D.2.0 - 916 Bouldin Avenue — original pdf

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D.2 – 1 HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS JULY 26, 2021 PR-2021-084227 916 BOULDIN AVENUE PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1936 house. ARCHITECTURE One-story Craftsman-style side-gabled frame cottage with a prominent battered brick chimney to the right of the principal entry; the chimney has random stones to give a rustic effect. Beside the random stone placement in the brick chimney, the house also has some Tudor Revival elements, including a steeply-pitched gablet above the front door with false half- timbering in the tympanum, and a small front-facing gablet in the roof to the left of the front entry. Fenestration consists of single and paired 1:1 windows with wooden screens. RESEARCH STAFF COMMENTS The house appears to have been built around 1936. The first occupants were John T McCutcheon, Jr. and his wife Victoria, who rented this house until around 1948. John T. McCutcheon, Jr. was a clerk at the city abbatoir, the city’s meat processing plant open to area ranchers to sell meat. The house was vacant for a short period of time before being rented then owned by James S. and Mary J. Ramsey, who lived here at least through the end of the 1950s. James S. and Mary Jane Ramsey were distributors of Watkins Products, a local flavoring extract company that is still in business as a work-from-home company with a wide range of products, including flavoring extracts, balms, salves, and ointments. The house was determined contributing to the potential Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Historic District. 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 while the house may qualify for its architecture, it lacks the significant historical associations necessary for designation as a historic landmark. a. Architecture. The house is a typical 1930s style Craftsman cottage with Tudor Revival ornamentation; its prominent exterior chimney on the front of the of the house makes it notable in this neighborhood and may qualify the house for landmark designation based upon its architecture. b. Historical association. The house lacks significant historical associations. The occupants were a book-keeper at the city abbatoir and a distributor of flavoring extracts, neither of whom would fulfill the requirements for significant historical associations under the landmark designation criteria. 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 Encourage rehabilitation or relocation, but release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package prior to permit issuance. Staff strongly encourages the neighborhood to pursue local historic district nomination to prevent future losses of houses such as this which define the character of the neighborhood but which do not qualify individually as historic landmarks. LOCATION MAP D.2 – 2 PROPERTY INFORMATION 916 Bouldin Avenue ca. 1936 D.2 – 3 Occupancy History City Directory Research, Austin History Center By City Historic Preservation Office June 2021 1959 1957 1955 1952 1949 1947 James S. and Mary J. Ramsey, owners James: Mary J.: No occupation listed Bookkeeper, J.F. Watkins Products, flavoring extracts, 923 Barton Springs Road. James S. and Mary J. Ramsey, owners James: Mary J. Distributor, Watkins Products, extracts, 923 Barton Springs Road. Counter worker, Watkins Products, extracts, 923 Barton Springs Road. James S. and Mary J. Ramsey, renters James S.: Mary J.: Distributor, Watson Products, flavoring extracts, 200 W. Mary Street. Counter worker, Watkins Products, flavoring extracts, 200 W. Mary Street. James S. and Mary J. Ramsey, renters Distributor, Watkins Products, flavoring extracts, 200 W. Mary Street. Vacant NOTE: John T. McCutcheon, Jr. is listed at 1803 Alta Vista Avenue; he was a clerk at Brackenridge Hospital. Victoria McCutcheon is not listed in the directory. NOTE: James S. and Mary J. Ramsey are not listed in the directory. John T. McCutcheon, Jr., renter Clerk, city NOTE Victoria McCutcheon is not listed in the directory. D.2 – 4 1944-45 1941 1939 1937 1935 John T., Jr. and Victoria McCutcheon, renters Clerk John T., Jr. and Victoria McCutcheon, renters Clerk, Austin Municipal Abbatoir John T., Jr. and Victoria McCutcheon, renters Clerk John T., Jr. and Victoria McCutcheon, renters Clerk, city abbatoir The address is not listed in the directory. NOTE: John T. and Victoria McCutcheon are listed at 2904 West Avenue; he was a pressman for A.C. Baldwin and Sons. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: John T., Jr. and Victoria McCutcheon (ca. 1936 – ca. 1948) John Tanner McCutcheon, Jr.’s 1918 World War I draft registration card shows that he was living at 618 Blanco Street in Austin, where he worked for A.C. Baldwin and Sons, a bookbinding plant. He was born in Manor, Texas in 1896, and was tall and slender with gray eyes and brown hair. John T. and Victoria A. McCutcheon appear in the 1930 U.S. Census as the renters of the house at 2904 Pearl Street in Austin. John T. McCutcheon was 33, had been born in Texas to Alabama-born parents, and was a pressman at a printing shop. Victoria A. McCutcheon was 26, had been born in Texas to an Italian-born father and a Texas-born mother, and had no occupation listed. With them lived John’s brother, Ward, 26, who had been born in Texas and was a clerk at a bank. The 1940 U.S. Census shows John T and Victoria McCutcheon as the renters of this house. John T. McCutcheon was 43, had been born in Texas, and was a book-keeper in a meat packing house. Victoria McCutcheon was 36, had been born in Texas, and had no occupation listed. They had no children listed with them. His 1975 death certificate shows that John Tanner McCutcheon, Jr. was living at 2200 Robin Hood Trail at the time of his death. He was an investigator for the State Board of Insurance, and had been born in Manor, Texas in 1896. His wife is listed as Mrs. Delta K. McCutcheon. James S. and Mary J. Ramsey (ca. 1950 - ) James S. Ramsey was born in 1910 and died in 1997. Mary Jane Ramsey was born in 1918 and died in 2012. Both are buried in the Live Oak Cemetery in Manchaca, Texas.