D.1.0 - 2500 Rosewood Ave — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS DECEMBER 17, 2021 PR-21-148307; GF-2021-164895 2500 ROSEWOOD AVENUE D.1 – 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1948 house. ARCHITECTURE This long, one-story Ranch-style house spans across four lots at the corner of Rosewood Ave. and Bedford St. The house is turned slightly on the site such that the façade faces south toward the intersection. The house is surmounted by a side-gabled roof, with a gable on hipped roof over a small front wing at the east end of the façade and a smaller hipped wing on the east elevation. The porch is a small stoop at the corner of the wing and main volume, with a shed roof supported by decorative ironwork. At the west end of the house is a flat-roofed garage wing. Next to the single-car garage door is a secondary entrance with a metal awning. The 1947 building permit notes a garage, but this wing appears to be an addition. A major feature of the house is a substantial rectilinear limestone chimney with three flues that intersects and extends forward from the façade. From the chimney to the porch, the house is clad in limestone. The rest of the house has aluminum siding. Windows were replaced in 2013 and include 1:1, horizontal sliding, and picture windows. There is also a large opening with glass blocks between the chimney and garage. RESEARCH The house was built in 1948 by contractor Oliver Street for Huston-Tillotson professors Bertrand “Bert” and Hazel Poole Adams, who lived in this house almost until the time of their deaths. Bertrand Adams (1912–1999) was from Waco, Texas. He graduated from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, earned a Master’s in Music Education from Texas Southern University. Bertrand completed a tour of duty in the Navy and was a trombone player in the Navy band. Hazel Poole Adams (1913–2005) was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Wiley College and a Master’s in Health, Physical Education & Recreation from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Bertrand and Hazel Adams were college sweethearts and married in 1941. The couple moved to Austin in 1945 to teach at Samuel Huston College, Bertrand in the music department and Hazel as the physical education instructor. Both continued to teach at Huston- Tillotson College until 1955. Bertrand Adams was a noted jazz musician and bandleader in Austin, playing music recitals for the community. His 18- piece band played alongside Nat King Cole in concert in 1947. He was inducted into the Clarksville West End Jazz and Arts Festival’s hall of fame in 1994. Bertrand Adams was also an ardent supporter of Black businesses. He founded or co-founded multiple businesses in the mid-1950s: A and A Insurance Agency, Dominion Finance & Loan Company, Bertrand Adams Cars, and East Austin Motors. Beginning in 1955, he embarked on a 26-year career in government. Among other positions, he was the chief of the Community Action Program Division in the Office of the Governor and field director for the Texas Office of Minority Business Enterprises in the 1960s to ’70s. He attended the White House Conference on Small Business and was appointed to the Small Business Administration’s Advisory Council for central Texas 1980. Bertrand further supported Black businesses and economic development in East Austin as the co-founder in 1977 and president of the Austin chapter of the National Business League, a Black professional and trade association founded in 1900 by Booker T. Washington. Hazel Adams continued teaching at Huston-Tillotson through 1955. She taught at health at L.C. Anderson High and joined the faculty of Stephen F. Austin High in 1969. She was named one of the Outstanding Secondary Educators of American in 1973. During the 1950s, she also taught dance classes and coordinated events at the Rosewood Recreation Center and within the Austin Parks and Recreation Department’s Rosewood District. After retirement from public school, she worked another 25 years teaching health education for the University of Texas’s Division of Continuing Education. Alongside other Black civic leaders, Hazel Adams was a charter member of the Austin chapters of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. and The Links, Incorporated. She hosted events in her home. D.1 – 2 PROPERTY EVALUATION The property is beyond the boundary of the 2016 East Austin Historic Resources Survey and was not included in any previous survey. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building retains a moderate degree of integrity, with apparent changes including the flat-roofed garage wing, 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and replacement windows, and aluminum siding. determined that it may meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The building’s long, horizontal lines, exaggerated chimney, limestone cladding, and decorative ironwork are representative of Ranch-style architecture. Austin has relatively few landmarks of this type. b. Historical association. The property is associated with Bertrand and Hazel Adams, who taught at Huston- Tillotson University and advocated for African American businesses and causes. 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 Consider initiation of historic zoning based on architecture and historical associations. If the Commission does not choose to initiate, encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, then relocation over demolition, but release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. LOCATION MAP D.1 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D.1 – 4 D.1 – 5 Photographs by Historic Preservation Office staff, December 12, 2021. Occupancy History City Directory Research, November 2021 Bertrand and Hazel P. Adams, owners Bertrand: Bertrand Adams New & Used Cars, 1124 E. 11th St.; East Austin Motors Hazel: Teacher, Anderson High School Bertrand and Hazel P. Adams, owners Bertrand: Bertrand Adams Cars, used cars, 1124 E. 11th St. Hazel: Teacher, public school Bertrand and Hazel Adams, owners Bertrand: Bertrand Adams Cars, East Austin Motors, 1124 E. 11th St.; teacher, Huston-Tillotson College Hazel: Teacher, Huston-Tillotson College Bertrand and Hazel P. Adams, owners Bertrand: Dominion Finance & Loan Co., 1200 E. 11th St. Hazel: Instructor, Huston-Tillotson College Bertrand and Hazel Poole Adams, owners Both: Instructors, Huston-Tillotson College Bertrand and Hazel P. Adams, owners Both: Instructors, Samuel Huston College Bertrand and Hazel Adams, owners Bertrand: Music director Hazel: No occupation listed Address not listed Note: Bertrand Adams and Hazel Adams are listed as instructors at Samuel Houston [sic] College and reside at 817 E. 11th St. 1958 1957 1955 1954 1953 1952 1949 1947 Biographical Information Bertrand Adams D.1 – 6 The 1940 U.S. Census shows Bertrand Adams living with his parents in Waco, Texas. His occupation is listed as a college band director. Ancestry.com World War II draft card for Bertrand Adams, Ancestry.com D.1 – 7 Samuel Huston College 1946 Artist Series, The Austin Statesman, February 26, 1946  D.1 – 8 Bert Adams played alongside Nat King Cole in concert, The Austin American, April 27, 1947 (left); ads in The Austin American and Austin Statesman ran between April 22 and May 3, 1947 D.1 – 9 Bert Adams established an insurance agency in 1953, The Austin American, July 5, 1953 Undated refrigerator magnet, https://www.ebay.com/itm/265330473937; the company was incorporated in 1954 per The Austin American, October 10, 1945, B14 D.1 – 10 The Austin American, November 13, 1955 and The Austin Statesman, March 22, 1956 D.1 – 11 The Austin Statesman, July 29, 1969 D.1 – 12 Work with the Texas Office of Minority Business Enterprises (OMBE), The Austin Statesman, November 5, 1972 D.1 – 13 Adams co-founded and served as president of the Austin Chapter of the National Business League, Austin American-Statesman, June 30, 1977 and November 23, 1977 D.1 – 14 Austin American-Statesman, February 19, 1978 D.1 – 15 Austin American-Statesman, March 24, 1978 and January 14, 1979 D.1 – 16 Adams attended the White House Conference on Small Business in 1980, Austin American-Statesman, January 6, 1980 Adams was appointed to the Small Business Administration’s Advisory Council for central Texas, Austin American-Statesman, December 21, 1980 D.1 – 17 The Villager’s salute to Austin’s living legends featured Bertrand Adams, top center, May 12, 1990, http://www.theaustinvillager.com/pdfs/2012/2012may11.pdf D.1 – 18 Ex-business leader, professor of music Bertrand Adams dies Bertrand “Bert” Adams, a former Huston-Tillotson College music professor who also dedicated many years to promoting African American entrepreneurship, died of heart disease Monday at home in Austin. He was 86. “He was a great musician himself, and he inspired the young men and young women who took music,” said John Q. Taylor King, the former president of Huston-Tillotson College. “He could play anything, but he was a great jazz musician.” Adams was inducted into the Clarksville West End Jazz and Arts Festival’s hall of fame in 1994, an honor that he said surpassed the dozens he had received during his long career in government service and as the founder of the Cen-Tex chapter of the National Business League. Adams was born in Waco, graduated from Wiley College in Marshall and earned a master’s in education at Texas Southern University. He spent the next three years as a trombone player in a U.S. Navy band. He