B-14 (C14H-2021-0116 - Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center; District 4).pdf — original pdf

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1037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center ZONING CHANGE REVIEW SHEET HLC DATE: July 26, 2021 PC DATE: August 24, 2021 CC DATE: September 30, 2021 (tentative) CASE NUMBER: C14H-2021-0116 APPLICANT: Lee and David Basore (property owners) HISTORIC NAME: Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center WATERSHED: Urban; Tannehill Branch ADDRESS OF PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE: 1037 Reinli Street ZONING CHANGE: CS-MU-NP to CS-MU-H-NP COUNCIL DISTRICT: 4 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the proposed zoning change from CS-MU-NP (General Commercial Services-Mixed Use Combining District-Neighborhood Plan Combining District) to CS-MU-H-NP (General Commercial Services-Mixed Use Combining District-Historic Landmark Combining District-Neighborhood Plan Combining District). QUALIFICATIONS FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION: Historical Associations, Community Value HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend proposed owner-initiated zoning change from CS-MU-NP (General Commercial Services-Mixed Use Combining District-Neighborhood Plan Combining District) to CS-MU-H-NP (General Commercial Services-Mixed Use Combining District-Historic Landmark Combining District-Neighborhood Plan Combining District). PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: TBD DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: The house is beyond the bounds of any historic resources survey to date. CITY COUNCIL DATE: 9-30-21 (tentative) ORDINANCE READINGS: N/A CASE MANAGER: Kalan Contreras NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS: Austin Independent School District, Austin Lost and Found Pets, Austin Neighborhoods Council, Del Valle Community Coalition, Friends of Austin Neighborhoods, Homeless Neighborhood Association, Neighborhood Empowerment Foundation, Neighbors United for Progress, Preservation Austin, Responsible Growth for Windsor Park, SELTexas, Sierra Club, Austin Regional Group, Windsor Park Neighborhood Association, Windsor Park Neighborhood Plan Contact Team ORDINANCE NUMBER: N/A PHONE: 512-974-2727 ACTION: TBD 1 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION: The property at 1037 Reinli Street is significant primarily for its historical associations and community value, though its status as an architectural curiosity—a typical Minimal Traditional house used as an emergency services hub—should also be considered. § 25-2-352 (A)(1) Period of Significance. The property is at least 50 years old and represents a period of significance of at least 50 years ago, unless the property is of exceptional importance as defined by National Register Bulletin 22, National Park Service (1996). The property is 82 years old, with a period of significance as the Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center beginning at the date of Explorer Post 13’s establishment of the Travis County fire brigade in 1961 and ending at the 50-year cutoff in 1971. 1037 Reinli Street remained the organization’s dispatch center until 1982. § 25-2-352 (A)(2) Integrity. The property retains a high degree of integrity, as defined by the National Register of Historic Places, that clearly conveys its historical significance and does not include an addition or alteration which has significantly compromised its integrity. The property retains a high degree of integrity, clearly conveying its historic significance and displaying the changes over time that characterize the growth of the organization it housed. § 25-2-352 (A)(3)(b)(ii) Historical Associations. The property has long-standing significant associations with persons, groups, institutions, businesses, or events of historic importance which contributed significantly to the history of the city, state, or nation; or represents a significant portrayal of the cultural practices or the way of life of a definable group of people in a historic time. The property is associated with the Travis County Fire Control Team, serving as its Operations Center from 1961 to 1982. The TCFC Team was the first fully functional fire department, wildfire response unit, and search and rescue operation in Travis County, saving hundreds of lives and protecting thousands of acres of property during the property’s period of significance from 1961 to 1971 (the fifty-year cutoff). The property’s significance also continues into the recent past (1972-1982) as the home of Travis County’s first professional paramedic crew, its first female firefighters, and its first EMS responders. The Basores’ home transformed from a single-family house into a bustling hub for Explorer Scout Troop 13 and, later, a larger group of volunteer firefighters, paramedics, and rescue squad members. As their mission expanded, so did their impact on the property: the backyard was used for staging Explorer drills and training maneuvers, carports and shelter structures were erected to house valuable firefighting equipment, vehicles, and personal protective equipment, and the radio communications control devices spilled from the main house into a fully-functional workshop. These items, though modest and utilitarian, represented more than just tools and storage: as Explorer Post 13 worked to raise money and refurbish trucks with junkyard finds, they began a journey; as TCFC’s professional firefighting crews chipped in their own funds for new gear and scored the county for hand-me-down vehicles, their determination to combat Central Texas’ devastating wildfires only grew. 1037 Reinli Street serves as a physical reminder of how far Travis County’s emergency services have come, but—most importantly—how much a determined group of civic activists, no matter how young or inexperienced, can impact their community over time. § 25-2-352 (A)(3)(b)(iv) Community Value. The property has a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the