18.a - 909 W 22nd Half St - public comment — original pdf

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October 30, 2026 TO: Mike McHone University Area Partners (UAP) Austin, Texas FROM: A West Campus Stakeholder & Property Occupant (20+ Years) 909 W. 22 ½ Street, Austin, TX 78705 SUBJECT: Urgent UAP Stakeholder Intervention — Formal Opposition to Total Demolition Application: 909 W. 22 ½ Street (HLC Case No. PR-2026-127240 | Public Hearing: November 4, 2026, 6:00 PM) Dear Mike, I am writing to you directly in your leadership role with University Area Partners on behalf of dedicated neighborhood stakeholders who have lived, invested, and operated in West Campus for more than twenty years. The City of Austin Historic Preservation Office has formally posted an official Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) public hearing placard at 909 W. 22 ½ Street for Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 6:00 PM at City Hall (301 W. 2nd Street). Critically, on the official city placard for Case No. PR-2026-127240, the applicant has specifically struck through "Relocation" and checked "Demolition." Rather than pursuing an adaptive reuse plan, sensitive relocation, façade preservation, or an integrated infill design, the applicant intends to execute a total scrape and land clearing of one of the most intact turn-of-the-century landmark structures remaining in the University area. As long-term neighborhood stakeholders who have witnessed decades of West Campus growth and evolution under the University Neighborhood Overlay (UNO), we recognize and support thoughtful, high-density residential housing for students and residents. However, density must not come at the expense of our most historically and architecturally significant civic landmarks. Below is a comprehensive historical dossier, genealogical lineage, family commercial profile, and architectural evaluation demonstrating why 909 W. 22 ½ Street meets multiple criteria for City of Austin Historic Landmark designation and must not be demolished. I. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION & FAÇADE ANALYSIS 909 W. 22 ½ Street is a textbook, high-integrity two-story Late Victorian / Transitional Queen Anne residence constructed circa 1907. Unlike the vast majority of original West Campus homes that were demolished, heavily reconfigured, stripped of ornamentation, or clad in synthetic siding, 909 retains an exceptional degree of historic fabric: 1. Façade Massing & Rooflines: The structure displays an asymmetrical, steeply pitched cross-gable and hipped roofline typical of high-style Edwardian-era Queen Anne design. The primary street elevation features a prominent, projecting two-story polygonal bay turret terminated by a conical roof form, decorative trim bands, and boxed eaves. 2. Exterior Cladding & Millwork: The exterior preserves original, narrow-profile horizontal wood lap (drop) siding with tight reveal lines and intact corner boards. The bay window framing retains period- authentic pedimented hoods, profiled sill nosings, and decorative vertical dividing mullions. 3. Fenestration & Art Glass: The street-facing polygonal bay features a classic triple-sash arrangement with tall, narrow double-hung wooden windows designed to maximize daylight and cross- ventilation. Above the primary entry door is an intact, original multi-colored stained- glass transom displaying period leaded artisan craftsmanship. 4. Porch & Entry Configuration: The residence features an original wraparound front porch defined by slender, turned wooden columns, decorative spandrels, and original porch framing. The transition from the public right-of-way to the formal parlor retains the deliberate domestic setback established when the block was first platted. 5. Structural Integrity & Original Interiors: The interior preserves museum-grade woodwork: unpainted four-panel pocket doors with intact brass-plated roller hardware, a monumental formal staircase with heavy, hand-turned newel posts and balusters, original tongue-and-groove pine floors, and a carved Victorian fireplace mantel with display shelving and beveled mirror. 6. Infrastructure & Streetscape Context: The building directly fronts an original city sidewalk bearing an intact municipal stamp from 1914. Directly across the street, 910 W. 22 ½ Street still features surviving 19th-century hand-cut limestone street curbing. This cluster constitutes one of the last unified, authentic turn-of-the-century streetscapes remaining anywhere in West Campus. II. THE THIELE FAMILY: CIVIC, COMMERCIAL, & GENEALOGICAL PROFILE Primary source archival records preserved in the residence’s attic directly link the property to a distinguished German-Texan family whose impact spans Texas statehood, municipal architecture, commercial trade in Central Austin, Austin's fire protection history, and the University of Texas. [Forty-Eighter German-Texan Lineage] │ ┌────────────────┴────────────────┐ ▼ ▼ Wilhelm C.A. Thielepape George Justus Thielepape (1814–1904) (1811–1898) • Architect & Civil Engineer • Early Austin Settler & Patriarch • Mayor of San Antonio (1867–1872) │ ▼ Edward Albert Thiele (1859–1940) • Builder of 909 W. 22 ½ St (c. 1907) • Prior Homestead: 809 W. 22 ½ St • Treasurer, North Austin Hose Co. No. 6 • Central Austin Merchant & Investor │ ▼ Grace Elizabeth Thiele (1900–1990s)  • 80+ Year Continuous Resident at 909 • UT Geology & Micropaleontology Pioneer • UT Chancellor's Council & Ransom Center Patron 1. Lineage to Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape (Mayor of San Antonio & Architect) The Thiele lineage in Central Texas derives from the prominent Thielepape family, who emigrated from Germany as part of the intellectual "Forty-Eighter" movement following the European revolutions of 1848: · The Famous Uncle: Edward Albert Thiele’s uncle was Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape (1814–1904), an architect, civil engineer, and Reconstruction-era Mayor of San Antonio (1867–1872). Wilhelm Thielepape designed major landmarks such as the San Antonio Casino Club and was a co-founder of the Beethoven Männerchor. · The Family Name Evolution: Like many prominent German-Texan families during World War I and the interwar period, branches of the family Anglicized or shortened the surname from Thielepape to Thiele in public, commercial, and legal records, while retaining their deep civic traditions. · The Austin Branch: George Justus Thielepape (1811–1898) settled in Austin during the 19th century, establishing the family branch that directly built, developed, and inhabited the 22 ½ Street corridor in Wheeler’s Addition. 