General Land Office Building (Austin, Texas)
General Land Office Building | |
The Old Land Office Building | |
| |
Location |
108 East 11th Street Austin, Texas |
---|---|
Coordinates | 30°16′21.72″N 97°44′21.48″W / 30.2727000°N 97.7393000°WCoordinates: 30°16′21.72″N 97°44′21.48″W / 30.2727000°N 97.7393000°W |
Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
Built | 1857 |
Architect | Christoph Conrad Stremme |
Architectural style | Romanesque |
NRHP Reference # | 70000769[1] |
RTHL # | 15288 |
TSAL # | 2912 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | August 25, 1970 |
Designated RTHL | 1962 |
Designated TSAL | 5/28/1981 |
The General Land Office Building, completed in 1857,[2] in Austin, Texas is the oldest surviving state government office building in the city and the first building designed by a university-trained architect (German architect Christoph Conrad Stremme). The building features a dramatic medieval castle style known as Rundbogenstil, or "rounded arch" around the windows and doors. There is also a Norman style influence in the castle-like parapets. The exterior walls are limestone rubble smoothed over with stucco and scored to simulate cut stone blocks.[3]
The building is located on the southeast corner of the Texas State Capitol grounds. One employee, William Sidney Porter - pen name O. Henry. Porter - worked in the office from 1887 to 1891, and would later attain fame as a writer. Some of his works would include those set at the building, such as "Bexar Script No. 2692" and "Georgia's Ruling".[3]
The building functioned as the state's land office building until 1917 when the agency moved to a larger building across the street. From 1919 until 1989, the building housed museums run by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and United Daughters of the Confederacy.[3][4]
The building was modified during the mid-20th century but was restored between 1989 and 1992. The project returned the building's interior and exterior to resemble its late 19th-century appearance.
Today, it serves as the Capitol Visitor's Center, offering exhibits and tours about the Texas State Capitol. There is also a Texas Department of Transportation Travel Center that offers free maps and literature on travel destinations throughout the state.
The building was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 1970.[5][3]
References
- ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ Thompson, Karen; Howell, Kathy (2000). Austin (TX) (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-0738508320.
- 1 2 3 4 "Old Land Office Building". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ↑ Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Vol. II. Turner Publishing Company. 2001. p. 11. ISBN 1-56311-641-3.
- ↑ National Register Information System Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine., National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. Retrieved March 6, 2009.