city, a neighborhood, or a particular group. The property at 1037 Reinli Street is important to both Austin and Travis County as a nexus of education, action, and progress in firefighting and search and rescue. The building’s unique location, positioned near major arterials during an era when Austin’s highway construction activity was rapidly increasing, made it 2 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center ideal as a rural outpost. Though the nearby roadways were sources of brushfires, they also allowed Post 13 and the TCFC to achieve unprecedented response times in rural Travis County. Its expansive lot provided training space, equipment storage, and a communications hub. For twenty years, it served as the home of Travis County’s first and only fire control team, a volunteer-run-and-funded organization without the means to build high-tech facilities and equipment storage. The determination of Explorer Post 13, who chose 1037 Reinli Street as their fire brigade headquarters, had a direct and lasting impact on Travis County’s residents, and saved hundreds of lives. Had the Basore brothers, TCFC Team founders and lifelong members, not donated the property for the growing volunteer team’s use, the institution could not have afforded the trucks, training, radio communications systems, and protective equipment essential for their daily functions. Thus, over the years, this modest building and wooded backyard have directly contributed to the Travis County community, allowing its firefighters, EMT, and Search and Rescue personnel to preserve and protect Travis County’s natural landscape and its residents. The Reinli Street house is a place to honor the ambition of Explorer Post 13, the change they inspired, and their legacy in Austin’s emergency service history. §25-2-352(A)(3)(b)(i) Architecture. The property embodies the distinguishing characteristics of a recognized architectural style, type, or method of construction; exemplifies technological innovation in design or construction; displays high artistic value in representing ethnic or folk art, architecture, or construction; represents a rare example of an architectural style in the city; serves as an outstanding example of the work of an architect, builder, or artisan who significantly contributed to the development of the city, state, or nation; possesses cultural, historical, or architectural value as a particularly fine or unique example of a utilitarian or vernacular structure; or represents an architectural curiosity or one-of- a-kind building. The modest building at 1037 Reinli Street is an intact example of a Minimal Traditional house, and— despite its unconventional use through the years—retains the distinguishing characteristics of the Minimal Traditional style favored by FHA-loan-seeking developers toward the end of the 1930s. Though the main house’s form appears simple, its related outbuildings, vehicle bays (including one that still shelters an antique fire response vehicle), and towering antennae, constructed mostly during the period of significance for Travis County Fire Control operations, set it apart from the other single-family properties of its time and belie a more-than-residential use. PARCEL NO.: 0224140206 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: 100X422.29 FT OF LOT 45 DUVAL HEIGHTS ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX ABATEMENT: $8,500 (owner-occupied); city portion: $2,500 (capped); county portion: $2,500 (capped); AISD portion: $3,500 (capped). APPRAISED VALUE: $312,700 LAND AREA: 0.9688 acres PRESENT USE: Single family residence, TCFC auxiliary space CONDITION: Good PRESENT OWNERS: Lee Ray and David Lee Basore MAILING ADDRESS: 1037 Reinli Street Austin, TX 78723 3 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center DATE BUILT: ca. 1939 ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS: The primary building at 1037 Reinli Street was constructed in 1939 according to family records. Property owner Clara Basore replaced the original wooden awnings with the existing metal awnings in the 1950s. The Basore family added a carport and addition in 1961 according to permit records. During the 1960s, a metal outbuilding was brought onto the lot and used as the communications and radio repair station for the Travis County Fire Control Team, and the radio antennae atop the main building date roughly to this time. In 1977, a smaller addition was constructed, and a second carport installed for the Operations Center vehicles. Each of these additions and modifications relate to the property’s significance as the TCFC operations center. ORIGINAL OWNER(S): Sam McCurry and Roy and Mary Welliver; Clara K. and Warren L. Basore OTHER HISTORICAL DESIGNATIONS: None Source: Basore family 4 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center A. PLAT MAPS 5 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 6 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.1. DEED CHRONOLOGY B.1.1. Transaction table Transaction Deed Grantors: J. R. Campbell and Flora Belle Campbell Grantee: James E. Campbell Lots 45 and 46, Duval Heights 02/09/1924 Deed Grantors: J. R. Campbell, Flora Belle Campbell, Lois Geraldine Campbell, James E. Campbell Grantees: T. B. Champion and Bettie Champion Lots 45 and 46, Duval Heights 09/30/1924 Deed of Conveyance Grantors: T. B. Champion et ux Grantees: Roy and Mary Welliver 21X64 SQUARE FEET OF LOT 44 8/14/1933 Deed Grantors: George V. McClain et ux Grantees: Sam C. McCurry ½ ACRE NW CORNER OF LOT 45 DUVAL HEIGHTS SUBD 11/22/1934 Deed Grantors: Louis Snowden Grantees: Roy and Mary Welliver ½ ACRE NW CORNER OF LOT 45 DUVAL HEIGHTS SUBD 2/5/1945 Deed Grantors: Roy and Mary Welliver Grantees: Clara and Warren L. Basore ½ acre NW corner of lot 45, Duval Heights subdivision and 1344 square ft out of lot 44, Duval Heights subdivision 5/14/1948 Warranty Deed Grantors: Charles E Durham And Joyce Durham Grantees: Clara K Basore 21114 SQUARE FT PT OF LOT 45 DUVAL HEIGHTS SUBD 01/20/1976 Vol./Page/Instrument Book: 359 Page: 109A