D.6.0 - 2501 Inwood Place — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS AUGUST 23, 2021 PR-21-105009 2501 INWOOD PLACE D.6 – 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca/ 1948 house. ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH One-story, irregular plan, flat-roofed house with elements of International Style and mid-century Modern design; wood and stone veneer siding; large expanses of glass. The house was built in 1948-49 by Plan Con, a local building construction firm operated by Carl B. Morris, president of Materials Distributing Company (with Maurice W. Cole as vice-president, Russell Horn as secretary, and Ned Cole as treasurer (4601 E. 5th Street), Maurice W. Cole, the proprietor of Fabricon, which is listed as cabinet makers in the Austin city directories of the late 1940s, but which really manufactured pre-fabricated wall storage units, roof trusses and windows, and was a pioneer in home design and the efficiency of interior storage (4601 E. 5th Street); Carl Morris’ obituary noted that he was a real estate developer and home builder; Russell J. Horn, proprietor of Metal Equipment Company, welders (4607 E. 5th Street), and Ned A. Cole, a student in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas. Plan Con was listed in the 1949 city directory as building contractors, with offices at 4601 E. 5th Street. The firm was a collaboration of several GIs returning from World War II, and planned houses with prefabricated units and increased interior storage. Ned Cole, who presumably served as architect for the Plan Con houses in Austin, was also the architect of seven houses in the later Air Conditioned Village experiment in Austin (1954) and built homes throughout Central Texas. He moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1961, where he continued his long career, including serving as a consultant on the construction of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The house was owned and occupied by Hugh and Frances McMath from the time of its construction at least through the late 1950s. Hugh McMath was a renowned professor of architecture at the University of Texas, with a specialization in Mexican architecture. He was instrumental in introducing his students to the principles of Mexican architecture and worked to include Mexican architectural programs into the greater sphere of American architectural studies. PROPERTY EVALUATION The property is beyond the bounds of any City survey to date. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity, although the applicant has suggested that the house is in poor condition. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it [does / may / does not] meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The house is a hybrid of bybrid of International Style and the nascent mid-century Modern design aesthetics. The house has a very blocky exterior that suggests the International Style, but also the use of local, natural materials in the wood and stone siding, the blending of the outside with the inside, deep eaves, and use of large expanses of glass that were hallmarks of the mid-century Modern design. b. Historical association. The property is associated with Hugh McMath, a professor of architecture at the University of Texas, who specialized in the study of Mexican architecture and was prominent in integrating Mexican schools of architecture into a larger sphere of American architectural studies. The house may also be associated with architect Ned Cole, who was in the management of PlanCon, the builders of this house. 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, D.6 – 2 cultural, or historical value to the city. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Postpone to September 27, 2021 to evaluate alternatives to demolition and gather more information about the McMath family and PlanCon, which appears to be a pioneer in developing pre-fabricated wall storage units in residential building construct8ion in the late 1940s. If the Commission does not postpone, then staff recommends encouraging rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, then relocation over demolition, but release of the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package, consisting of 8 x 10 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.6 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION D.6 – 4 D.6 – 5 D.6 – 6 Images from applicant’s application for demolition Occupancy History City Historic Preservation Office City Directory Research, July 2021 1959 1957 1955 1952 1949 Hugh L. and Frances McMath, owners Hugh – Professor, University of Texas Frances – Clerk, O Henry Jr. High School Hugh L. and Frances McMath, owners Hugh – Professor, University of Texas Frances – Clerk, Board of Education Hugh L. and Frances McMath, owners Acting director, School of Architecture, University of Texas Hugh L. and Frances McMath, owners Professor, University of Texas The address is not listed in the directory. NOTE: The house was built in 1948. Biographical Information Hugh L. and Frances McMath (ca. 1948 - ) Hugh L. McMath married Frances M. Little in Travis County in June, 1937. NOTE: Hugh L. McMath is listed as a professor at the University of Texas; he lived at 386a Deep Eddy Apartments. Frances McMath is not listed in the directory. D.6 – 7 Society page story on the wedding of Hugh McMath and Frances Little Austin