D.13.0 - 1700 Lavaca St — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS JANUARY 24, 2022 DA-2022-001289; GF 2022-001636 1700 LAVACA STREET D.13 – 1 Demolish a ca. 1883 commercial building. ARCHITECTURE PROPOSAL RESEARCH One-story commercial building with a chamfered corner entry. The loadbearing masonry building has distinctive brickwork including segmental arched window and door openings and a corbelled brick cornice at the parapet. Multi-light windows and doors are not original but are within original openings. The commercial building at 1700 Lavaca St. was constructed for Emil Haenel, Sr. around 1883 as a grocery store. By 1903, Haenel built an adjoining building at 1702-1706 Lavaca St. and expanded Haenel’s Cash Store to include general merchandise, such as kitchen items, lawn and garden equipment, and toys. Sons Emil Haenel, Jr. and August W. Haenel continued to run the business after their father’s death in 1924. According to August Haenel, the store was “the first in Austin to adhere strictly to cash sales.” As compared with stores that extended credit to their customers, the cash-only business model created savings in accounting and overhead passed on to the customers. Haenel’s Cash Store remained in operation for approximately 70 years, until the early 1950s. Emil Haenel, Sr. was a German immigrant who arrived in Austin in 1873. His sons were avid bowlers in the Austin Saengerrunde and other leagues, and their wives were active in charitable work. Mrs. Emil Haenel was active in the Parent- Teacher Association and Capital Study Guild. Both she and Mrs. August Haenel were longstanding members of St. Martin Lutheran Church Ladies’ Aid. After 1924, Haenel’s Cash Store consolidated into 1702-1706 Lavaca St. Two clothing cleaners occupied 1700 Lavaca St. through at least 1959. Leonard Baker, a cleaner, tailor, and hatter, operated in the building between 1927 and 1944, after which L. L. Darling Cleaners moved into the space. PROPERTY EVALUATION Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain moderate integrity. Canopies over the sidewalks may have changed during the historic period and are not extant. Fenestration on the street-facing elevations has been replaced within the original openings. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and that it may meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The building is a good example of a small-scale commercial building with distinctive brickwork. Within this area of downtown, it is one of the last commercial buildings of its era that retains integrity. b. Historical association. The property is associated with an early and longstanding central Austin grocery, Haenel’s Cash Store. While the store moved into the adjoining building in its later years, 1700 Lavaca St. is the building originally associated with the business. The adjacent building also does not possess historic integrity. 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 with Haenel’s Cash Store, an early and longstanding central Austin grocery. If the commission chooses not to initiate historic zoning, encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse but release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. LOCATION MAP D.13 – 2 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D.13 – 3 D.13 – 4 Photographs by Historic Preservation Office staff, 2022 D.13 – 5 Occupancy History City Directory Research, December 2021 1959 1700 Lavaca L. L. Darling Cleaners 1955-57 1700 1952 1700 1949 1700 1947 1700 1929-44 1700 1927 1700 1924 1700 L. L. Darling Cleaners Louis L. Darling, proprietor; residence at 8519 Bowling Green Dr. L. L. Darling Cleaners L. L. Darling, proprietor; residence at 8405 Bowling Green Dr. L. L. Darling Cleaners Louis L. Darling, proprietor; residence at 1111 W. 10th St. L. L. Darling Cleaners Louis L. Darling, proprietor; residence at 5104 Martin Ave. Leonard Baker, clothes cleaner Residence, 605 