Instrument #: CNY0114044CNY Book: 365 Page: 95 Instrument #: CNY0109908CNY Book: 491 Page: 380-382 Book: 519 Page: 434 Book: 757 Page: 69-70 Book: 4005-06 Page: 1038 Book: 5367 Page: 732 Inst#: 0536700732 7 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Warranty Deed Grantor: Clara Kaiser Basore Grantees: Clara Kaiser Basore, Clara Kaiser Basore Family Revocable Living Trust, Basore Clara Kaiser Family Revocable Living Trust Returnee: Clara Kaiser Basore 1037 Reinli St, Austin, TX 78723 PT LT 44 45 DUVAL HGHTS SUB 06/11/2003 Warranty Deed (DUPLICATE OF #2003131820) Grantor: Clara Kaiser Basore Grantees: Clara Kaiser Basore, Clara Kaiser Basore Family Revocable Living Trust, Basore Clara Kaiser Family Revocable Living Trust Returnee: Clara Kaiser Basore 1037 Reinli St, Austin, TX 78723 1/2 ACS OF NW CORNER OF LT 45 DUVAL HEIGHTS SUBD 03/26/2004 Warranty Deed Grantors: Lee Basore, Clara Kaiser Basore Family Revocable Living Trust, Basore Clara Kaiser Family Revocable Living Trust Grantees: Lee Basore, Martin Basore, David Basore Returnee: Lee Basore 1037 Reinli St, Austin, TX 78712 03/18/2005 Certified Copy of Probate Grantor: Clara Kaiser Basore (Deceased) Grantee: Public Returnee: Lee Basore 1037 Reinli St, Austin, TX 78712 03/18/2005 Deed Grantor: Darlene T. Basore, Martin Basore (Deceased) Grantee: Lee Ray Basore, David Lee Basore Returnee: Lee Basore 1037 Reinli Street, Austin, TX 78723 12/31/2013 Inst #: 2003131820 Instrument #: 2004056243 Instrument #: 2005047218 Instrument #: 2005047217 Instrument #: 2013228378 8 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.1.2. Travis County real estate documents 9 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 10 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center - 11 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 12 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 13 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 14 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 15 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 16 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 17 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 18 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 19 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 20 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 21 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 22 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 23 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 24 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 25 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 26 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 27 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 28 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 29 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 30 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 31 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 32 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 33 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 34 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 35 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 36 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 37 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 38 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 39 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 40 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 41 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 42 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.2. OCCUPANCY HISTORY B.2.1. City directory research Historic Preservation Office, May 2021 Note: post-1959 directory research unavailable due to facility closure 1947 Reinli Street not listed (out of range). Warren Lee Basore, University of Texas carpenter, and Clara T. Basore are listed as residents of 1003 East 32nd Street. 1949 Warren L. and Clara Basore, owners 1951 Postal address listed as Route 3 1952 Warren L. and Clara T. Basore, owners Carpenter Carpenter 1955 Warren L. and Clara T. Basore, owners Inspector, City of Austin Public Works Department 1959 Warren L. Basore, owner No occupation listed 43 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.3. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION B.3.1. Newspaper articles Figure 1. The Austin Statesman: March 7, 1960 Figure 2. The Austin Statesman: March 10, 1960 Figure 3. The Austin Statesman: Oct. 9, 1964 44 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 4. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 3, 1961 45 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 5. The Austin Statesman: Aug. 25, 1961 Figure 6. The Austin Statesman: May 9, 1967 46 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 7. The Austin Statesman, Aug. 9, 1967 47 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 8. The Austin Statesman, Aug. 9, 1967 48 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 9. The Austin Statesman: Aug. 9, 1967 49 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 10. 1967 Statesman insert, “Austin” magazine. 50 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 11. The Austin Statesman: May 2, 1969 Figure 12. The Austin Statesman: May 4, 1969 Figure 13. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 5, 1969 51 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 14. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 26, 1969 52 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 15. The Austin Statesman: Aug. 15, 1969 53 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 16. The Austin Statesman: Sep. 6, 1969 54 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 17. The Austin Statesman: Oct. 23, 1969 Figure 18. The Austin Statesman: Nov. 23, 1969 55 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 19. The Austin Statesman: Nov. 24, 1969 Figure 20. The Austin Statesman: Nov. 25, 1969 56 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 21. The Austin Statesman: Dec. 16, 1969 57 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 22. The Austin Statesman: Dec. 17, 1969 58 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 23. The Austin Statesman: Feb. 16, 1970 Figure 24. 