C.9.0 - 2521 Jarratt Avenue — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT PERMITS JULY 26, 2021 PR-21-092304 2521 JARRATT AVENUE OLD WEST AUSTIN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT C.9 – 1 PROPOSAL ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH Demolish a ca. 1948 house that is contributing to the historic district. One-story, wing-and-hipped roof brick veneered ranch house with a partial-width inset porch o ornamental metal supports; banded fenestration in an early mid-century Modern aesthetic. The house was built in 1948 by Gibson R. Randle and his wife, Sarah. Gibson Randle was a prominent attorney in town, having served as Austin’s city attorney for many years. Sarah Randle was the daughter of a prominent judge. While living here, Gibson Randle had a private law practice, and in 1962, he was appointed to the State Board of Law Examiners. He and Sarah divorced in 1979k and Gibson married Audray Bateman, one of the founders of the Austin History Center. However, it is not known at this time whether Audray Bateman lived in this house. PROPERTY EVALUATION The property contributes to the Old West Austin National Register 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 it may meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The house reflects a ranch house design, popular in Austin after World War II, with its long, low configuration and expansive front porch; there are also elements of mid-century Modern design in the house in the use of banded windows. The house may have architectural significance as an intact example of its design type. b. Historical association. The property is significantly associated with Gibson R. Randle, a prominent attorney who served as Austin’s city attorney for a number of years and was a member of the State Board of Law Examiners. His first wife, Sarah, was a teacher and counselor in the Austin public schools. 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 Postpone to August 23, 2021 to allow for further investigation of any connections Audray Bateman may have had with this house, which would reflect upon historical associations. The house is contributing to the historic district, so the Commission may invoke the 180 day demolition delay to consider alternatives to demolition, and the demolition permit cannot be released until the Commission has reviewed the plans for new construction. If the Commission votes to release the permit, then staff recommends the 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, and pending review of the plans for new construction. LOCATION MAP C.9 – 2 PROPERTY INFORMATION 2521 Jarratt Avenue ca. 1948 C.9 – 3 OCCUPANCY HISTORY 2521 Jarratt Avenue City Directory Research, Austin History Center By City Historic Preservation Office June 2021 1959 Gibson R. and Sarah B. Randle, owners Partner, O’Quinn, McDaniel & Randle, attorneys, 121 E. 8th Street Gibson R. and Sarah B. Randle, owners Partner, O’Quinn, McDaniel & Randle, attorneys, 121 E. 8th Street Gibson R. and Sarah B. Randle, owners Partner, O’Quinn, McDaniel & Randle, attorneys, 121 E. 8th Street Gibson R. and Sarah B. Randle, owners Partner, Blair & Randle, attorneys, 907 Congress Avenue Gibson R. and Sarah B. Randle, owners Lawyer, 907 Congress Avenue 1957 1955 1952 1949 1947 The address is not listed in the directory. NOTE: Gibson R. and Sarah Randle are listed at 101 W. 31st Street; he was an assistant city attorney. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: Gibson R. and Sarah B. Randle (ca. 1948 - ) The 1930 U.S. Census shows Gibson R. and Eva Randle as the owners of a house in Fort Worth, Texas. Gibson R. Randle was 45, had been born in Texas to a Georgia-born father and a Mississippi-born mother, and was a salesman for a lumber company. Eva Randle was 38, had been born in Georgia, and had no occupation listed. They had a son, Gibson R. Jr., 18, who had been born in Texas and had no occupation listed. C.9 – 4 His 1940 World War II draft registration card shows that Gibson Rogers Randle was living at 1303 San Antonio Street in Austin. He was born in Rockdale, Texas in 1911 and was employed at City Hall. His wife was Sarah B. Randle. He was 6 feet tall, weighed 175 pounds, and had a light complexion with blond hair and gray eyes. He wore glasses. Gibson and Sarah Randle were married in February 1937 and divorced in Travis County in May, 1979. Gibson Randle was born in 1911 and died in 1995. He is buried with his second wife, Audray Batemen, whom he married in 1979, in Austin. Audray Bateman was one of the founders of the Austin History Center, but there is no indication that she lived in this house. Portion of article naming Gibson R. Randle as city court prosecutor Austin Statesman, March 9, 1940 C.9 – 5 Gibson R. Randle replaces Trueman O’Quinn as city attorney in Austin Austin Statesman, August 27, 1942 C.9 – 6 Gibson Randle appointed to State Bboard of Law Examiners Austin Statesman, January 15, 1962 Gibson Randle C.9 – 7 GIBSON ROGERS RANDLE Gibson Rogers Randle, 83, died Thursday, June 1, 1995. He was born July 1, 1911, in Rockdale, Texas. Educated in the public schools of Fort Worth, he graduated magna cum laude from the Central High School (now Paschal High School). Upon his graduation from Texas Christian University, in 1928, his classmates elected him permanent president of the senior class. After attending the University of Texas Law School, Gibson Randle served as Parliamentarian of the Texas Senate, and