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20 – 1 HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION PERMITS IN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICTS NOVEMBER 2, 2022 HR-2022-152879 WILLOW-SPENCE 1020 SPENCE STREET PROPOSAL Partially demolish and construct an addition to the rear side of a ca. 1912 contributing building. Construct a garage apartment at rear of lot. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS 1) Construct a rear addition two-story addition to the existing one-story house. The addition is connected to the main house by a glass hyphen. It is clad in stack bond brick, stucco, and vertical wood siding. The roofline is mostly flat and clad in TPO, save for a small section of standing-seam metal shed roofing. Fenestration is mostly fixed, undivided, and vertically oriented. 2) Construct a two-story detached garage apartment with alley access at the rear of the lot. Proposed finishes and roofline appear to match the new addition. 3) Replace siding, windows, and roof and move the front door at the main house. Construct an accessible ramp and handrail to the front porch. The proposed window and door replacements modify original openings and window configurations. ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH One-story National Folk house with pyramidal hipped roof, board-and-batten siding, and inset partial-width porch supported by turned posts. Fenestration includes double entry doors and 1:1 wood windows. The 1985 Willow-Spence National Register Historic District nomination describes the house as “a one-story, board-and-batten cottage with a hipped roof and corner porch. Many architectural details are intact, including a Victorian comer-porch column. New elements include a cement foundation, steps, and porch floor.”1 The house at 1020 Spence was constructed around 1912 as a rental property. Its architectural details share many similarities with “Hofheinz houses,” distinctive National Folk houses rented out in East Austin to working-class families during the early years of the twentieth century by Edmund and Oscar Hofheinz. From the East Austin Context Statement (East Austin Historic Resource Survey), Vol. 1, p. I-40: The first two decades of the 1900s were rampant with development throughout the East Austin survey area …residential construction in these new developments reflected evolving trends in domestic designs, as the eclectic tastes of the Victorian era waned and simpler styles and detailing became more widespread. Among the poor and working classes, new house types began to replace more traditional forms. The linear, one‐room‐deep plans that featured gabled roofs…gave way to a new generation of houses with deeper, more box‐like plans and often had hipped or pyramidal roofs with inset porches. The effect created a more vertical emphasis. The rental houses of brothers Edmund (“E. J.”) Hofheinz and Oscar (“O. G.”) Hofheinz exemplified this trend. E. J. Hofheinz (ca. 1870–1949) was a real estate dealer and accountant, while O.G. Hofheinz (ca. 1880–1957) was an insurance salesman and developer. Together, the brothers subdivided land and built houses in East Austin and Clarksville. Real estate transaction articles in the Austin American Statesman indicate that the Hofheinz brothers both speculatively sold the houses that they built and retained them for rental income.2 According to a 2019 staff report prepared by the Historic Preservation Office, eleven known and 13 possible Hofheinz houses remain within the East Austin survey area.3 The home’s first residents listed in city directories were carpenters, salespeople, and gas fitters. By 1918, the home was 1 “Willow-Spence Streets Historic District.” National Register Historic District nomination, 1985. https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/NR/pdfs/85002264/85002264.pdf 2 East Austin Context Statement (East Austin Historic Resource Survey), Vol. 1, p. I-40 3“HDP-2019-0179: 2202 E. 12TH STREET—BUILDING A.” City of Austin Historic Preservation Office, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=318278 20 – 2 vacant, likely having changed hands; by 1919, the house was rented out by the Paul O. Simms Company, a similar real estate and insurance outfit to the Hofheinz rental enterprise.4 1020 Spence Street was then occupied by a series of working- class renters and later owners who worked as laborers, students, salespeople, railway operators, laundresses, service industry workers, and municipal utility employees. DESIGN STANDARDS The City of Austin’s Historic Design Standards (March 2021) are based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and are used to evaluate projects in National Register districts. The following standards apply to the proposed project: Repair and alterations 1. General standards The proposed project removes a significant amount of intact historical material, including doors, windows, and porch posts, and it alters existing openings in order to replace fenestration. 3. Roofs The proposed project replaces the shingled roof in-kind. 4. Exterior walls and trim The proposed project replaces existing board-and-batten siding with vertical fiber-cement siding. 5. Windows, doors, and screens The proposed project replaces the existing front window with an incompatible window of differing size and shape. It encloses the porch window and changes one front door to a new window. Side windows are enlarged and replaced with incompatible fixed, undivided windows. 6. Porches The proposed project replaces the existing turned post with a boxed column. Residential additions 1. Location The proposed addition is appropriately located behind the rear wall of the main house, connected by a transparent hyphen. 2. Scale, massing, and height and 3. Design and style The proposed addition’s two-story height and boxy mass will alter the perception of the modest one-story house from the street, but the flat roof may somewhat mitigate the visual impact. The addition is differentiated from the existing house by its modern materials and fenestration patterns, monolithic form, and one-story hyphenated connection; and is mostly compatible through its significant setback from the front wall of the existing house. 