1969 Travis County Fire Service Association map showing service jurisdictions. 59 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 25. The Austin Statesman: Apr. 2, 1970 Figure 26. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 20 1970 Explorer Post 13 preparing truck for call. Source: Basore family. Explorer Post 13 extinguishing brushfire alongside volunteer firefighter. Source: Basore family. 60 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 27. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 22, 1970 Figure 28. The Austin Statesman: Aug. 12, 1970 61 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 29.The Austin Statesman: Aug. 20, 1970 Figure 30. The Austin Statesman: Aug. 22, 1970 62 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 31. The Austin Statesman: Sep. 6, 1970 63 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 32. The Austin Statesman: Oct. 10, 1970 64 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 33. The Austin Statesman: Nov. 30, 1970 65 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 34. The Austin Statesman: Jan. 9, 1971 Figure 35. . The Austin Statesman: Jan. 28, 1971 66 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 36. The Austin Statesman: Feb 8, 1971 67 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 37. The Austin Statesman: Apr. 10, 1971 68 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 38. The Austin Statesman: May 12, 1971 Figure 39. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 10, 1971 69 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 40. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 12, 1971 70 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 41. The Austin Statesman: Sep. 25, 1971 71 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 42. The Austin Statesman: Oct. 18, 1971 Figure 43. The Austin Statesman: Oct. 19, 1971 Figure 44. The Austin Statesman: Oct. 20, 1971 72 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 45. The Austin Statesman: Jan. 15, 1972 Figure 46. The Austin Statesman: Feb. 18, 1972 73 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 47. The Austin Statesman: Jul. 17, 1972 74 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 75 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 48. The Austin Statesman: Feb. 10, 1973 76 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 49. The Austin Statesman: Mar. 6, 1973 Figure 50. The Austin Statesman: Apr. 11, 1973 77 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 51. The Austin Statesman: June 4, 1973 Figure 52. The Austin American Statesman: Feb. 5, 1974 78 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 53. The Austin Statesman: Feb. 28, 1974 79 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 54. The Austin Statesman: Apr. 29, 1974 80 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 55. The Austin Statesman: Nov. 8, 1975 Figure 56. The Austin Statesman: Dec. 26, 1975 81 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 57. The Austin Statesman: Aug. 28, 1976 82 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 58. The Austin Statesman: Apr. 21, 1977 83 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 59. The Austin American-Statesman: Jan. 11, 1979 Figure 60. EMS advertisement, 1979. Source: Lee Basore 84 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 61. The Austin American Statesman: Jan. 11, 1979 85 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 62. The Austin American Statesman: Oct. 18, 1979 86 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 63. The Austin American Statesman: Dec. 20, 1979 Figure 64. The Austin American Statesman: Jan. 31, 1980 87 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 65. The Austin American Statesman: Sep. 11, 1980 Figure 66. The Austin American Statesman: Sep. 11, 1980 Figure 67. The Austin American Statesman: Nov. 27, 1980 88 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.3.2. Institution records 89 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 68. Letter from Chief Emeritus Lee Basore requesting landmark evaluation for 1037 Reinli Street 90 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 69. 1968 alarm statistics specifying the apparatus used (a 1951 Chevrolet booster truck) along with time, mileage, and equipment expenditu 91 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.4. HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS The Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center, 1037 Reinli Street, began as a single-family house on a lonely dirt road on the outskirts of Austin. Throughout the twentieth century, it saw the Travis County Fire Control Team grow from an Explorer Scout troop project to a modest volunteer operation to a full- fledged fire brigade whose expert response crew saved hundreds of lives. B.4.1. Timeline 1939 1037 Reinli Street house constructed outside Austin’s city limits. The surrounding farmland is largely undeveloped, and Route 3—as the postal address was then called—is unpaved. from 1962 onward. Team’s main callouts. 1948 The Basore family moves into 1037 Reinli Street. Brothers Lee, Martin, and David Basore found and serve in the fire brigade, named the Travis County Fire Control Team, 1950s-1960s Highways IH-35 and 290 are constructed in Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center vicinity. Highway fires and brushfires become the Travis County Fire Control 1962 The Basore brothers, led by eldest brother Lee, help Explorer Troop 13 learn the mechanics of brushfire control, and the Travis County Fire Control Team is officially established. Its teenage volunteers garner media attention for their successes in battling highway blazes with a twenty-year-old truck and hand-me-down equipment from Bergstrom AFB. They practice in the expansive backyard at 1037 Reinli Street. Mid-1960s No longer just an Explorers project, the Travis County Fire Control Team becomes a County-supported civil service operation staffed by volunteer firefighters. 