D.6.0 b - 213 W 5th St — original pdf

Backup

HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS MAY 4, 2022 DA-2022-011968; GF-2022-050219 213 WEST 5TH STREET D.6 b – 1 Demolition of a single-story commercial building circa 1919 (213 W. 5th). PROPOSAL ARCHITECTURE 213 W. 5th St. is a single-story brick masonry commercial building on the corner of 5th and Lavaca Streets. The original design of the building had an open front for drive-in service accessible from both street frontages. It originally had a relatively elaborate and symmetrical parapet roofline composed of steps, scrolls, and central circular elements on both facades. Original brick with masonry quoining on the rear corner walls can still be seen beneath the newer layers of construction and could be restored. The building was remodeled as Jellyroll’s Nightclub in 1995 and again as Antone’s in 1999 with the enclosure of the front area. In 2017, Spin, a sports and entertainment venue, undertook an extensive rehabilitation of the building, attempting to replicate the original 1919 parapet roofline and installing windows that re-established some of the lines of the curved bay openings. The exterior is currently an art installment by Samson Barboza including a guitar player- a nod to the site’s history in Austin’s live music scene. RESEARCH Its first major use was from 1922 to 1929 as a service station and distributor for Exide brand automotive batteries. The Warehouse District in downtown Austin used to be dominated by auto repair shops and car dealerships, which is why the original design of the building had an open front for drive-in service, as seen in the historic photo. The address housed filling stations, car dealers, tire shops, and most automotive-related businesses until 1981 when it was converted into a financial investment firm. In 1995, the building was remodeled into a bar known as Jellyroll’s Nightclub, laying the foundation for Antone’s to take over the space in 1997, when the front was enclosed. Spin, a sports and entertainment venue, rehabilitated the building in 2017. Antone’s opened in 1975 at 6th and Brazos, now demolished. The club then moved to Anderson Lane in 1980, where James Brown and Ray Charles played. It then moved to an old Shakey’s Pizza Parlor at 2915 Guadalupe in 1981. From ’81 until 1996, hundreds of thousands of fans found their way to the club. The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble exploded nationally during the club’s Guadalupe era. It stayed at the Guadalupe location for 15 years until it moved to 213 W. 5th Street in 1997. “Antone’s has always considered itself a downtown club,” remarked to Susan Antone in an interview with staff. Antone’s was one of the first businesses to revitalize the area. The club stayed at 213 W. 5th Street for 16 years until moving to E. Riverside in 2013 and eventually back to 5th Street in 2015. Through the years, the venue has promoted many new and established blues musicians and has garnered national and international attention. Upon hearing of Antone’s death, Mayor Will Wynn said, “One of the primary reasons Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the World is because of Clifford Antone.”i Antone's had a twofold effect on the seedling Austin music scene of the mid-Seventies. Besides bringing the names mentioned above to Austin, Antone further fostered the blues' local scene by arranging for the local musicians to act as their backing bands.ii Bands sometimes swapped nights and grew into a close family headquartered at Antone’s. Antone's Records, established in 1987, recorded both live shows and award-winning studio sets. The 213 W. 5th street club is where Antone’s Night Club was historically in operation for the longest—one year longer than its Guadalupe Street location. The venue has won many Austin Music Awards and was honored as Nightclub of the Year by USA Today. It is associated with Clifford Antone, recipient of the National Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, at the date of his passing. PROPERTY EVALUATION The Historic Buildings in the Warehouse District Survey (ca. 2009) listed the property as a medium priority for inclusion in a potential historic district; this assessment was made during Antone’s occupancy and prior to 2017 changes to the building. D.6 b – 2 Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The property retains a low degree of integrity. The 2017 restoration does not faithfully recreate the building’s original appearance. Details in the size, shape, and execution of the raised parapet; size, materials, and details of the columns; and the number of bays on the side elevation do not match a historic photograph of the Exide Battery Service Station. More importantly, the building does not retain its appearance at the time of its association with Antone’s, the historical association for which the property is significant. While the building possesses integrity of location, feeling, and association and to some degree integrity of setting, it lacks integrity of design, materials, and workmanship as compared with either its original appearance or its appearance during its association with Antone’s. Thus, despite potentially meeting two criteria for significance, as indicated below, the building does not meet the overall criteria for landmark designation. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it may meet two criteria: significance. a. Architecture. The building has been subject to modifications such that it cannot convey architectural b. Historical association. The property has significant historical associations with Clifford Antone, Antone’s Night Club, and the development of the music scene in Austin. The significance of a property must have its basis at least 50 years ago unless there is an argument for exceptional significance (as defined by Criteria Consideration G for the National Register of Historic Places). Antone’s meets this threshold, as described above. The building would need to be evaluated against the extant Guadalupe Street location, where Antone’s was located for one year less but which saw its first rise to national significance, in order to determine which best represents the legacy and thus could meet Criteria Consideration G. 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 may meet this criterion as a warehouse in the warehouse district and as a pivotal live music venue that helped bring the live music scene back to downtown. 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, then relocation over demolition, but release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. LOCATION MAP D.6 b – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D.6 b – 4 213 W. 5th Street, Historic Preservation Office staff, April 2022. D.6 b – 5 213 W. 5th Street, Historic Preservation Office staff, April 2022. Landmark Investments Securities, municipal bonds, investments, and real estate. No proprietor listed. Vacant Vacant Occupancy History City Directory Research, Austin History Center By City Historic Preservation Office December 2008 1992 1987 1981 1977 1975 1969 1967 1963 Beard Spring and Brake Service Auto repair James F. Beard, proprietor Beard Spring and Brake Service Auto repair James F. Beard, proprietor Capitol Auto Glass William G. Scott, manager Vacant The address is not listed in the directory.  1957 1953 1949 1947 1944-45 1941 1937 1935 1932-33 1930-31 1929 1927 1924 1922 1920 D.6 b – 6 Beard Spring and Brake Service James F. Beard, proprietor Beard Spring and Brake Service James F. Beard, proprietor Fleet Company Truck Rentals Harold W. and Gladys Lewis, proprietors Alamo Welding Supply Company J.S. Lowery, manager Lanier Plumbing Company Lanier Plumbing Company is not listed in the main directory. Austin Tire Company Filling station Charles B. Dillon and Percy Hancock, proprietors Austin Sales Company No. 2 Used cars Thomas M. Lemon and Herbert Ash, proprietors NOTE: Auto Sales Company also had a car lot at 600 Lavaca Street. Monroe Motor Company Used Car Department Chevrolet automobiles John H. Nash, president NOTE: The main office of Monroe Motor Company was at 220 E. 5th Street. Harold L. Constant Filling station Vacant Austin Goodyear Company Exide Battery Service Station Distributors of Exide batteries, recharging and repairing all makes, storage batteries, starter, and generator repairs. A.W. Whitten, proprietor Austin Exide Battery Service Station Distributors of Exide batteries, recharging and repairing all makes, storage batteries, starter, and generator repairs. A.W. Whitten, proprietor Austin Exide Battery Service Station Distributors of Exide batteries, recharging and repairing all makes, storage batteries, starter, and generator repairs. A.W. Whitten, proprietor Vacant Permits D.6 b – 7 Water service permit, 1927 Historical information D.6 b – 8 Advertisement for Radiola Superheterodyne, available at the Exide Battery Service Station, Austin American-Statesman, February 8, 1925. Advertisement for the Radiola Loud Speaker, available at the Exide Battery Service Station, Austin American, December 13, 1925 D.6 b – 9 Advertisement for the Exide Battery Service Station, Austin American-Statesman, December 20, 1925 Advertisement for the Exide Battery Service Station, Austin American-Statesman, March 7, 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance maps X.X – 10 The 1900 Sanborn map shows a two-story boarding house on the site (top left corner of the map).with a two-story contractors’ workshop facing the alley at the south end of the lot. A one-story house was also located in the center of the lot. All of these buildings were demolished around 1918. The 1935 Sanborn map shows the building used as a filling station with auto repairs in the back. In the early 1930s, Harold L. Constant had a filling station on this site; the site had become a used car lot by 1935. X.X – 11 The 1961 Sanborn map shows an auto springs and brake repair shop on the site, confirming the city directory information that Beard Spring and Brake Service was located here from the early 1950s through the late 1960s.  X.X – 12 Exide Battery Service Station Ca. 1919, notice the stepped and scrolled parapet walls Antone’s ca. 2013 X.X – 13 Before Spin rehabilitation ca. 2017 Spin Side view, Ca. 2017 X.X – 14 Spin Art Mural, Lavaca Street, ca. 2017 i Adapted from CLIFFORD ANTONE - TCB: Music news - Music - The Austin Chronicle ii Adapted from TSHA | Antone's (tshaonline.org)