E. 45th St. Leonard Baker, tailor Residence, 605 E. 45th St. Vacant Note: Haenel grocery store occupies 1704-1706 Lavaca 1922 1700-1706 Emil Haenel, grocer Residence, 302 W. 17th St. August Haenel and Emil Haenel, Jr., clerks for Emil Haenel 1700 Household Specialties Shop 1910-20 1700-1706 Haenel’s Cash department store, groceries, feed, china, glassware, toys, 5 and 10¢ counter Emil Haenel, Sr., proprietor; residence at 302 W. 17th St. August Haenel and Emil Haenel, Jr., clerks for Emil Haenel 1906 1700-1706 Haenel’s Cash Store, general merchandise Emil Haenel, proprietor; residence at 302 W. 17th St. Note: listing by address indicates H. W. Steinle & Sons, but this business was at 1612 Lavaca 1903 1700-1706 Emil Haenel, groceries and feed Residence, 302 W. 17th St. 1895 1700 1889-93 1700 1887 1700 Algernon S. Thweatt, groceries and feed Residence at 102 W. 24th St. Haenel & Martens, groceries and provisions Emil Haenel, proprietor; residence at 302 W. 17th St. George Martens, proprietor; residence at 1709 San Antonio St. Haenel & Martens, groceries and provisions Emil Haenel, proprietor; residence on the north side of W. 17th between Lavaca, Guadalupe St. George Martens, proprietor; residence at 1711 San Antonio St. 1885 1700 Emil Haenel, groceries and provisions Residence, same Historical Information D.13 – 6 Historic photograph, undated. House Building File: Lavaca, 1700, PICH 03448, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. D.13 – 7 Historic photograph dated Dec. 12, 1903. House Building File: Lavaca, 1700, C11203, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. D.13 – 8 1975 photograph of 1700 and 1704 Lavaca St. Yancey, Michael D. [Historic Property, Photograph THC_07-0168], photograph, February 6, 1975; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth675500/m1/1/?q=%221700%20lavaca%22: accessed January 19, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Commission. D.13 – 9 Newspaper advertisements for Haenel’s Cash Grocery first appear in 1898. Left, Austin Daily Statesman, Apr. 10, 1898, 6. Right, Austin Daily Statesman, Nov. 13, 1898, 6. E. Haenel is listed as a grocer who will begin closing at 7:00 p.m. Austin Daily Statesman, May 25, 1902, 15. Austin Statesman, Oct. 30, 1904, 19. D.13 – 10 Austin Statesman, Mar. 15, 1914, A6. Ads with the tag line “It takes money to buy at Haenel’s—but not as much as elsewhere” ran between 1915 and 1937. Beginning in December 1922, the business address is listed as 1704-1706 Lavaca St. By August 1927, the address is listed as 1702-1706 Lavaca St. Austin Statesman, Feb. 19, 1922, 14. D.13 – 11 “Emil Haenel, Pioneer Business Man, Dies after Long Illness,” Austin Statesman, July 28, 1924, 8. Ad and article, “Pioneer Store: Haenel Sons Conduct Business Founded by Father,” Austin American, Aug. 14, 1927, B43 and B50. D.13 – 12 Entry in 1932 City Directory describes the wide variety of wares at Haenel’s Cash Store. Austin City Directory (Houston: Morrison & Fourmy Directory Co., 1932-33), 233. Left, Mrs. Emil Haenel was active in the PTA and Capital Study Guild. Both she and Mrs. August Haenel were active in St. Martin Lutheran Church Ladies’ Aid. See “Class Started,” Austin American, Oct. 21, 1928, A2. Right, Both Emil and August Haenel were avid bowlers. See “114 Bowlers Open Meet at Saengerrunde: Four Leagues Begin Competing in Short Summer Tourney,” Austin American, May 25, 1941, 14. D.13 – 13 Left, obituary for Louis Emil Haenel. “Deaths and Funerals,” Austin Statesman, Nov. 18, 1961, 3. Right, obituary for August Haenel, Sr. Austin Statesman, May 7, 1972, A2. Sample ads for Leonard Baker, cleaner, tailor, and hatter. Left, Austin Statesman, Dec. 8, 1927, 16. Right, Austin Statesman, Mar. 7, 1932, 8. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps D.13 – 14 1961, Vol. 1, Sheet 17 1935, Sheet 17 1900, Sheet 26 Jan. 1894, Sheet 2 D.13 – 15 July 1889, Sheet 11 Note: area was not mapped in June 1885.