1964 A communications shed is constructed on the site, allowing additional dispatch personnel and improved long-range communications. 1969 TCFC’s total range is estimated at around 900 square miles. 1974 Travis County Fire Control Team hires its first women firefighters. 92 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 1976 Travis County Fire Control Team paramedics participate in the first responder pilot program. T. C. F. C. had previously operated the Austin area’s first Search and Rescue squad with the only licensed EMTs in the area. 1979 Travis County Fire Control Team purchases the first Jaws of Life in the Austin area, allowing its first responders to save people trapped in cars during highway accidents. 1982 Travis County Fire Control Team moves its operations center from 1037 Reinli Street to 2011 Travis County Fire Control Team is reinstated by the State of Texas as a volunteer firefighting operation to assist newer teams in managing Bastrop and Travis County’s Lamar Boulevard. devastating wildfires 93 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 94 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.5. CURRENT PHOTOGRAPHS Photo 1. Exterior, camera facing southeast. 95 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 2. Rear oblique, facing northwest and showing TCFC communications shed, carport, and 1960s-1970s addition. 96 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 3. Google Street View image, 2021. Photo 4. Google Street View panorama showing streetscape, 2021. 97 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.6. CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION B.6.1 Permit History Figure 1. Water tap permit to W. L. Basore, 1951 Figure 2. Building permit for carport to Mrs. W. L. Basore, 1961 98 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 3. Addition and repair permit to Mrs. W. L. Basore, 1963 Figure 4. Inspection card for bedroom addition, 1963. 99 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 5. Addition permit for Basore residence, 1977 and accessory building permit for Travis County Fire Control, 1977. 100 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 6. Inspection card for detached metal carport for TCFC, 1977. Figure 7. Inspection card for rear bedroom and bath addition, 1977. 101 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.6.2. Maps Figure 8. 1969 Travis County Fire Service Association map showing TCFC’s jurisdiction in blue. 102 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 9. 1954 USGS topographic map. http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/texas/txu-pclmaps-topo-tx-austin_east-1954.jpg 103 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 10. 1955 USGS topographic map. Source: http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/texas/index.html 104 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 11. 1961 Sanborn Fire Insurance map. Source: digitalsanbornmaps.proquest.com 105 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.7. HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS B.7.1. Property photos Photo 1. 1940s panorama from front yard, facing northeast toward future highway location. Source: Basore family Photo 2. View from rear porch, looking toward Cameron Road across open fields. 1950s. Source: Basore family. 106 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 3. Front yard of 1037 Reinli St., May 1959. Source: Basore family. Photo 4. Secondary façade showing original wood awnings, replaced in the 1960s by Clara Basore. Source: Basore family. 107 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 5. Basore boys in yard of 1037 Reinli at Lee’s 8th birthday. Right to left: childhood friend Bobby Stengel, Lee Basore, and Martin Basore. The brothers, along with David Basore, would become TCFC founding members. 1940s. Source: Basore family. Photo 6. Alternate view of front yard and rural surroundings, looking northeast. 1950s. Source: Basore family. 108 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 7. October 1957 view of 1037 Reinli Street. Source: Basore family. Photo 8. Looking east down Reinli Street toward Cameron Rd. October 1957. Source: Basore family. 109 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 9. Sheridan St. construction, 1964. Source: Basore family. Photo 10. 1975 snapshot of main façade with bicentennial flag. Source: Basore family. 110 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 11. Reinli Street streetscape, July 4, 1976. Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center in foreground. Photo 12. 1037 Reinli St. decorated for bicentennial celebration. July 4, 1976 111 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 13. 1990s photo with response vehicle. 112 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.7.2. Explorer Post 13 Photo 14. Explorer Post 13 loading equipment with tank, early 1960s. Source: Basore family. 113 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 15. Photo collage of Post 13, page 1. Source: Basore family 114 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 16.Photo collage of Post 13, page 2. Source: Basore family 115 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 17. Photo collage of Post 13, page 3. Source: Basore family 116 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 18. Photo collage of Post 13, page 4. Source: Basore family 117 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 19. Photo collage of Post 13, page 5. Source: Basore family 118 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 119 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 20. Photo collage of Post 13, page 6. Source: Basore family Photo 21. Photo collage of Post 13, page 7, showing original 1940 booster truck and post emblem. Source: Basore family. 120 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 22. Explorer Post 13 performing truck maintenance. Source: Basore family. Photo 23. Explorer Post 13 extinguishing brushfire alongside volunteer firefighter, late 1960s--early 1970s. Source: Basore family. 