Historic Sites & Architecture

The East End District contains a significant number of historic/heritage sites with prior local, State, and/or Federal designation. Huston Tillotson University (representing the merger of Sam Huston College, founded in 1875, and Tillotson College, established in 1876), a faith-affiliated private university, is Austin’s oldest institution of higher learning and a charter member school of the United Negro College Fund. Rosewood, Booker T. Washington, Santa Rita, and Chalmers Court public housing projects, constructed as part of the Works Project Administration and the 1937 US Housing Act were among the first (if not the first) federally-funded public housing projects completed in the United States; and are still in operation. The French Legation (built 1840-41), originally the residence of the French chargé d’affaires to the Republic of Texas, still today sits atop Roberson Hill, just off East 11th Street and is operated as a museum by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The Legation building is considered Austin’s oldest existing residence. The original building of the George Washington Carver Museum is located adjacent to the Carver Cultural Center and Museum and the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library. The building, originally constructed in 1926, downtown at 9th and Guadalupe Streets as the first home of the Austin Public Library, was in 1933 moved to Angelina Street and served for years as the “Colored Branch Library.” In 1979 the City of Austin constructed a new branch library in Central East Austin, adjacent to the original building, and began operation of the George Washington Carver Museum in the historic building. The Museum is now listed as Texas’ first African American neighborhood museum. The Texas State Cemetery (East 11th Street) was established in 1851 as the Republic’s official final resting place for elected officials, military heroes, diplomats, and dignitaries. The site contains the graves of significant Texans that include General Edward Burleson (served with Sam Houston in the Battle of San Jacinto and as Vice President of the Republic of Texas), Stephen F. Austin, General Albert Sidney Johnston, Governor Allan Shivers, Governor John Connally, Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock, and Governor Ann Richards. US Representative Barbara Jordan was the first African American buried in the Cemetery (1996). The Victory Grill (1945) is the sole remaining live music venue along the East 11th Street Corridor that links present day East Austin to the historic heyday of the African American live music scene of the past. The Grill is listed on state and national historic registers, and is a stop on the National Chitlin Circuit Trail. Within the heart of the District there are at least three churches first established more than 100 years ago and still active: Ebenezer Baptist, Wesley Methodist, and Metropolitan A.M.E.

Evans - Morris - Kiesler House

Location

Evans - Morris - Kiesler House
1000 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, TX, 78702

Howson Community Center

Established by the Community Welfare Association in 1929, the Howson Community Center continues to serve East Austin to the present day. The Center has historically served as a meeting place for clubs and organizations engaged in a variety of social, educational, and community-wellness activities, and was added to the National Register for Historic Places on September 17, 1985.

 

Citations: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/aushc/00265/ahc-00265.html

Location

Howson Community Center
1192 Angelina Street
Austin, TX, 78702

George Washington Carver Library, Museum & Cultural Center

Housed in the building that once contained Austin’s first library, the George Washington Carver Library, Museum, and Cultural Center is dedicated to the collection, preservation, research, and exhibition of African-American historical and cultural material. The original structure, built in 1926, was moved to East Austin in 1933, where it became the city’s first branch library, serving the African-American community in East Austin.

Location

George Washington Carver Library, Museum & Cultural Center
1165 Angelina Street
Austin, TX, 78702

Fiegel House

Location

Fiegel House
2106 Martin Luther King Blvd
Austin, TX, 78702

Haynes - Delashwah House

Location

Haynes - Delashwah House
1209 Rosewood Avenue
Austin, TX, 78702

Bailetti - Walker House

Location

Bailetti - Walker House
1006 Waller Street
Austin, TX, 78702

Brewer House

Location

Brewer House
1108 Chicon Street
Austin, TX, 78702

Madison Log Cabin

Location

Madison Log Cabin
2300 Rosewood Ave.
Austin, TX, 78702

Berner - Clark - Mercado House

Location

Berner - Clark - Mercado House
1807 East Cesar Chavez
Austin, TX, 78702

Macken-Anderson House

Location

Macken - Anderson House
1007 East 16th
Austin, TX, 78702
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