D.3.0 - 410 E 5th St — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS FEBRUARY 28, 2022 DA-2022-012545; GF-2022-014670 AVENUE LOFTS 410 E. 5TH STREET D.3 – 1 PROPOSAL ARCHITECTURE Demolish a ca. 1928/1943 office building converted to condominiums. Art Moderne building with curved central entry between three- and four-story wings. The building is clad in stucco and has fixed, casement, and porthole windows. Horizontal sunshades extend along window headers. Balconies with pierced metal supports are on a side and rear elevation. RESEARCH The building at 410 E. 5th St. served as the headquarters of the Texas State Department of Health. According to the Handbook of Texas Online, this agency owes its origins to the need for quarantine in the 19th century. Successor departments with expanded missions were established by the state legislature in the early 20th century. The agency was reorganized and named the Texas State Department of Health in 1927.1 The building also historically housed the Pasteur Institute of Texas, organized in 1903 for the diagnosis and treatment of rabies. Originally part of the Austin Lunatic Asylum (now the Austin State Hospital), the institute was combined with other state laboratories into the Bureau of Laboratories in 1928, under the oversight of the State Health Department.2 The original portion of this building was constructed in 1928 to serve the Bureau of Laboratories and Pasteur Institute. An initial 1934 expansion was designed by Page Brothers.3 A larger 1943 expansion was dramatic enough to be termed a new building in newspaper coverage of the opening, which occurred on the 64th anniversary of the Texas State Department of Health. The project, which allowed the entire department to be housed in a single location for the first time, added a floor atop the original two-story brick building and constructed a three-story reinforced concrete wing to the west.4 Building permits indicate a fourth floor was added to the west wing in 1948, which was anticipated in the building’s design.5 The 1943 expansion was attributed to either Ernest V. Manning or John L. Scott of Shingle & Scott.6 Manning earned a degree in architecture from the University of Texas. He opened a practice in Fort Worth before returning to Austin. Manning worked as an architect for the Texas Highway Department and designed buildings in the Highway Department complex in Lufkin, Texas, as well as on the Austin State Supported Living Center campus.7 Around 1947, he moved to Houston and worked for architect Alfred Finn. He was employed by the firm Goleman & Rolfe, working on a major commission for an expansion of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston at the time of his death in 1962.8 Scott also graduated from the University of Texas. He joined Shingle Engineering Company of Gatesville, Texas, as an architectural engineer before becoming a 1 Robert Bernstein, “Texas Department of Health,” Handbook of Texas Online, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas- department-of-health. 2 “Pasteur Institute of Texas,” Handbook of Texas Online, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/pasteur-institute-of-texas. 3 “Pasteur Institute Moves to New Downtown Building,” Austin Statesman, Nov. 26, 1928, 10; and “Pasteur Annex Contract is Let: Two Story Structure to Cost $10,665,” Austin American, Mar. 4, 1934, 5. 4 “New Health Building Opens Here Monday,” Austin Statesman, July 21, 1943, 2; “New Department of Health Building to be Opened to Public,” Austin American, July 25, 1943, 5; Austin Statesman, July 25, 1943, B1; and “State Health Department Now in New Home: Modern Three-Story Building Located on East Fifth Street,” Austin American, July 25, 1943, B8. 5 “4-Story Health Building is Assured: Laboratory’s Enlargement Also Approved, FDR’s Approval Announced by Cong. Johnson,” Austin Statesman, Nov. 4, 1941, 5. 6 Ibid.; and “Bids Wanted,” Austin Statesman, Jan. 5, 1939, 13. 7 Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; Bonnie Tipton Wilson and Rev. Dr. Paul D. Kraus, draft National Register nomination for Chapel for the Children, Austin, Texas, 2021, https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/Austin%2C%20Chapel%20for%20the%20Children%20NR%20SBR%20DRAFT.pdf; and Dorothy and Sally Victor, National Register nomination for Texas Highway Department Complex, Lufkin, Texas, 1986, https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/NR/pdfs/88002769/88002769.pdf. 8 “Deaths: Ernest V. Manning, Houston Architect for 15 Years,” Houston Press, May 22, 1962, 6. D.3 – 2 partner. Shingle & Scott provided engineering and residential, commercial, and municipal architectural services. Scott was vice-president of the Texas Society of Architects in 1948. In 1963, he designed renovations to the state capitol.9 Little more than a decade after the expansion was constructed, there was already talk of the need for a replacement facility. Newspaper coverage reported that “crowded, unsafe conditions in the past few years have resulted in a number of valuable laboratory workers contracting a number of diseases, including typhoid fever, malaria, relapsing fever, amoebic dysentery, six cases of typhus fever, and four cases of turkey psittacosis.” According to Dr. Henry Holle, state health officer, “Most illnesses occurred because of overcrowded, totally inadequate working facilities.”10 A new $5 million, multi-building facility for the State Department of Health opened in 1958 on W. 49th St. between North Lamar and Grover.11 The building on E. 5th St. continued to house agency functions, including the Bureau of Vital Statistics, for many years. In 1999, the building was redeveloped into condominiums, designed by Austin architect Charles Fisk.12 PROPERTY EVALUATION Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building retains moderate integrity. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and that it does not meet two criteria: a. Architecture. Avenue Lofts is a striking example of an institutional Art Moderne building. However, multiple modifications made when the building was converted into lofts diminish its integrity and ability to fully convey its architectural significance. These changes include window replacement within enlarged openings, installation of porthole windows, and the addition of sunshades and balconies. b. Historical association. Undoubtedly, the Texas State Department of Health has played a critical role in public health for Texans. Despite the long presence of agency functions in this building, it served as the headquarters for only 15 years between 1943 and 1958, when department administration and other critical functions moved to the current headquarters. The Texas Department of State Health Services complex at 1100 W. 49th St. holds a stronger association with the agency. 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 Encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse but release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. 9 “Miss Sauberan to be Wed to John L. Scott, Rites Set at Church Here on Saturday,” Austin Statesman, July 11, 1939, 7; “Austinite Named to Office by Architects,” Austin Statesman, Nov. 1, 1948, 2; and legal notice, Austin Statesman, Aug. 10, 1963, 11. 10 “State Health Department Twice Size Present One Announced,” Austin Statesman, Mar. 15, 1955, 19. 11 “Dedication Set Friday for New Health Building,” Austin Statesman, Nov. 20, 1958, B1. 12 Building permit for commercial remodel, issued Oct. 7, 1998; James Rambin, “Downtown’s Avenue Lofts Condos Hit the Market, with Redevelopment in Mind,” Austin Towers, Mar. 29, 2021, https://austin.towers.net/downtowns-avenue-lofts-condos-hit-the-market- with-redevelopment-in-mind. LOCATION MAP D.3 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos Photograph by Historic Preservation Office staff, 2022 D.3 – 4 Austin Statesman, July 25, 1943, B1; clipping from Austin History Center via Austin Towers blog, https://austin.towers.net/downtowns-avenue-lofts-condos-hit-the-market-with-redevelopment-in-mind D.3 – 5 Occupancy History City Directory Research, February 2022 1959 Department of Health (Vital Statistics annex) Listed as 410 E. 5th St. 1955-57 State Department of Health (Central Administration) Listed as 406-410 E. 5th St. 1952 State Department of Health: Central Administration Health Director Bureau of Laboratories Hygienic laboratory Listed as 406-410 E. 5th St. 1947-49 1942-44 State Hygienic Laboratory State Department of Health (Bureau of Laboratories) Listed as 412 E. 5th St. State Hygienic Laboratory Pasteur Institute Texas State Department of Health (Bureau of Laboratories) Pasteur Institute State Hygienic Laboratory V. A. Frederickson, bookkeeper, State Department of Health State Hygienic Laboratory Pasteur Institute State Hygienic Laboratory Pasteur Institute State Hygienic Laboratory Pasteur Institute State Hygienic Laboratory Listed as 410 E. 5th St. State Hygienic Laboratory Pasteur Institute Listed as 412 E. 5th St. State Laboratory Pasteur Institute 1941 1939 1937 1935 1932 1930 1929 1927 Address not listed Historical Information D.3 – 6 The State Health Department Building replaced an earlier brick building on this site. “Pasteur Institute Moves to New Downtown Building,” Austin Statesman, Nov. 26, 1928, 10. “Bids Wanted,” Austin Statesman, Jan. 5, 1939, 13. D.3 – 7 “4-Story Health Building is Assured: Laboratory’s Enlargement Also Approved, FDR’s Approval Announced by Cong. Johnson,” Austin Statesman, Nov. 4, 1941, 5. D.3 – 8 Rendering accompanying preceding article; clipping from Austin History Center via Austin Towers blog, https://austin.towers.net/demolition-planned-for-avenue-lofts. D.3 – 9 “New Health Building Opens Here Monday,” July 21, 1943, 2; and “New Department of Health Building to be Opened to Public,” Austin American, July 25, 1943, 5. D.3 – 10 “State Health Department Now in New Home: Modern Three-Story Building Located on East Fifth Street,” Austin American, July 25, 1943, B8. D.3 – 11 “State Health Department Twice Size Present One Announced,” Austin Statesman, Mar. 15, 1955, 19. D.3 – 12 Newspaper clippings about the death of Ernest V. Manning, May 22, 1962, from Ancestry.com. D.3 – 13 “Miss Sauberan to be Wed to John L. Scott, Rites Set at Church Here on Saturday,” Austin Statesman, July 11, 1939, 7. Advertisement for architects Shingle & Scott, Austin City Directory, 1942, buyer’s guide p. 5. Building permits D.3 – 14 Building permit for masonry laboratory building, 1939. Building permit for fourth-story addition, 1948. Remodel permit, 1968 D.3 – 15 Water service permit, 1976. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps D.3 – 16 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1935-1961, vol. 1, sheet 5, accessed via Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1935, sheet 5.