16.0 - 500 E 6th St — original pdf

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16 – 1 HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION PERMITS IN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICTS FEBRUARY 7, 2024 HR-2024- 005067 SIXTH STREET NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT 500 EAST SIXTH STREET PROPOSAL Repair and remodel a ca. 1872 building to convert it from a bar to a restaurant. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS 1) Repair and restore the existing front awning and repair the cast iron details of the front columns. 2) Repair cornice. 3) Replace the existing storefront with a clad-wood storefront. 4) Repair existing windows as needed. 5) Repaint both facades. 6) Install new clad-wood windows at the west elevation, along Neches St. 7) Infill one existing arched doorway at the west elevation and replace the non-historic door with a new clad-wood door beneath a metal awning. 8) Repair the existing fire stairs at the west elevation. ARCHITECTURE 500 E 6th Street is a two-story brick and stone commercial building. The front elevation consists of a three-bay structure supported by cast-iron columns on the first floor. There is an existing awning with transom windows overhead. The original brick cornice detailing remains intact; however, the brickwork has been painted. According to the 1975 National Register inventory, the second-floor windows were altered from their original condition but have since been restored to their original arched configuration. RESEARCH The1975 National Register Historic District inventory lists the building at 500 East 6th Street as being constructed as early as 1872, though the earliest Sanborn maps and City directories show the structure in its current form and location as a grocery store and Mexican restaurant run by B. Martinez in 1885. By 1889, the building had become a boarding house on the second floor over a feed and grain store, with offices mixed throughout. By 1903, only one white boarder and an African American notary public, L. M. Mitchell, occupied the upper floor of the building per City directories; Mitchell also operated a Knights of Pythias meeting hall in the building, known as “Mitchell Knights of Pythias Hall.”1,2 A particularly disturbing article from the April 3, 1900 edition of the Austin Daily Statesman describes, in appallingly racist detail, a violent raid of an “Afro-American secret society”3 therein, presumably in an attempt to mark such mixed-race facilities as disreputable and to sow contempt and distrust in the fraternal organization’s Black membership. Mitchell’s “K.P. Hall” served as a meeting place for African American leaders and political gatherings in the early 1900s, as well as a meeting facility for the Knights themselves.4 Beginning in 1898, part of the building was occupied by prominent Lebanese American dry goods merchant Saaidi L. Ferris, a luminary among Sixth Street merchants; 500 E. 6th Street was the first of many successful downtown businesses owned and operated by the Ferris family (see previous report on 501 East 6th Street for more information about Ferris’ achievements in Austin).5 In 1905, a saddlery owned by R. A. Pfiefer6 shared the space with Mr. Ferris. The building was eventually subdivided into an array of offices, workshops, restaurants, and retail businesses. It fell vacant in 1920 and returned to operation with just one or two businesses for the remainder of its existence, including restaurants, grocers, sheet metal and 1 “Sidewalks,” The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 07 July 1904: 3. 2 “Abraham Lincoln and Our Ritual.” Pythian History. https://www.pythias.org/supreme/history 3 “SIXTH STREET DISTURBANCE,” Austin Daily Statesman (1891-1902); Austin, Tex.. 03 Apr 1900: 8. 4 “Colored Voters to Meet.” The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 16 Mar 1907: 3. 5 “S. Ferris Retires from Retail Field.” The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 27 Sep 1926: 1. 6 “AUSTIN AFFAIRS: All sorts of interesting items left over from other local pages.” The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); 06 Aug 1905: 3. 16 – 2 mattress manufacturers, and a paint and wallpaper store owned by G. W. “Sunshine” Williams and Lanta Mae Williams. Lanta Mae Williams had served in national roles in women’s political organizations during her early years as a Dallas businesswoman. DESIGN STANDARDS The design standards established by Ordinance No. 20230720-160 (July 2023) and based on the Citywide Historic Design Standards for properties in the 500 and 600 blocks of East Sixth Street apply. The proposed project was evaluated based on the following applicable standards: Rehabilitate and adaptively reuse contributing buildings, including at least the first 15 feet of historic facades. The proposed alterations include the retention of most of the building’s historic-age façade, except the southernmost added window at the Neches Street elevation. Summary The project mostly meets the applicable standards. The applicant has amended the design to reflect some staff and Committee feedback. PROPERTY EVALUATION The building contributes to the Sixth Street National Register Historic District. The 2022 Sixth Street Snapshot resurvey lists the property as contributing to the Sixth Street National Register Historic District. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain moderate integrity. Alterations have taken place and been reversed outside the historic 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and period with limited documentation. determined that it may meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The building is a good example of a two-part commercial block. b. Historical association. The property is associated with L. M. Mitchell, S. Ferris, and Lanta Mae Williams. 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 appears to be associated with the African American Knights of Pythias in Austin, as well as the Lebanese and Syrian merchant families who helped to make 6th Street a retail destination in Austin. e. Landscape feature. The property was not evaluated for its ability to convey a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. COMMITTEE FEEDBACK STAFF RECOMMENDATION Restore arches if possible. Revise the design of canopies to read as less modern, particularly curved awnings. Do not highlight non-historic openings with awnings. Comment on plans and encourage applicants to salvage and retain brickwork removed during window installation at the secondary elevation and consider alternate designs for wraparound awnings as shown in the earliest Sanborn maps to reduce the visual impact of new windows at the secondary façade, using historic photos where available. LOCATION MAP 16 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos 16 – 4 Google Street View, 2022 Historic review application, 2023 16 – 5 Texas Historical Commission, n.d.: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth674101/m1/1/ Austin History Center, 500-508 E. 6th, PICH 07552 Occupancy History City Directory Research, June 2022 1959 1955 Cut Rate Paint Company Cut Rate Paint Company 16 – 6 Cut Rate Paint Company Cut Rate Paint Company Cut Rate Paint Company 500 ½ – Vacant Le Roy Walker (used tires) 500 ½ – Vacant Hurley Mattress Company 500 ½ – Vacant Abraham Nassour (grocery) A. C. Ellis (furniture) Gage Bros (tinners) 500 ½ – Annie Wilson Vacant Rafael Pena (pool) Thomas F. Carden (barber) R. B. Fairbanks (real estate) S. L. Brown (physician) L. M. Mitchell Sarah H. Shelton (dentist) First Floor: General S. Hamby (pool) Joseph W. Haley (barber) Gary & Jackson (restaurant) Second Floor: Robert B. Fairbanks (real estate) Dennis R. Pickens (attorney) Lewis M. Mitchell (office) Johnson & Mitchell (tailors) 1st Floor J. D. Tally Furniture Company 2nd Floor Watchman Publishing Company G. G. Golden S. Ferris, dry goods 1952 1947 1944 1941 1937 1932 1929 1924 1920 1916 1912 1906 1905 1903 1895 1891 1887 Lewis M. Mitchell, notary public (over 500 E. 6th) (Note: the directory indicates that Mitchell is African American) James H. Sullivan, boarder over 500 E. 6th St. J. K. P. Byrn (Feed, Hay, & Grain) Decatur Payne B. Martinez, Mexican restaurant Historical information 16 – 7 Sanborn maps: 1961,1935 Sanborn maps: 1900, 1894 16 – 8 Sanborn maps: 1889, 1885 The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 12 June 1904: 3. The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 07 July 1904: 3. 16 – 9 The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 16 Mar 1907: 3. The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 22 July 1908: 5. 16 – 10 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 25 Mar 1923: A10. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 07 Sep 1924: 12. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 27 Sep 1926: 1. 16 – 11 The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 26 Aug 1928: B36. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 13 Feb 1930: 3. The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 03 Jan 1943: 6  16 – 12 16 – 13 Williams, Fred.  The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 02 May 1948: A1. 16 – 14 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 18 Oct 1965: 12. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 02 Feb 1966: 20. The Austin American - Statesman (1973-1980), Evening ed.; Austin, Tex.. 01 May 1979: C4. Permits 16 – 15 Sewer service permit, 1917 Building permit, 1967 Building permit, 1976 16 – 16 Building permit, 1974 Building permit, 1953 Building permit, 1976 16 – 17 Building permit, 1976 Building permit, 1974