began teaching at Samuel Huston College in Austin in 1945 and continued after the merger that created Huston-Tillotson College in 1952. In 1955, he left the college for a job with the State of Texas. He worked in the office of minority business enterprise and held several other positions during a 26-year career in government. During a break in his government work, he was the co-owner of an East Austin car dealership. In the early 1980s, he retired as the procurement director of the Texas Industrial Commission. His survivors include his wife, Hazel Poole Adams, of Austin and one daughter, Brenda Shepherd, of Plano. A funeral will be at 11 a.m. today at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1160 San Bernard St. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery. Obituary for Bertrand Adams, Austin American-Statesman, January 6, 1999 Hazel Poole Adams D.1 – 19 The 1940 U.S. Census shows Hazel Poole living with her parents in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her occupation is listed as a private school teacher. Ancestry.com D.1 – 20 Hazel Adams taught classes and coordinated events at the Rosewood Recreation Center and in the Parks and Recreation Department’s Rosewood District; for example, see The Austin American, April 13, 1952 and Feb. 28, 1954 and The Austin Statesman, June 25, 1964 D.1 – 21 The Austin Statesman, June 19, 1956 D.1 – 22 Ongoing career development and recognition in education, The Austin American, July 17, 1966 and The Austin Statesman, June 21, 1973 D.1 – 23 Austin American-Statesman, October 20, 1977 Death notice for Hazel Adams’s mother, Annie R. Pool, who had been living at 2500 Rosewood Ave., Austin American-Statesman, November 28, 1979 D.1 – 24 The Austin chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. was chartered in June 1953. Charter members were Hazel Adams, Myrdis Allen, Ada C. Anderson, Curtis Collins, Lucille Crawford, Marcet King, Bertha Means, Rose Thayer, Bessie Rowe, Myrtle Royster, and Nancy Williams Johnson. We are proud to boast of members who have served as officers on the National and Regional level: Ada C. Anderson, National Corresponding Secretary and Regional Director of the South Central Region; Willie Mae Kirk, Regional Secretary/Treasurer; Lillie Williams, Regional Secretary/Treasurer; Mary Lou Adams, Regional Director & Regional Secretary/Treasurer; Susan Johnson, Regional Director (2001- 2005); Catherine Lee, Legislative Chairperson; Barbara Dunn Harrington, Foundation Member-At-large; Gina Harris, Regional Nominating Committee Chair and Brenda Kennedy served as South Central Regional Director and Regional Foundation Member-At-Large. About the Austin Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., https://jackandjillaustin.org/about-the-austin-chapter … D.1 – 25 The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of more than 16,000 professional women of color in 288 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. During the middle fifties, Goldie Reid Hortshorn, President of the Houston Chapter of The Links, Incorporated discussed with her sister, Opal McDonald Seabrook, the possibility of setting up a chapter of the Links, Incorporated in Austin. There were subsequent discussions between Goldie Hortshorn and Opal Seabrook. Eventually, Goldie came to Austin for the purpose of meeting with some interested persons regarding a chapter. Those meeting with Goldie were Opal Seabrook, Connie Yerwood Conner, Olive Durden Brown, and Mary Yerwood Thompson at Mary Y. Thompson’s home, 1212 Harvey Street. As a result of this meeting enough interest was shown to indicate the desire on the part of those assembled to proceed with applying for a chapter in Austin Potential members were suggested as follows: Hazel Poole Adams, Thelma Mitchell Elliott, Lillie Belle Corley Hines, Clara M. Cadd Johnson, Catherine B. Lamkin, Percy Grace Skaggs Lyons, Ruth Meeks Mayes, and Emma Louise Smythe Woodward. Together, they completed the necessary twelve for establishing a chapter. Goldie returned to Houston to set the machinery in motion for an Austin Chapter sponsored by the Houston Chapter. By National Assembly time in 1960, Austin had been approved for a chapter along with San Antonio. Austin and San Antonio collaborated in certain aspects and details in preparation for establishment of the two chapters. The Austin Chapter of the Links, Incorporated was chartered on December 9, 1960. Installation ceremonies were held in the home of Lillie Belle Hines. The Banquet was held in the home of Percy Grace Lyons with husbands and visiting guests in attendance. Many of the members of the sponsoring Houston chapter and their spouses were in attendance as well as members from the Dallas and Fort Worth Chapters. The new Austin Chapter served breakfast in the home of Hazel P. Adams the following morning. Austin Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, About Us, https://theaustinlinks.org/about/ D.1 – 26 Hazel Poole Adams Hazel Madre Poole Adams was born March 22, 1913, to the late Dr. H. H. Poole and Mrs. Anna Romby Poole. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Wiley College in East, Tex., and a Master's in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. She had been a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Austin, Tex., but more recently was an active member of Kingdom Hall's Springdale Congregation in Austin, Tex., and Kingdom Hall's Preston Park Congregation in Plano, Tex. Mrs. Adams was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Jack and Jill of America, Inc. and The Links, Inc., Austin Chapter. Her beloved husband of fifty-six years, Bertrand Adams, preceded her in death. Surviving family include daughter Brenda Adams Shepherd; son-in-law Charles A. "Chuck" Shepherd, Jr.; grandson Charles A. "Trey" Shepherd, III; great-grandson Cameron Scott Shepherd. Services Friday, July 8, 2005, 7:00 p.m. in the chapel of King-Tears Mortuary, Inc. Interment Saturday, July 9, 2005, 10:00 a.m. at Evergreen Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in the name of the Bertrand and Hazel Poole Adams Memorial Scholarship Fund to Huston-Tillotson University, Attn: Vickie Minor. (King-Tears Mortuary, Inc.) Obituary for Hazel Poole Adams, Austin American-Statesman, July 7, 2005, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/statesman/name/hazel-adams-obituary?id=27355553 Material on both Bertrand and Hazel Adams D.1 – 27 Excerpt from a book by the jazz drummer and composer Roy Porter, From There and Back, Oxford: Bayou Press, 1991, https://books.google.com/books/about/There_And_Back.html?id=lqHHgmB5l5AC D.1 – 28 Bertrand Adams Samuel Huston College, Huston-Tillotson College, Music Department, 1950s Born April 29, 1912, died January 4, 1999, buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Austin, Texas. Bertrand "Bert" Adams was from Waco, Texas. He married his college sweetheart, Ms. Hazel Madree Poole in 1941. Bert completed a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy and earned a Master's in Music Education from Texas Southern University. In 1945 both he and his wife Hazel moved to Austin and were hired as faculty at Samuel Huston College. Their only daughter, Brenda Anne Adams, would be born two years later. Hazel Poole Adams Samuel Huston College, Huston-Tillotson College, Physical Education Department, 1945-1978 Born March 22, 1913, died June 30, 2005, buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Austin, Texas. Hazel Madree Poole Adams was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. She was the only child born to the late Dr. H.H. Poole and Mrs. Anna Romby Poole. She attended Central High School where she graduated in 1929. Several years after receiving a Bachelor's degree in Education from Wiley College in East Texas, Ms. Hazel was hired by the college as its Physical Education Instructor. In 1941, Ms. Hazel married her college sweetheart Mr. Bertrand "Bert" Adams of Waco, Texas. The two would be together on earth for 56 years. By the end of World War II, Ms. Hazel had earned a Master's in Health, Physical Education & Recreation from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Following moving to Austin with Bert and having their daughter, between 1956 and 1978, Ms. Hazel taught P.E. and health education in the following Austin Public Schools; the old L.C. Anderson High School and Stephen F. Austin High School. She had 44 years of classroom experience. In post-retirement, she worked another 25 years for UT-Austin's Division of Continuing Education, teaching Health Education from home. She also helped the University's Health Education develop curricula Correspondence course. Throughout her adult life, she touched the lives of many people. Ms. Hazel was a long- time member of Alpha Kappa Sorority, Inc.; a charter member of the Austin Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.; and a charter member of the Austin Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. She passed away while living in Plano, Texas with her daughter and son-in-law, and would be reunited with Bert when she was laid to rest next to him in Evergreen Cemetery. for Austin Parks and Recreation Department StoryMap, “HT Faculty: ‘Gatekeepers of Knowledge & Wisdom,’” https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/30c71ccc98294feda10d840072edbabc Permits D.1 – 29 Water service permit, 1947 D.1 – 30 Building permit, 1947 Sewer service permit, 1948 D.1 – 31 Sewer service permit, 1975 D.1 – 32 Building permit, 1980