D.10.0 - 1173 San Bernard Street — original pdf
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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS JULY 26, 2021 PR-21-093159 1173 SAN BERNARD STREET D.10 – 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1929 house. ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH Two-story, irregular-plan, hipped-roof, frame house with a partial-width, front-gabled, infilled front porch with a Craftsman- style glass transom in the tympanum; hopper windows have infilled the front porch; other fenestration has been replaced; exterior wall materials have been replaced.. The house is related to the Olivet Baptist Church, and was apparently built as the parsonage for the church, which was established around the corner in 1928 by Mrs. Beulah Murphy, who, with her husband Andrew, lived just to the south of this house. The first full-time pastor of Olivet was Rev. Joseph H. Harrington, who with his wife, Lela, lived in this house from the time of its construction in 1929 until around 1950. Very little information is available on Rev. Harrington, and he apparently left Austin around 1950. Olivet Baptist Church remains in the neighborhood, but the original church building has been replaced. Olivet apparently hosted classes and conferences in the 1960s, but does not appear to have been a major force in social change in Austin during the historic period. PROPERTY EVALUATION The property would be contributing to a potential San Bernard Street historic district. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain moderate integrity in that the form of the house remains, but the front porch has been enclosed, windows replaced, exterior wall materials have been replaced, and the house has a standing-seam metal roof. 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 Prairie style two-story house that is unusual or this neighborhood. That it was likely built as a parsonage for the adjacent Olivet Baptist Church figures into the evaluation of the house as a center for church activities which dictated the size and scale of the house. b. Historical association. The house appears to have been built in 1929 as the parsonage for the newly-established Olivet Baptist Church. From the time of construction until around 1950, the house was occupied by the first pastor of Olivet, Rev. Joseph Harrington. Not much is known of Rev. Harrington at this time, and he apparently left Austin around 1950. c. Archaeology. The property was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human d. Community value. The house was built adjacent to the site of Olivet Baptist Church and is closely related to e. Landscape feature. The property is not a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, history or prehistory of the region. the early history of the church. cultural, or historical value to the city. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, then relocation over demolition, but release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package, consisting of 8.5 x 11 photographs of all elevations, printed on photographic paper, a dimensioned sketch plan, and a narrative history for archiving at the Austin History Center. LOCATION MAP D.10 – 2 PROPERTY INFORMATION 1173 San Bernard Street ca. 1929 D.10 – 3 OCCUPANCY HISTORY 1173 San Bernard Street City Directory Research, Austin History Center By City Historic Preservation Office June, 2021 1959 Virginia C. Brown, owner No occupation listed Virginia C. Brown, owner No occupation listed Virginia C. Brown, owner Widow, A.G. Brown No occupation listed 1952 Virginia C. Brown, owner No occupation listed 1957 1955 NOTE: Reverend Joseph H. and Lela H. Harrington are not listed in the directory. 1949 Reverend Joseph H. and Lela H. Harrington, owners No occupation listed D.10 – 4 Rear: Elza L. Dukes, renter No occupation listed 1947 Reverend Joseph H. and Lela Harrington, owners No occupation listed 1944-45 Reverend Joseph H. and Lela Harrington, owners U.S. Army Ezelena Dukes, renter Cook, Dunbar Grill Ezelena Dukes, renter Maid 1941 Reverend Joseph H. and Lela H. Harrington, owners No occupation listed Ethel R. Sewell, renter Manager, Austin Negro Emergency Nursery School, 1192 Angelina Street. 1939 Reverend Joseph H. and Lela H. Harrington, owners No occupation listed NOTE: Olivet Baptist Church is listed at 1303 Cotton Street, but no pastor was listed. 1937 Reverend Joseph H. and Lela H. Harrington, owners Pastor, Olivet Baptist Church, 1303 Cotton Street. 1935 Reverend Joseph H. and Lela H. Harrington, owners Pastor, Olivet Baptist Church, 1303 Cotton Street. 1932-33 Reverend Joseph H. and Lala H. Harrington, owners Pastor, Olivette Baptist Church, 1303 Cotton Street. NOTE: The house is listed with its old address of 1171 San Bernard Street. Reverend Joseph H. and Lela H. Harrington, colored, owners Pastor, Olivette Baptist Church, 1303 Cotton Street. NOTE: The house is listed with its old address of 1171 San Bernard Street. 1930-31 1929 The address of 1171 (later 1173) San Bernard Street is not listed in the directory. NOTE: Reverend Joseph H. and Lola Harrington (colored) are listed at 1710 Maple Avenue; he was the pastor at Olivette Baptist Church and the vice-president of the Universal Relief Insurance Company of Texas. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: J.H. and Lela H. Harrington (ca. 1929 – ca. 1950) The 1930 U.S. Census shows J.H. and Lela H. Harrington as the owners of this house, which was worth $8,000. The census report shows the old address of 1171 San Bernard, confirmed on the 1935 Sanborn map. J.H. Harrington was 34, had been born in Texas, and was a minister. Lela H. Harrington was 33, had been born in Texas, and had no occupation listed. They had no children listed with them. His 1942 World War II draft registration card shows that Joseph Henry Harrington was living at this address at the time of his registration. He was born in Magnolia, Arkansas in 1894 and was employed by the Benefit Board of the National Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 5’ – 7” tall, weighed 170 pounds, and had a dark brown complexion with black hair and brown eyes. D.10 – 5 History of Olivet Baptist Church Austin American-Statesman, January 13, 1968 The 1922 Sanborn map shows the site of the current house as vacant. The house is now located on the third lot north of Hackberry Street, but it appears that the lots were subdivided between 1922 and 1935 judging from their width and the footprint of the house at 1175 San Bernard (just to the north), remaining the same from 1922 to 1935. . D.10 – 6 map is the first to show this house, and notes its former address of 1171 San Bernard Street. The 1935 Sanborn The 1962 Sanborn map shows the house as well as the rear unit. The former house address of 1171 San Bernard is still shown on the map. D.10 – 7 Onita Mae Brown for a rear frame addition (1960) Building permit to Building permit to Mrs. Brown to construct a carport (1969) and to remodel the house (1971)