ at the northwest elevation. From the street, the historic building appears relatively unaltered; however, the proposed second floor is evident. The northwest elevation, viewed obliquely from the street, could appear significantly altered. D.12 – 2 3.1 Design additions to be compatible with and differentiated from the historic building, if they are visible from the street. The proposed addition is differentiated from the historic building via its placement, height, cladding, and modern fenestration patterns and materials. 4.1 If an addition will be visible from a street on the front or side, design its roof form and slope to complement the roof on the historic building. 4.2 Use roof materials that match or have similar color, texture, and other visual qualities as the roof on the historic building. The proposed roof form, slope, and materials are compatible with the roof of the historic building. 5.1 If an addition will be visible from a street on the front or side, use exterior wall materials that are compatible with those on the historic building, as well as with the character of the district, in scale, type, material, size, finish, and texture. 5.2 Differentiate the exterior wall materials of the addition from those of the historic building. The exterior wall materials are differentiated from the existing building by their vertical orientation; however, the second- floor board-and-batten siding is not compatible with the historic building, as it emphasizes the height of the two-story addition. 6.1 If an addition will be visible from a street on the front or side, use windows that are compatible with those on the existing building in terms of material, fenestration pattern, size, proportion, configuration, and profile. The proposed addition’s front-facing windows are simple in design, and their horizontal orientation serves to de-emphasize the addition’s height. The windows at secondary facades are somewhat compatible; their irregular placement and varied size and proportion are less compatible. The project meets some of the applicable standards. STAFF COMMENTS The property is recommended eligible as a City of Austin landmark and individually eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in the 2016 East Austin Historic Resource Survey. 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 criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it may meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The building is a good example of Folk Victorian architecture. b. Historical association. The 2016 East Austin Historic Resource Survey states that the property is associated with East Austin’s development patterns, demographic shifts, and resident lifeways. c. Archaeology. The property was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d. Community value. The property 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. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Consider initiating historic zoning per survey recommendations. Otherwise, encourage the applicant to redesign the addition so that it is located behind the rear wall of the historic building, minimizing its roof height and using horizontal siding, or design a single-story addition instead; then release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. LOCATION MAP D.12 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D.12 – 4 Source: Martha Doty Freeman, 1980. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth674303/m1/1/ D.12 – 5 D.12 – 6 Realtor.com, no date H-H-M, Inc., 2016 Occupancy History City Directory Research, April 2021 and 2016 1968 1959 Tom H. and Mary C. Resendez, renters Meat Cutter, Moyer's Grocery Tom H. and Mary Resendez, renters Butcher, Smathers Food Store 1957 Paul M. Fick, renter D.12 – 7 Warehouseman, Eli Witt Cigar Paul M. Fick Jr., renter Deliveryman, Eli Witt Cigar 1955 Paul M. and Alma Fick, renters Shipping clerk, Eli Witt Cigar Co. of Texas Clerk, E.M. Scarbrough & Sons 1952 1949 1947 Paul M. Fick Jr., renter Stamper, Eli Witt Cigar Co. of Texas Robert D. and Vernon Champion, renters Driver Waitress, Steer Grill Milton B. and Reta Ayers, renters Carpenter Littlepage M. and Desta M. Copeland, owners Carrier, PO Milton B. and Josephine Ayers, renters Elevator operator, State Board of Control Milton B. Ayers Jr., renter Machine operator, Austin Baking 1944 Milton B. and Josephine Ayers, renters Milton B. Ayers Jr., renter 1941 1939 1937 George W. and Nancy M. Hanks, renters Carpenter Mary Van Sickle, renter (widow Levi L.) Mary Van Sickle, renter (widow Levi L.) Stanley and Clara Bennett, renters Carpenter 1935 Levi E. and Mary Van Sickle, renters Hoisting engineering Fred A. and Gladys McCleskey, renters Bricklayer 1932 Berta Rollings, renter (widow William) Finisher, Austin Hotel Laundry 1929 William and Berta Rollings, renters Mary L Rollings, renter Employee, Austin Hotel Laundry John C. Rollings, renter 1927 William and Berta Rollings, renters Employee, City Water & Light Department William Rollings Jr., renter Chauffeur, Patton Transfer Co. Ruth Rollings, renter Sorter, Austin Hotel Laundry Polly Rollings, renter D.12 – 8 Shaker, Austin Hotel Laundry Mary Rollings, renter Laundress John C. Rollings, renter Driver, Universal Coal & Wood Co. Guy L. and Nina Digby, renters James W. and Maggie Weaver, renters Car repair, T & T C Railway Operator, S.W. Bell Telephone Co. Fannie Oyervides, renter (widow Frank) Leonard S. and Clementine Cline, renters Carpenter Lemuel T. Cline, renter Presser William Rollings, renter Car inspector, H & T James W. Darley, renter Clerk, Charles W. Darley Lehnis B. Slaughter, renter Driver, Magnolia Petroleum Co. John R. Killen, renter Bottlemaker, H & T Charles C. Smithwick Section foreman, M K & T 1924 1922 1920 1918 1916 1914 1912 1910 1906 1903 Address not listed Biographical Information The Statesman, Jun 6, 1917; The Austin Statesman, May 2, 1933 D.12 – 9 The Austin Statesman, Jan 19, 1940 and Jan 5, 1955 D.12 – 10 The Austin Statesman, Apr 3, 1958 D.12 – 11 Maps The Austin Statesman, Sep 20, 1962 and Jul 23, 1963 1935 Sanborn map Permits D.12 – 12 Water tap permit, 7-24-50 Water tap permit, 1-11-62