D.5.0 - 2103 E 8th St — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 PR-2021-117734 2103 E. 8TH STREET D.5 – 1 PROPOSAL ARCHITECTURE Demolish a house that may have been moved ca. 1939. This one-story Modified L-plan house appears on Sanborn maps between 1935 and 1961, with a sewer connection permit from 1939. Although the City has no record of a relocation permit, the house has Folk Victorian elements suggesting an earlier date of construction and may have been moved onto the lot. These elements include 2:2 wood windows, sawn brackets at the eaves, and a chamfered wood pilaster at the porch. The house has horizontal wood siding, covered with asbestos shingles under the porch. RESEARCH The house at 2103 E. 8th Street was occupied from 1944–1955 by the family of James L. and Grace Finnin, working-class African Americans. James Finnin (ca. 1889–1982) worked as a farm laborer before moving into Austin and subsequently was a laborer at the City of Austin Water & Light Department. Grace Underwood Finnin (1897–1993) raised the couple’s many children and was involved with the Mary Church Terrell District Association of Federated Women’s Clubs, serving as reporter for the organization in 1961. Some of their children continued to live in the house on E. 8th upon reaching adulthood; city directory listings include multiple of their names: Ella, Everett, Horace (Billie), Harvey, and Inez, who held working-class jobs including laborer, porter, cook, and maid. PROPERTY EVALUATION The East Austin Historic Resources Survey (Hardy Heck Moore, Inc., 2016) does not indicate the property is eligible for historic designation. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building retains a moderate degree of integrity. Some porch columns and parts of the porch roof have been replaced, and asbestos shingles cover part of the siding. The house appears to be in poor condition. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (Land Development Code §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it does not meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The building appears to be a Folk Victorian house that may have been moved to the site. b. Historical association. The house was associated with the Finnin family. Readily accessible archival material on African Americans in Austin is limited, and sufficient grounds are lacking to make a case for significant historical associations. 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 Release 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.5 – 2 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D.5 – 3 HHM, Inc., East Austin Historic Resources Survey, 2016 D.5 – 4 Applicant, 2021 D.5 – 5 Occupancy History City Directory Research, Historic Preservation Office, 2021 Vacant No return 1959 1957 1955 Jas L. and Grace V. Finnin, owners Laborer, City Water & Light Department 1952 James L. and Grace Finnin, renters Laborer, City Water Department Everett Finnin, renter Laborer Inez Finnin, renter Laborer Everett J. Finnin, renter Porter Harvey Finnin, renter Student 1949 James and Grace Finnin, renters Laborer Freddie B. and Boris Smith, renters Student 1947 Vacant Rear – Virginia Adams, owner Occupation not listed 1944 Jas L. and Grace Finnin, renters Laborer Horace Finnin, renter Helper, Greyhound Coffee Shop Harvey Finnin, renter Deliveryman Everett J. Finnin, renter Cook Ella M. Finnin, renter Maid 1941 Fred and Ophelia Adams, renters Fred – Trucker Ophelia – Grocer 1939 Address not listed Historical Information D.5 – 6 1930 Census 1940 Census D.5 – 7 World War I draft card for James Finnin World War II draft card for James Finnin D.5 – 8 Grace Finnin’s involvement with the Mary Church Terrell District Association of Federated Women’s Clubs, The Austin American, 4/2/1961 and The Austin Statesman, 7/18/1962 Death certificate for James L. Finnin, 3/7/1982 Permits D.5 – 9 Sewer connection permit, 1939 Building permit, 1965 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps D.5 – 10 2103 E. 8th St. does not appear on the 1935 Sanborn map (Sheet 209). The house and a rear apartment at 2103 E. 8th St. appear on the 1961 Sanborn map (Sheet 209).