American-Statesman, July 18, 1937 D.6 – 8 The 1940 U.S Census shows Hugh and Frances McMath as the renters of the house at 1801 Newfield Lane in Austin. Hugh McMath was 35, had been born in South Dakota, and was an assistant professor at the University of Texas. Frances McMath was also 35, had been born in Texas, and was the chief clerk at the Works Progress Administration office. His 1942 World War II draft registration card shows that Hugh Lyon McMath was living at 2210-C Nueces Street in Austin; he was employed by the Department of Architecture at the University of Texas and was married to Frances McMath. He was born in 1904 in Watertown, South Dakota. He was 5’-11” tall, weighed 150 pounds, and a had a light complexion with brown hair and blue eyes. News story on Hugh McMath’s visit to extend an invitation to the Instituto Tecnologico in Monterrey, Mexico to join the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Austin Statesman, November 17, 1955 Hugh McMath Title Dates: 1928-1977 Hugh L. McMath papers Abstract The Hugh McMath papers include textual and photographic material primarily documenting his 44-year teaching career in the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. He held a deep interest in the art and architecture of Mexico and developed courses in pre-Hispanic and Colonial architecture of Mexico and published several monographs on the subject. Record types include photographs, correspondence, student work, writings, and faculty papers. From the Alexander Archives, University of Texas D.6 – 9 Hugh Lyon McMath was born in Watertown, South Dakota, May 9, 1904. McMath studied engineering and architecture at North Dakota Agricultural College (Fargo, North Dakota) in the 1920s, receiving a bachelor's of architecture in 1927. He was an instructor in architecture at North Dakota State College from 1927-1928; and at Bradley Polytechnic Institute in Peoria, Illinois from 1928-1929. He arrived in Austin in 1930 to teach at The University of Texas. Subsequently he received a master's in architecture from The University of Texas in 1934 and from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1936. In 1942 McMath entered the U.S. Army Air Corps along with a number of other University faculty members. He served as an instructor and later as a director of the ground school at Moore Field Army Corps Base in Mission, Texas. He headed the educational guidance staff of the Austin Air Reserve Group in the 1950s and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1964. During his 44 years of teaching in the School of Architecture at The University of Texas, McMath served as chair from 1946-1948, director from 1948-1950, and acting director from 1953-1954. In addition to his private practice, McMath lists professional experience in the offices of Frederic J. Klein (Peoria, Illinois), Walter T. Rolfe (Austin, Texas), Walter C. Harris (Austin, Texas), Golemon and Rolfe (Houston, Texas), and McKee and Kamrath (Houston, Texas). McMath held a deep interest in the art and architecture of Mexico. He developed courses in the pre-Hispanic and Colonial architecture of Mexico and published several monographs on the subjects. From 1950 until 1960 he organized an architectural workshop at the Instituto Tecnologico of Monterrey, Mexico, attended by students from all over the U.S. His sponsorship aided the admission of the architecture school at the Instituto Technologico into the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. He organized "Arctours" to Mexico in 1968, 1969 and 1970 to inspire interest in historic Mexican architecture by touring sites. Funded by a University Research Institute grant, he conducted a photographic survey of architecture in Puebla, Mexico, in 1968. In 1957, serving as a consultant and coordinating architect for design and construction of the American School in Monterrey, he arranged an association of Monterrey architects and representatives from the Houston firm of Caudill Rowlett and Scott Architects and Planners. McMath was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts of Great Britain for his work to develop cultural relations with Mexico. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Texas Society of Architects and served on the AIA National Committee on Education and Foreign Relations. D.6 – 10 Hugh McMath retired from The University of Texas in 1974 Hugh Lyon McMath, former director of UT School of Architecture, dies at 88 November 17, 1992 | Austin American-Statesman (TX) Hugh Lyon McMath, former director of the University of Texas School of Architecture and professor emeritus, died Sunday. He was 88. McMath was director of the school for six years when the department of architecture separated from the College of Engineering in 1948. McMath, who earned master's degrees in architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UT, began teaching at UT in 1930. In 1950, he and his wife, Frances, began taking students from all over the country to study architecture during the summer at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores in Monterrey, Mexico. Before teaching at UT, McMath taught briefly at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University) and Bradley Polytechnic Institute in Peoria, Ill. D.6 – 11 Application for Sewer Connection, 1949 Water Service Connection, 1949 D.6 – 12 Building Permit, 1948 Building permit to Hugh McMath for an addition, 1952