121 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.7.3. A growing institution Photo 24. Volunteer firefighter training, 1969. Source: Basore family. Photo 25. Chiefs with booster truck outside Operations Center, June 1970. Source: Basore family 122 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 26. Chief Lee Basore and booster (brush) truck, 1960s. Source: Basore family Photo 27. Truck inspection prior to Capital Plaza open house, late 1960—early 1970s. Photo 28. TCFC trucks responding to brushfires near 1037 Reinli Street headquarters. Source: Basore family. 123 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 29. Early response truck is called to car accident. Source: Basore family. 124 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 30. Booster truck at 1037 Reinli and volunteer responders, 1960s-early 1970s. Source: Basore family. 125 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 31. TCFC responding to highway fire, 1960s. Source: Basore family. 126 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Photo 32. Travis County Fire Control anniversary gathering, 1970. Photo 30, back. 127 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.8. SITE FEATURES B.8.1. City of Austin open drainage ditch easement Figure 1. Plat map with creek annotation. 128 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 2. 1965 drainage easement to City of Austin from Clara Basore. 129 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 3. WPD flood zone and plat map showing City easement for creek and drainage maintenance. 130 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 4. Simplified map showing creek location (blue), drainage buffer (lavender hatched), and City drainage infrastructure (green). B.8.2. Site maps Figure 5. Travis Central Appraisal District area map. 2021. http://propaccess.traviscad.org/. 131 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 6. Travis Central Appraisal District area map with aerial imagery. 2021. http://propaccess.traviscad.org/ Figure 7. Travis Central Appraisal District area map, closeup. 2021. http://propaccess.traviscad.org/ 132 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center B.8.3. Aerial photographs Figure 8. 1940 aerial photograph with parcel annotations. Figure 9. 1958 aerial photograph with parcel annotations. 133 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 10. 1965 aerial photograph with parcel annotations. Figure 11. 1976 aerial photograph with parcel annotations. 134 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 12. 1984 aerial photograph. Figure 13. 1997 aerial photograph with parcel annotations . 135 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center Figure 14. 2006 aerial photograph with parcel annotations. Figure 15. 2018 aerial photograph with parcel annotations. 136 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center C. NARRATIVE C.1. Construction and alterations The primary building at 1037 Reinli Street was constructed in 1939 according to family records. Property owner Clara Basore replaced the original wooden awnings with the existing metal awnings in the 1950s. The Basore family added a carport and addition in 1961 according to permit records. During the 1960s, a metal outbuilding was brought onto the lot and used as the communications and radio repair station for the Travis County Fire Control Team, and the radio antennae atop the main building date roughly to this time. In 1977, a smaller addition was constructed, and a second carport installed for the Operations Center vehicles. C.2. Historical associations: Property uses and occupants Warren Lee and Clara Kaiser Basore purchased the house at 1037 Reinli Street in 1948. After Warren Basore’s death in 1960, his widow Clara Basore retained ownership of the property until 2004, when it passed to her sons. Though it was originally constructed as a small detached residence, by the mid- 1960s the Basore family had transformed their home into the headquarters for the newly established Travis County Fire Control Team. According to correspondence from Fire Chief Emeritus Lee Basore, Travis County’s outlying areas possessed no official fire response unit before 1962. “When a wildfire occurred,” writes Basore, “the local broadcast stations put out calls for volunteers to assist in containing the fire until heavy equipment could be deployed by the county commissioners, in the form of dozers and tanker trucks, sometimes with assistance by the [Texas] A & M [University] forest service.” The Fire Control Team began in 1961 when the enthusiastic Explorer Scout Post 13 expressed an interest in fighting brushfires after a particularly bad blaze ripped through the countryside. The scouts showed up to help, along with neighbors, but the devastation it wrought left a lasting impression. The crew convinced scout leader Lee Basore—then a graphic designer for an advertising agency, and older brother to two scouts—to start up a fire brigade. The brigade, ages fifteen to seventeen, trained with borrowed equipment and instructions from the Austin Fire Department and National Forest Service in the large backyard of 1037 Reinli Street (Statesman, 1967 and 1979; Basore interview, 2021). They fought their first wildfires as a true emergency response team over a weekend in July of 1962. Their quick response and effective fire suppression, using only two fire extinguishers and a stockpile of 137 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center gardening tools, gained recognition from the Travis County Sheriff’s office, who soon began to radio the team whenever a wildfire was reported. “Our goal is to accomplish the most in the least amount of time, with the safety of all our primary concern,” Chief Basore told the Statesman in 1967—and so they did. In these early years, the Reinli Street house was an ideal staging area for the young firefighters. Its rural setting offered plenty