15.0 - 1708 Willow St — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION Applications for Demolition and Relocation Permits August 5, 2026 PR-2026-080075 1708 Willow Street 15 – 1 Proposal Demolish a ca. 1905 house with 1947 church addition, as well as non-historic accessory building. Architecture One-story, L-plan National Folk-style house with partial-width porch, board-and-batten siding, and traditional cornice returns at the gable end. A commercial addition with eclectic parapet is constructed at the back of the property. Research The house at 1708 Willow Street was constructed around 1905. Its earliest resident was Erastus Otho Bartlett, a veteran train conductor who spent forty years with the Southern Pacific railway. After Bartlett’s tenancy in 1906, the house changed hands rapidly among railroad and adjacent industry workers until around 1917, when it was purchased by the Harrell family. Robert W. Harrell, Sr., had fourteen children by two marriages and owned a produce company on East Avenue; he worked both by himself and intermittently with partners Crockett and Bailey until his son Edwin joined the business around 1920. At that time, it was moved to East 6th Street. R. W. Harrell died in 1925, and after his death Edwin Harrell went on to found the Capitol Printing Company before his own death in 1932. His stepmother, Mrs. Alma Harrell, retained ownership of both the house and business until her death in 1938. Her son, Robert W. Harrell, Jr., sold the house around 1943. The building’s next long-term occupants were pastors Willard D. and Evelyn Hoover, who had begun their Christian Army Mission in Austin in 1941. Reverend Willard Hoover, ordained in St. Louis in 1937 after the death of his first wife, left his life as a farmer in Iowa and styled himself as “Major” and “Commander” of the Salvation-Army-like organization. Hoover immediately ran afoul of law enforcement upon his arrival in Austin by soliciting donations on the street via loudspeaker without a permit. From 1941 to 1955, Hoover, in a series of litigation efforts, battled the City’s anti-solicitation ordinance. The Austin American-Statesman covered his exploits extensively, often portraying him as a comedic example of chicanery. After such exploits as evading the draft, embezzling flour donations, electrifying his fence with a streetlamp, spending time in jail on principle, and fleeing to New Mexico to avoid arrest, Hoover was vindicated in a 1955 plea to the State Court of Criminal Appeals. The state overturned his county conviction and ruled Austin’s solicitation ordinance invalid as an infringement upon religious freedom. Despite their antics, Reverends W. D. and Evelyn Hoover were also noted in the Statesman for their charitable efforts. Throughout their time in Austin, the mission provided Christmas baskets with food donations to the poor and infirm each year, and set up soup kitchens in disaster areas; they traveled to Texas City to render aid in the aftermath of the Monsanto Chemical Company ship explosions of 1947, then the deadliest industrial accident in American history. Department Comments Case PR-2026-080075 first appears on the August 5, 2026 Historic Landmark Commission agenda. Property Evaluation The property is listed as contributing to a potential 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 integrity, but only just. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff have evaluated the property and determined that it does not meet two criteria for landmark designation: 15 – 2 a. Architecture. The building is an example of a National Folk-style house with a unique rear addition dating to the historic period. However, modifications toward the end of the historic period have compromised its ability to convey its history. b. Historical association. The property is associated with both the Harrell family, early entrepreneurs, and the Christian Army Mission, a church whose longstanding association with East Austin—as well as its larger-than-life founder’s exploits within the City of Austin’s legal system—impacted the city as a whole. 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 was not evaluated for its ability to convey 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 was not evaluated for its ability to convey a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. Staff Recommendation Encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, relocation, or deconstruction and salvage over demolition, but approve the demolition permit application upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. Location Map 15 – 3 Property Information Photos 15 – 4 Ca. 1910 primary building 15 – 5 Demolition permit application, 2026 Occupancy History City Directory Research, June 2026 15 – 6 1959 1955 1952 1944 1942 1941 1939 1935 1932 1927 1924 1922 1920 1918 1916 1914 1912 1910 1909 