2. Local Business Operations & Neighborhood Commercial Presence The Thiele family did not merely reside in the neighborhood; they were active commercial operators, property holders, and tradesmen who helped fuel the local economy of Central Austin and the University area: · Merchants and Local Commerce: Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, members of the extended Thiele family operated independent commercial establishments—including local retail, grocery, and contracting services along the Congress Avenue, Lavaca, and 19th-to-24th Street commercial spines—providing essential goods and services to early West Campus and North Austin residents. · Property Development & Real Estate Transactions: Deed records (such as Travis County Deed Record 302, Page 445) document Edward A. Thiele actively transacting notes, financing, and property holdings in Austin, serving as an early local developer who invested his capital directly back into the immediate neighborhood. · The 22 ½ Street Family Compound: The family maintained an extended residential presence across multiple addresses on the street. Before building the grand two- story residence at 909 W. 22 ½ Street circa 1907, Edward Thiele established the family at 809 W. 22 ½ Street in the 1890s. The family retained and utilized both properties over decades, providing housing to relatives and later boarding University of Texas scholars during the Great Depression. 3. Edward Albert Thiele: Austin Fire Department Leader & Civic Pillar The house at 909 W. 22 ½ Street was built and occupied by Edward Albert Thiele (1859– 1940): · Austin Fire Department Leadership: Documented original municipal certificates establish that Edward A. Thiele served as the commissioned Treasurer of the North Austin Hose Company No. 6, with service records dating from 1903 through 1905. · Early City Infrastructure: Before the formalization of municipal water mains and motorized apparatus, volunteer hose companies were the literal backbone of Austin's life safety. Edward Thiele managed the critical funds, equipment, and response logistics that protected North Austin and the fledgling University campus. · Catalyst for Infrastructure: The Thieles were instrumental in petitioning for municipal street improvements, culminating in the formalization of the fractional street and the installation of the 1914 city concrete sidewalk that remains in place in front of 909 today. 4. Grace Elizabeth Thiele (1900–1990s): 80+ Year Residency & UT Intellectual Heritage Edward's daughter, Grace Elizabeth Thiele, lived continuously in the home at 909 W. 22 ½ Street from her childhood through the late 1980s—an extraordinary unbroken tenure of more than eight decades: · Pioneering Female Geoscientist at UT: Archival notebooks from the 1920s and 1930s demonstrate that Grace was an accomplished scholar in the University of Texas Department of Geological Sciences. Her preserved lab books (Geology 1, Geology 24, Geology 26) contain advanced coursework in micropaleontology, thin- section petrography, and optical mineralogy (specifically polarized light microscopy and Nicol prism analysis). Grace graduated and performed research at the height of the Texas oil boom, representing a groundbreaking early generation of female scientists at UT. · Academic Enclave: Preserved 1930s records, including student course notebooks from residents such as Jack Lawton (noted at 809 and 909 W. 22 ½ St in 1934), demonstrate that the Thiele home served as an intellectual hub and student housing sanctuary during the Depression. · Distinguished UT Chancellor’s Council Member: Formal correspondence and invitations from UT Chancellor Hans Mark and Dr. Marion Mark confirm Grace Thiele’s status as a high-level member of the UT Chancellor’s Council and supporter of the Humanities Research Center (Harry Ransom Center) well into the 1980s. III. CRITERIA FOR HISTORIC LANDMARK DESIGNATION Under the City of Austin Land Development Code (Section 25-2-352), a property qualifies for Historic Landmark designation if it is at least 50 years old and meets at least two of the following criteria: Landmark Criterion Application to 909 W. 22 ½ Street Architecture (Degree of Integrity) Embodies distinctive characteristics of Late Victorian / Queen Anne style with 95%+ intact original drop siding, turreted polygonal bay, turned porch framing, stained glass, and unpainted interior millwork. Historical Associations Directly associated with the Thiele / Thielepape family, linking the site to Reconstruction-era leadership (Mayor Wilhelm Thielepape), local business operators, municipal fire protection (North Austin Hose Co. No. 6), and 20th-century scientific scholarship at UT. Community & Social Value Unbroken single-family stewardship spanning from 1907 to the 1980s, anchoring the transition of West Campus from pioneer acreage to the core university district. Landscape / Streetscape Context Intact physical relationship with the 1914 city sidewalk and adjacent 19th-century limestone street curbing at 910, forming a cohesive historic streetscape. IV. REQUEST FOR UAP ACTION Total demolition under Case No. PR-2026-127240 would result in the irreversible destruction of an anchor historic property that can easily be preserved, repurposed, or creatively incorporated into future development. We formally request that University Area Partners: 1. Oppose Demolition: Submit an official stakeholder letter to the Historic Landmark Commission opposing the total demolition application under Case No. PR-2026- 127240 ahead of the November 4, 2026 hearing. 2. Advocate for Preservation Alternatives: Encourage the applicant to pursue adaptive reuse, on-site relocation/integration, or structural preservation rather than an outright scrape. 3. Support Historic Landmark Review: Support a postponement or initiation of historic zoning to allow city preservation staff to review the primary-source Thiele archives and evaluate the property for individual landmark status. All primary source documents—including the 1903–1905 North Austin Hose Company commissions, 1920s UT geology manuscripts, Chancellor’s Council correspondence, and architectural photo logs—are preserved and available for immediate inspection. Thank you for your dedicated leadership in safeguarding the balanced future of West Campus.