of space to park vehicles and its large backyard, kept hydrated by a winding creekbed, served as a safe place to test equipment and brushfire response procedures. Though the existing streets were unpaved, they allowed the crew to access nearby arterials in their modified booster truck. In 1963, Post 13 received $700 from a Sears Foundation contest and used their winnings to purchase a run-down 1940 Chevrolet pickup. They parked it outside 1037 Reinli Street and took it apart, piece by piece. A Statesman article recounts, “They rebuilt the engine—literally tore the car apart and put it back together again. Junk yards yielded many ‘hardly used’ parts. The hose reel was originally for television cable and a pest control company donated 165 feet of exterminator’s hose” (Statesman, 1967). Through the years, the organization grew from a handful of teenage volunteers to a thriving institution staffed by professional firefighters, paramedics, and communications experts. The team responded with only manpower at first, then gradually added vehicles and equipment to their arsenal. A shed on the property served as the communications hub: first, the team used Citizens’ Band, then VHF radios and tone/voice alerts (Basore, 2021). By 1969, the Team covered about 900 square miles of mostly rural territory outside the City limits. They operated two trucks and a substation off Burnet Road (Statesman, 1967 and 1979). As they grew into a fully functional fire department, the Travis County Fire Control Team became the first professionally equipped Search and Rescue squad in the Austin- Travis County area (Basore, 2021; Statesman, 1979). As more suburban TCFC divisions came into existence, the Reinli Street team’s active territory was reduced; however, it remained the central operations hub. All fire companies and EMS responders were dispatched from the Reinli Street property until 1982 (Basore interview, 2021). By offering 1037 Reinli Street as an operations center, Lee, David, and Martin Basore ensured that the Fire Control Team could spend its scant funding—often provided by supporter donations and Explorer Scout fundraising missions—on improvements to equipment, including trucks, tanks, hoses, personal protective equipment, and radio communications components, rather than building or leasing a separate structure. Trucks—both boosters and tankers—were stored on-site and parked in the street or driveway, 138 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center and a small outbuilding was erected on the property for the installation and repair of communications equipment. In addition to reduced overhead costs, the 1037 Reinli Street property offered a strategic position. Construction of the Interregional Highway at the north end of East Avenue, as well as Highway 290, was in full swing by the start of the 1960s. Though Reinli Street was largely rural during the first half of the twentieth century (it remained unpaved until after 1965), the highway junction was close by. As interregional traffic increased, so did the risk of brushfires as careless drivers tossed cigarettes out open windows or dragged sparking metal chains; traffic accidents and breakdowns caused an uptick in dangerous car fires. In Photo 26, taken from the side yard of 1037 Reinli Street, smoke from a brushfire appears on the horizon, alerting the volunteers and Explorer Scouts maintaining their truck and calling them to action. Within two decades, the TCFC had expanded to include one of the area’s first emergency medical service crews. Started as a pilot program in 1976, TCFC first responders could reach the scene of a medical emergency within four minutes of the initial call, stabilizing any injuries and providing first- line care until an ambulance could arrive. By 1979, the TCFC had grown from twelve to fifteen teenagers to nearly 80 volunteers, including EMTs and paramedics. The TCFC team was reinstated and its members roused from retirement by the State of Texas in 2011 to assist Travis and Bastrop County firefighters in controlling the 32,000-acre conflagration occurring that year (https://tpwd.texas.gov/spdest/findadest/parks/bastrop/fire/). It is still active today. Clara Kaiser Basore born Sept. 17, 1910; married 1937; died March 17, 2004 Birth, marriage, and death dates born June 14, 1893; married 1937; died March 7, 1960 born August 30, 1940 born Sept. 26, 1945; married 1988; died December 9, 2012 born April 13, 1950; married 1980 Active 1962–1982; 2011–present day C.2.1. Occupant table Name Warren Lee Basore Lee Ray Basore Martin Lee Basore David Basore Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center 139 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center C.3. Criteria for designation The property at 1037 Reinli Street is significant primarily for its historical associations and community value, though its status as an architectural curiosity—a typical Minimal Traditional house used as an emergency services hub—should also be considered. C.3.1. Period of Significance § 25-2-352 (A)(1) The property is at least 50 years old and represents a period of significance of at least 50 years ago, unless the property is of exceptional importance as defined by National Register Bulletin 22, National Park Service (1996). The property is 82 years old, with a period of significance as the Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center beginning at the date of Explorer Post 13’s establishment of the Travis County fire brigade in 1961 and ending at the 50-year cutoff in 1971. The period of significance will necessarily increase over the next 11 years, as 1037 Reinli Street was the organization’s dispatch center until 1982. C.3.2. Integrity § 25-2-352 (A)(2) The property retains a high degree of integrity, as defined by the National Register of Historic Places, that clearly conveys its historical significance and does not include an addition or alteration which has significantly compromised its integrity. The property retains a high degree of integrity, clearly conveying its historic significance