1906 1905 Christian Army Mission Rev. Willard D. Hoover, owner Rear: vacant Christian Army Mission Rev. Willard D. Hoover, owner Rear: Ira C. Smuller, renter - Caretaker Christian Army Mission Rev. Willard D. Hoover, owner – pastor The Christian Army Mission Rev. Maj. Willard D. Hoover, owner – pastor Robert W. and Marguerite Harrell, owners – painter Melvin C. Wells, renter Robert W. Harrell, owner Mrs. Alma Harrell, owner A. Harrell Trueheart, renter Mrs. Alma Harrell, owner A.H. Trueheart, renter Mrs. Alma L. Harrell, owner Mrs. Alma Harrell, owner R. W. Harrell, owner Robert W. and Alma Harrell, owners – R. W. Harrell & Son (R.W. and Edwin R. Harrell, produce, 722 E. 6th St.) Robert W. and Alma Harrell, owners – R. W. Harrell & Son (R.W. and Edwin R. Harrell, produce, 722 E. 6th St.) Miss Lola Nixon-Clay, renter Charles D. Harrell, renter – student Robert W. and Alma Harrell, owners – proprietor, Harrell & Crockett (fruit and country produce, poultry, butter, and eggs, 604 East Ave.) D. Charles Harrell, renter – clerk, Harrell & Crockett William P. Shuler, renter – laborer Hubert E. Robinson, owner – machinist D. Voorhees Robinson, renter William H. Burton, renter – carpenter A. Jackson Farquhar, renter Leonard Gay – Austin Sand & Gravel Benjamin Whitis, renter – laborer Fred Hauer, renter John G. Hauer, renter – engineer, Southern Bedding Manufacturing Co. Hudson Hauer, owner – car repair, H & TC shops Otho E. Bartlett – SP Lines Address not listed Maps 15 – 7 Historical Information 1938 Sanborn map; 1962 Sanborn map The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 09 Aug 1912: 8 The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 05 Jan 1913: 17. The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 12 Oct 1913: 15 The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 11 June 1914: 10. The Statesman (1916-1921); Austin, Tex.. 02 Oct 1919: 4. 15 – 8 1919 La Salle, Illinois yearbook photo of Evelina Scalarina, later Evelyn Scalarine Hoover. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/1265/records/1433458977?tid=&pid=&queryId=0306e60a-1b26-4e08- 9813-bee1d9ba68b9&usePUBJs=true The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 12 June 1925: 6 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 14 Oct 1932: 12. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 13 Oct 1932: 1. 15 – 9 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 27 June 1935: 1 The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 06 Nov 1938: 2. 15 – 10 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 20 Sep 1941: 2. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 18 Dec 1941: 13. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 29 Dec 1941: 9. 15 – 11 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 25 Mar 1942: 2. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 02 Apr 1942: 12. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 21 Sep 1942: 10. See 1940 draft card. 15 – 12 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 26 June 1943: 2. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 21 June 1947: 2. WILLIAM J WEEG The Austin Statesman Staff.  The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 23 Dec 1947: 1. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 18 Apr 1947: 2 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 26 Nov 1948: 2. 15 – 13 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 21 Dec 1948: 20 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 25 Mar 1954: A14. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 24 Apr 1954: 1. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 03 May 1954: 8. 15 – 14 Jones, Lyman.  The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 04 May 1954: 1. 15 – 15 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 12 Nov 1954: 15. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 18 Nov 1954: A13 15 – 16 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 17 Nov 1954: 1. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 25 Nov 1954: 1. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 07 Dec 1954: 15 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 11 Mar 1955: 1. 15 – 17 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 11 Dec 1954: 1. 15 – 18 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 13 June 1955: 1. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 28 July 1955: A1 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 25 Jan 1956: 18 15 – 19 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 30 Dec 1955: 11 The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 18 Jan 1965: 12. The Austin American - Statesman (1973-1980), Evening ed.; Austin, Tex.. 02 Aug 1977: B5. KAY POWERS American-Statesman Staff.  The Austin American - Statesman (1973-1980), Evening ed.; Austin, Tex.. 24 Nov 1979: C1. 15 – 20 15 – 21 Permits 15 – 22