began to practice law in Austin. In 1940 he was offered a position in the City of Austin's Legal Department. He was an Assistant City Attorney until 1943. He served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Intelligence from 1943 to 1945. After the war, Mr. Randle returned to the City Attorney's office. In 1946, he went into private law practice; and for the most of his career he was a partner in the Kendall, Randle, Finch and Osborn law firm. In 1989 he retired from the law firm, but continued to do law work on a limited basis until his death. In 1962, the Texas Supreme Court appointed Mr. Randle to the State Board of Law Examiners, he served on the Board for 17 years. He was a past president of the Travis County Bar Association. He was a member of the Austin Rotary club, a Charter Member and Trustee Emeritus of the Headliners Club, and a long time member of University United Methodist Church, serving in many capacities, twice as Chairman of the Official Board. Gibson Randle is survived by his wife, Audray Bateman Randle; a son, Mallory Blair Randle of Brooklyn, New York; a daughter, Sally Randle of Abilene, Texas; their mother, Sarah Blair Dougherty; three grandchildren, Benton J. Randle, Trisha and Christopher Bailey; and a step-son, Mark R. Bateman. Contributions may be made to the University United Methodist Church Foundation or a favorite charity. Memorial Services will be held Sunday, June 4, 1995, at 4:00 PM, at University United Methodist Church. The Reverend J. Charles Merrill officiating. Obituary of Gibson R. Randle Austin American-Statesman, June 3, 1995 SARAH MARGARET BLAIR RANDLE DOUGHERTY Sarah Margaret Blair Randle Dougherty, 83, of Austin, died Friday, June 20, 1997. She was born April 23, 1914 in Belton, Bell County, Texas, to Mallory B. Blair and Margaret Dougherty Blair. Her father, Mallory Blair, shortly thereafter became county judge of Bell County, 1916- 1920, District Judge of the 27th Judicial District comprised of Bell, Mills and Lampasas counties, 1920-23, and then was elected Associate Justice of the Third Court of Civil Appeals at Austin in 1922, when the family moved to Austin. Sarah entered Hyde Park Elementary School in the third grade for one semester, then attended Wooldridge Elementary School, Allen Junior High School and Austin High School graduating in June, 1930. At Austin High she was a member of the Red Jackets. She entered the University of Texas in September, 1930, pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and received her Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English Literature in June, 1934. She was chosen for membership in the Ashbel Literary Society, the University Light Opera Company, the Turtle Club and the Orange Jackets. She was also active in the YWCA off campus. In the spring of 1934 she was elected Sweetheart of the University and was presented at the 1934 Texas Roundup. While in the University, Sarah took voice lessons from Lester Bernizer and sang with her beautiful alto voice in the choirs of the First Methodist Church, St. David's Episcopal Church and the University Methodist Church and was often invited to sing at her friend's weddings. Particularly remembered solos were her Malotte's The Lord's Prayer, James Rowe's, Love Lifted Me and Carrie Jacobs Bond's I Love You Truly. She remained a member of the University Methodist Church choir until she retired in 1976 after more than 25 years. When the Blair family moved to Austin at the end of 1922 they moved their membership from the First Methodist Church of Belton and became members of the First Methodist Church in Austin. Sarah moved her membership to the University Methodist Church in June, 1940. In the summer of 1934, Sarah attended the University of Southern California at Los Angeles, took voice lessons and music courses and on two occasions was given bit parts in Hollywood movies. She returned to Austin in the fall to teach English at Allen Junior High School, where she taught from September 1934 to January 1937. On February 2, 1937, she married Gibson R. Randle and her son, Mallory Blair Randle, was born December 10, 1940. C.9 – 8 Their daughter, Sally Randle, was adopted on July 2, 1955. Sarah returned to teaching English at Lamar Junior High School in August 1961 and continued until June, 1965, when she took professional leave and entered the University of Texas. She obtained her Master of Arts in Education with concentration in counseling in August, 1966 and returned to the Austin Public School System as a counselor, serving in Burnet Junior High School until May, l980, and then from November, 1980 until her retirement in June, 1981. She was a member of the Austin Retired Teachers Association. Sarah was a member of the Junior League of Austin, where she served among other assignments as Chairman of the League Thrift Shop. She was also a long time member of the Settlement Club of Austin. Sarah remained an active member of the University United Methodist Church until her marriage to J. Chrys Dougherty. In 1982 Sarah joined Chrys in membership in the University Presbyterian Church and has remained active there. In 1996 she helped organize a diabetic support group which meets monthly and endeavors to give diabetic education and support coupled with Christian values. The group now bears her name. She was divorced from Gibson Randle in 1977. On October 29, 1981 she married J. Chrys Dougherty. She is survived by her husband; by her son, Mallory B. Randle of