06.d - C14H-2026-0018 - public comment — original pdf

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March 30, 2026 RE: Hill-Thompson House Historic Designation Dear Chair Heimsath, Vice Chair Evans, and Members of the Austin Historic Landmark Commission, Preservation Austin exists to empower Austinites to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community culture through preservation. We write today in support of historic designation for 1906 Maple Avenue, also known as the Hill-Thompson House, for its historic associations and community value. We are proud to partner with the home’s owner, our friend Marilynn Poole Webb, in preparing this well-deserved nomination. The house at 1906 Maple Avenue is associated with several significant figures, including architect John S. Chase, FAIA, zoologist and geneticist Oscar Thompson, and civic leader Irene Hill-Thompson. John S. Chase was the first African American student to enroll at The University of Texas at Austin following desegregation, the first to graduate from UT’s School of Architecture, and the first licensed African American architect in Texas. When he was unable to find work at white architecture firms after graduation, Chase forged a practice for himself with residential and institutional commissions in Black East Austin that speak to his distinctive modernist vision, including the Teachers State Association of Texas Building (1952), David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church (1959), and the Della Phillips House (mid-1960s). Throughout his long and successful career as an architect and entrepreneur, Chase paved the way for future African American architects in Texas. Like Chase, Oscar Thompson was among the first African American students to enroll at The University of Texas at Austin, and was the school’s first Black graduate in 1952. After Thompson’s passing in 1962, his wife, Irene Hill-Thompson commissioned Chase to build her home in the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross neighborhood. Hill-Thompson was a longstanding civic leader in East Austin, and the house served as a meeting place for political and community organizing. During Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 presidential campaign, Irene and her daughter, Ida Dawn, were selected as “Blue Birds,” a group of trusted community liaisons tasked with outreach and voter engagement efforts within Austin’s African American community. Irene hosted numerous political events at her Maple Avenue home, for President Johnson, U.S. Congressmen Lloyd Doggett, East Texas Black Republican operative Ernest Sterling, J.J. “Jake” Pickle, and Texas State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos. This legacy of civic engagement extends to the home’s current owner, Irene Hill-Thompson’s niece Marilynn Poole Webb, a leader in the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District effort and longtime friend and collaborator of our organization. We are thrilled and honored to have worked with Marilynn in preparing this nomination for one of Austin’s most remarkable homes. Thank you for your consideration and your service to the City of Austin. Sincerely, Miriam Conner, President