and displaying the changes over time that characterize the growth of the organization it housed. C.3.3. Architecture §25-2-352(A)(3)(b)(i) The property embodies the distinguishing characteristics of a recognized architectural style, type, or method of construction; exemplifies technological innovation in design or construction; displays high artistic value in representing ethnic or folk art, architecture, or construction; represents a rare example of an architectural style in the city; serves as an outstanding example of the work of an architect, builder, or artisan who significantly contributed to the development of the city, state, or nation; possesses cultural, historical, or architectural value as a particularly fine or unique example of a utilitarian or vernacular structure; or represents an architectural curiosity or one-of-a- kind building. The modest building at 1037 Reinli Street is an intact example of a typical Minimal Traditional house, and—despite its unconventional use through the years—retains the distinguishing characteristics of the Minimal Traditional style favored by FHA-loan-seeking developers toward the end of the 1930s. The 140 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center numerous outbuildings and vehicle storage bays, constructed mostly during the period of significance for Travis County Fire Control operations, set it apart from the other single-family homes of its time. Though its form appears simple, its towering radio antennae and plethora of carports (including one that still shelters an antique fire response vehicle) suggest that the modest house is not only what it seems. C.3.4. Historical associations § 25-2-352 (A)(3)(b)(ii) The property has long-standing significant associations with persons, groups, institutions, businesses, or events of historic importance which contributed significantly to the history of the city, state, or nation; or represents a significant portrayal of the cultural practices or the way of life of a definable group of people in a historic time. The property is associated with the Travis County Fire Control Team, serving as its Operations Center from 1961 to 1982. The TCFC Team was the first fully functional fire department, wildfire response unit, and search and rescue operation in Travis County, saving hundreds of lives and protecting thousands of acres of property during the property’s period of significance from 1961 to 1971 (the fifty-year cutoff). The property’s significance also continues into the recent past (1972-1982) as the home of Travis County’s first professional paramedic crew, its first female firefighters, and its first EMS responders. The Basores’ home transformed from a single-family house into a bustling hub for Explorer Scout Troop 13 and, later, a larger group of volunteer firefighters, paramedics, and rescue squad members. As their mission expanded, so did their impact on the property: the backyard was used for staging Explorer drills and training maneuvers, carports and shelter structures were erected to house valuable firefighting equipment, vehicles, and personal protective equipment, and the radio communications control devices spilled from the main house into a fully-functional workshop. These items, though modest and utilitarian, represented more than just tools and storage: as Explorer Post 13 worked to raise money and refurbish trucks with junkyard finds, they began a journey; as TCFC’s professional firefighting crews chipped in their own funds for new gear and scored the county for hand- me-down vehicles, their determination to combat Central Texas’ devastating wildfires only grew. 1037 Reinli Street serves as a physical reminder of how far Travis County’s emergency services have come, but—most importantly—how much a determined group of civic activists, no matter how young or inexperienced, can impact their community over time. 141 of 143B-141037 Reinli Street Travis County Fire Control Team Operations Center C.3.5. Community value § 25-2-352 (A)(3)(b)(iv) The property has a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the city, a neighborhood, or a particular group. The property at 1037 Reinli Street is important to both Austin and Travis County as a nexus of education, action, and progress in firefighting and search and rescue. The building’s unique location, positioned near major arterials during an era when Austin’s highway construction activity was rapidly increasing, made it ideal as a rural outpost. Though the nearby roadways were sources of brushfires, they also allowed Post 13 and the TCFC to achieve unprecedented response times in rural Travis County. Its expansive lot provided training space, equipment storage, and a communications hub. For twenty years, it served as the home of Travis County’s first and only fire control team, a volunteer- run-and-funded organization without the means to build high-tech facilities and equipment storage. The determination of Explorer Post 13, who chose 1037 Reinli Street as their fire brigade headquarters, had a direct and lasting impact on Travis County’s residents, and saved hundreds of lives. Had the Basore brothers, TCFC Team founders and lifelong members, not donated the property for the growing volunteer team’s use, the institution could not have afforded the trucks, training, radio communications systems, and protective equipment essential for their daily functions. Thus, over the years, this modest building and wooded backyard have directly contributed to the Travis County community, allowing its firefighters, EMT, and Search and Rescue personnel to preserve and protect Travis County’s natural landscape and its residents. The Reinli Street house is a place to honor the ambition of Explorer Post 13, the change they inspired, and their legacy in Austin’s emergency service history. 142 of 143B-14Note: Should additional backup be submitted after the online publishing of this staff report, it may be found at the following link: http://www.austintexas.gov/cityclerk/boards_commissions/meetings/40_1.htm 143 of 143B-14