Brooklyn, New York; and her daughter, Sally Randle of Abilene, Texas; by her grandchildren, Benton Randle of Tuscon, Arizona, Krista Emily Michael Morton, of Elizabethton, Tennessee, Trisha Ann Bailey and Christopher Bailey of Abilene, Texas; by her great- grandchildren, Brittney Renee Michael and Joshua Allen Morton of Elizabethton, Tennessee, and Brianna Michelle Bailey of Abilene, Texas. She is also survived by her step-children, Molly Dougherty and J. Chrys Dougherty IV of Austin, Texas; and by her step-grandchildren, John Ireland Dougherty and Mark Chrysostom Dougherty of Austin, Texas; and by her sister, Dawn Blair Woodward, brother-in-law, Judge Hal O. Woodward, of Brookesmith, Texas; and by her nephews, Halbert O. Woodward, Jr. M.D. of Brownwood, Texas and Ben Woodward of San Angelo, Texas and her nephews, Blair and Lee Woodward of Woodlands, Texas; and her great- nieces, Beverly and Catherine Woodward of San Angelo, Texas; as well as her step-daughter-in-law, Mary Ann Dougherty; and her nieces-in-law, Roseanne Woodward of Brownwood, Texas and Gwen Woodward of San Angelo, Texas. Sarah has been blessed with close and loving families. Sarah was a wonderful teacher and counselor, an exceptionally loving wife and mother and a devoted Christian. She believed that God had planned her life from birth and that she lived constantly in His loving care. As she looked back she could see how that loving care had guided her every step of the way. Life's vicisitudes were part of that plan and God gave her strength and guidance in all that He called on her to do. The family requests that contributions be made to the University Presbyterian Church, the University United Methodist Church Foundation, The Settlement Home, 1600 Peyton Gin Road, Austin, 78758, Dr. Robert Schuller, P.O. Box 100, Garden Grove, California 92642 or the charity of your choice. Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday, at University Presbyterian Church with burial following at Oakwood Annex. Obituary of Sarah Randle Dougherty Austin American-Statesman, June 23, 1997 Curator played crucial role in preserving Austin's past She was a keeper of Austin's historical treasures, even fighting to save the building they were housed in when it was threatened with destruction. And all the while, Audray Bateman Randle kept a little joke to herself and a few friends. The joke? "That the curator of the Austin-Travis County Collection is a Yankee home ec major," she told a reporter with a smile in 1980. The Pennsylvania native, who helped found the Austin History Center, died suddenly of heart failure Wednesday at St. David's Hospital. She was 72 and suffered from kidney disease. C.9 – 9 "She was fine Tuesday evening," said her son, Mark Bateman of Mountain View, Calif. "But she never woke up the next morning." She was born Audray Jean Rewbridge on July 18, 1929, in Rochester, a small town in western Pennsylvania. Her father was a salesman, and her mother was a registered nurse. She came to Austin in 1954, when her first husband, William Bateman, joined a University of Texas laboratory doing research for the Navy. They had a son, and she stayed home with him until 1966, when she took a part- time job in the local history archives of the Austin Public Library. By 1975 she was the full-time curator of the library's Austin-Travis County Collection. In 1978, she authored "An Austin Album," featuring photographs, culled from the history collection's extensive files, of the people and places that made Austin. It was the first of her several books on local history. That same year she divorced, and in 1980 she married Austin lawyer Gibson Randle. Also in 1980, the Austin-Travis County Collection found a permanent home in the new Austin History Center at Ninth and Guadalupe streets -- the city's old Main Library, which she had helped save from the wrecking ball. "There was talk of it being torn down for a parking garage," said Sharmyn Lilly, executive director of the Austin History Center Association, which was formed to fight for the 1933 building with its ornate Italian Renaissance architecture. The association supports the center. Randle, who often fielded calls from writers and researchers, counted an 1839 map the city used for its first real estate sales as the most valuable artifact among the center's thousands of books, maps, newspaper clippings and manuscripts. For many years, she wrote "Waterloo Press," a weekly history column in the Austin American-Statesman, which, among other things, celebrated the city's Mexican free-tailed bats long before they became a tourist attraction. When her retirement was announced in 1988, the city declared a day in her honor. Then-Mayor Lee Cooke dubbed her "the epitome of Austin history." Randle was preceded in death by her parents and husband, and is survived by her son and a sister. A memorial service will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday at University United Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe St., where she was long a member. A private burial will follow. "She was responsible for educating our community about the importance of local history and the need to preserve it," Lilly said. "She left a legacy in the history center for future generations." Obituary of Audray Bateman Randle Austin American-Statesman, April 27, 2002 Building permit for the construction of this house; Gibson Randle is noted as the owner (1948)  C.9 – 10 Building permit to enlarge the kitchen (1959)