4. Roofs While the proposed flat roof is not compatible with the surrounding district, it may help to mitigate the verticality of the addition. The proposed shed accent is not compatible but does not appear highly visible from the street. 5. Exterior walls The proposed brick and vertical siding are mostly compatible. 6. Windows, screens, and doors The proposed fenestration does not appear elsewhere in the district, and as such is not compatible with surrounding contributing buildings. Residential new construction 1. Location The proposed garage apartment is appropriately located at the rear of the lot. 2. Orientation The proposed garage apartment is appropriately sited with the garage door opening toward the alleyway. 3. Scale, massing, and height, 4. Proportions, and 5. Design and style While the proposed two-story garage apartment is not strictly compatible in terms of form and design, its location at the 4 Classified Ad 1 -- No Title. The Statesman (1916-1921); 21 Dec 1919: 14. 20 – 3 back of the lot should mitigate any negative visual impacts to the streetscape. 6. Roofs The proposed flat roof is somewhat compatible. 7. Exterior walls Proposed stucco and vertical wood cladding is mostly compatible. 8. Windows and doors While the fixed and undivided windows throughout do not appear compatible with the district, they do not appear to be visible from the street. 11. Attached garages and carports The proposed garage is appropriately located with the loading bay toward the alley. Summary The project meets some of the applicable standards. PROPERTY EVALUATION The property contributes to the Willow-Spence National Register district. It was also recommended contributing to a potential local historic district in the 2016 East Austin historic resource survey. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity. The 2016 survey notes that doors and porch posts have been replaced, though the 1985 Willow-Spence National Register District nomination evaluates the porch columns as original elements; it is likely that any porch alterations took place during the historic period. Original screens appear to be missing from windows. 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: a. Architecture. The building is a good example of National Folk architecture and may be a “Hofheinz house,” a modest National Folk dwelling with distinctive corner porch constructed for working-class renters. b. Historical association. The property may have significant historical associations. While active around Austin in real estate sales and rentals, the Hofheinz brothers had a significant impact on the development of affordable rental housing in East Austin. This home’s residents are representative of the working-class families who inhabited both the Willow-Spence National Register district and the Hofheinz rental houses. 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 appear to 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 Invite the applicant to the next meeting of the Architectural Review Committee. While the proposed addition is somewhat compatible, proposed changes to the main house would preclude future designation and render the building noncontributing to the National Register district and any future local district. LOCATION MAP 20 – 4 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos 20 – 5 Google Street View, 2022 and 2013 20 – 6 “Willow-Spence Streets Historic District.” National Register Historic District nomination, 1985. https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/NR/pdfs/85002264/85002264.pdf and Texas Historical Commission [Historic Property, Photograph 3528-07], photograph, September 1, 1984; University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Commission. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth962695/m1/1/. Note original screens. Occupancy History City Directory Research, March 2022 20 – 7 1959 1957 1955 1952 1949 1947 1944 1941 1939 1937 1935 1932 1929 1927 1924 1922 1920 1918 1916 1914 Augustado Del Rio, renter Albert L. and Esther E. Johnson, renters Carpenter Folder, Martin Linen Supply Albert L. and Esther E. Johnson, renters Carpenter Linen helper, Martin Linen Supply Albert L. and Esther E. Johnson, renters Carpenter Employee, Martin Linen Supply Annie Bramberg, renter (widow of Augustus) Annie Bramberg, renter (widow of Augustus) Augustus and Annie Bramberg, renters Wiley and Alice Foster, owners Wiley and Alice Foster, owners Operator, City Sewage Treatment Plant Wiley and Alice Foster, owners Pump tender, City Sewer Department Wiley and Alice Foster, owners Employee, City Sewer Department W. Carl and Hallie Callahan, owners Switchman, S.P. Lines Hollis Callahan, renter Assistant manager, Palm School Lunchroom William T. and Sarah Walker, owners Car inspector, S.P. Lines William T. and Sarah Walker, owners Car inspector Charles and Katherine On Manager, Bon Ton Café Mrs. Callie Stone, renter Ina Bass, renter Saleslady Vacant Joseph W. Stanford, renter Salesman Walter J. Parker, renter Carpenter James Calhoun, renter Carpenter Carl and Alma J. Montgomery, renters Gas fitter, Austin Gas Light Co. 1912 Vacant Historical information 20 – 8 Classified Ad 1 -- No Title. The Statesman (1916-1921); 21 Dec 1919: 14. “24 Veteran City Employes Go on Retired List Tonight: Promotions and Transfers Will Fill Most of Vacancies, Garrison Says.” The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 31 Dec 1940: 1 “ACTIVE DUTY.” The Austin American (1914-1973); 25 Aug 1957: A27. Obituary. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 16 Aug 1940: 5. Obituary. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 16 Apr 1943: 15. Obituary. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 30 Aug 1945: 19. Permits 20 – 9 Water service permit, 1968 Building permit, 1943