24.0 - 7304 Knox Ln — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS SEPTEMBER 4, 2024 PR-2024-021145; GF-2024-043942 7304-06 KNOX LANE 24 – 1 PROPOSAL RESEARCH Relocate an early twentieth century house with 1940s vernacular additions to a lot outside the city limits. ARCHITECTURE The building at 7304 Knox Lane is an eclectic house with early Ranch and vernacular stylistic influences applied to what appears to be an early-twentieth-century vernacular farmhouse. It is one and one-half stories in height, with an L-shaped plan and intersecting partial-width porches. Its compound roofline features deep eaves with cedar shakes at gable ends. Fenestration includes 8:8 wood windows of varying dimensions. The house at Knox Lane and Running Rope Lane, known as 7304 or 7306 Knox, appears to have been constructed in the early twentieth century and augmented heavily by the Knox family in the 1940s. The land was purchased in the 1930s by Mary Lou and Warren Penn Knox. W. P. Knox, the district commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America, turned the property into a day camp for boys called Running Rope Ranch. Knox was a Vermont native who moved to Austin after World War I. After serving as an Army captain in World War II, he became involved in Central Texas outdoor youth activities, including work as the official operator of the Arrowhead Ranch Camp in Kerrville, before opening Running Rope Ranch in the 1940s. The ranch offered riding lessons, hiking and survival training, swimming in the spring-fed pool—the land boasted seven natural springs, which were later identified by Margaret Thomas Knox as a habitat of the threatened Jollyville Plateau salamander1—and other outdoorsmanship training. From 1959 to 1966, legendary Austin horsewoman Ginger Pool taught at the ranch.2 The Knox family operated the day camp for ten years. Knox, noted as “larger than life” in posthumous publications, had eclectic interests. He entertained his pupils by showcasing rope tricks he learned as a rodeo performer after WWI. He was a life member of the Marshall Ford Game Protective Association, volunteered on the Council of the Texas Confederate Home for Men, and taught Sunday school at University United Methodist Church. In later years, James and Margaret Thomas Knox and their children moved to the property. Margaret Knox, Captain W. P. Knox’s daughter-in-law, was the daughter of famed Austin architect Roy L. Thomas. She married aviator and P.O.W. James Knox in 1944. After he retired from the military, the couple moved back to his family home in 1966. There, Margaret Knox worked as a seamstress, a beekeeper, a children’s book author, and a wildlife rehabilitator until her death in 2022. PROPERTY EVALUATION Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity. Modifications were likely constructed by the Knox family during the period of significance. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it may meet all five criteria for historic zoning: a. Architecture. The building is an eclectic house with early Ranch and vernacular stylistic influences. b. Historical association. The property is associated with the Knox family and Running Rope Ranch. c. Archaeology. Research indicates a high probability of significant archaeological data, including evidence of Native American mound-building activity and springs purported to be used by Native American residents of the land. 1 https://www.austintexas.gov/department/jollyville-salamander 2 https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/obituaries-021006?page=2 d. Community value. The property may 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, as it has been noted in several Northwest Austin Civic Association publications. e. Landscape feature. The property may function as a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. While some of the original ranch has been developed and some outbuildings removed, natural springs and a spring-fed swimming pool remain. 24 – 2 STAFF RECOMMENDATION Consider initiation of historic zoning. Should the Commission decide against historic zoning, strongly encourage the applicant to relocate the house elsewhere on the property, rather than outside the City limits, and release the relocation permit only upon receipt of a City of Austin Documentation Package and a plan for archaeological monitoring. LOCATION MAP 24 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos 24 – 4 Demolition permit application, 2022 24 – 5 Google Street View, 2022 1940 aerial photo showing simpler house form and undeveloped farmstead 24 – 6 1958 aerial photo showing additions to main house and outbuildings 1965 aerial photo showing main house, outbuildings, and riding arenas 24 – 7 1976 aerial photo showing neighborhood development on farmstead Occupancy History City Directory Research, October 2022 Address not listed in City directories. Biographical Information Knox-Rogan. The Statesman (1916-1921); 07 Mar 1920: A2. 24 – 8 BOY LEADERSHIP COURSE AT ST. EDWARD'S; KEEN INTEREST IS MANIFEST. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 15 Aug 1924: 4. Circus Scheduled Friday. The Austin American (1914-1973); 03 Sep 1933: A2. 24 – 9 3 Scout Leaders To Attend Course. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 19 Apr 1939: 3. Knox, Thomas Rites to Be Solemnized Here Saturday. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex. [Austin, Tex]. 18 June 1943: 6. 24 – 10 Class Views Pack Exhibit. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 11 Nov 1947: 11 Display Ad 14 -- No Title. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); May 1949: 5. Reuben's HALF ACRE. DAVE SHANKS Farm-Ranch Editor.  The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex. [Austin, Tex]. 22 May 1952: B3. 24 – 11 Young Pioneers Hit the Trail West. Grover, Dan.  The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); July 1953: A13. Campers Plan Sports, Exhibits To End First Summer Session. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 30 June 1955: A17. 24 – 12 Starlight Revue: Rope Tricks Next Zilker Fare. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973);. 27 June 1962: 10. WESTERN FLING DING AT RANCH. The Austin American (1914-1973); 06 May 1962: D17. 24 – 13 VOLUNTEERS. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 28 May 1965: 8. Capt. Knox, Longtime Scouter, Dies. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 27 July 1971: 17. 24 – 14 Legal Notice 1 -- No Title. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); 20 Aug 1971: 66. JIM SHAHIN American-Statesman Staff.  The Austin American Statesman (1973-1980), Evening ed.; 23 Oct 1980: K1. 24 – 15 2017 interview by Luci Thompson for NWACA News: https://issuu.com/peel_inc/docs/1704nac 24 – 16 NWACA News, January 2021: https://nwaca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-01-January-NWACA-Newsletter.pdf 24 – 17 Carol Jones for NWACA News, May 2022: https://nwaca.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-05-May-NWACA- Newsletter.pdf 24 – 18 Permits 24 – 19