D.7.0 - Skyview Baptist Church, 211 W. Koenig Lane — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS NOVEMBER 15, 2021 DA-2021-074501 & DA-2021-147611; GF-2021-168875 SKYVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH 211 WEST KOENIG LANE D.7 – 1 PROPOSAL ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH Demolish a church sanctuary and fellowship hall built between 1952 and 1960. The sanctuary is a ca. 1960 one-story, front-gabled, stuccoed church building with blank walls and a principal entry facing north consisting of two sets of recessed double-leaf metal doors under a stuccoed canopy; there is a stylized metal steeple and a stuccoed parapet with the words “Skyview Baptist Church” in the façade of the parapet The ca. 1952 fellowship hall was modified in 1955 with the addition of a second story and consists now of a two-story U-plan ashlar-patterned limestone building with front-facing gable ends. The fellowship hall contains a combination of single double-leaf metal casements with fixed transoms on the ground floor and single, 2:2 fenestration on the second floor; all windows are set on stone lintels. The principal entry to the fellowship hall is recessed in the western projecting gable; there is a secondary entry opening on to the courtyard created by the configuration of the building. The original church was located at the corner of 56th Street and Chesterfield Avenue and was demolished for the construction of this complex. Members of Skyview Baptist Church undertook the construction of the new buildings in the 1950s through 1960; many of the congregants lived in this neighborhood. The Skyview Baptist Church sponsored many revivals from this complex; its biggest period of growth occurred in the early 1960s under pastor Bob Clements; this was also a golden era for the church’s softball team. Pastor Clements was also very active in pushing for a halfway house for ex-convicts in the old East Avenue Baptist Church in the 1960s. Many of the speakers who gave presentations at the church were former addicts and criminals, serving up inspiration for the congregation. This site has now been purchased by a private owner; Skyview Baptist Church sold the property in 2007 to the Austin Baptist Association; the current owner purchased the property from the Austin Baptist Association in 2020, so the Commission may review the application for the demolition of these structures in accordance with state law. PROPERTY EVALUATION The property was surveyed in 2019 as part of the survey of the North Loop neighborhood, but has no priority for preservation. The survey does not recommend the inclusion of the church within a proposed historic district, and it may be too distant from other potentially historic buildings within the neighborhood to constitute a cohesive district but the buildings do remain a high degree of integrity of their pre-1960 construction and were built by members of the congregation. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain a high degree of integrity. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it does not meet two criteria for individual designation: a. Architecture. The complex represents mid-century church design but with a very utilitarian vernacular language. The church does not convey any architectural significance. b. Historical association. The church was a neighborhood Baptist congregation; while active in advocating for the establishment of halfway houses and lectures on drug addiction, as well as sponsoring a winning softball team, there do not appear to be any 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, D.7 – 2 cultural, or historical value to the city. STAFF RECOMMENDATION 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. D.7 – 3  D.7 – 4 PROPERTY INFORMATION D.7 – 5 Ad for Skyview Baptist Church Austin American-Statesman, January 31, 1960 D.7 – 6 Story on Pastor Bob Clements of Skyview Baptist Church Austin American-Statesman, October 25, 1964 D.7 – 7 Revival at Skyview Baptist Church Austin American-Statesman, September 2, 1967 Evangelist to speak at Skyview Baptist Church on drug addiction Austin American-Statesman, September 12, 1970 Ad for Skyview Baptist Church Austin American-Statesman, July 10, 1976