News 2008

Nov. 7, 2009

Every year the Heritage Society Awards Luncheon features the most stimulating public speakers on topics related to preservation and this year is no exception. If you are at all interested in understanding how Preservation and Sustainability can work together, Ed McMahon will enlighten you.

The luncheon is Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Driskill Hotel, 604 Brazos. Admission/Lunch is $75.

McMahon is a Sustainability and Urban Design Expert as a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.

His latest books are Developing Sustainable Planned Communities, Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities, and Land Conservation Finance. He has organized successful efforts to acquire and protect urban parkland, wilderness areas and other conservation properties, and he has made numerous presentations on the topics of tourism, conservation, land use planning and historic preservation. McMahon is also the co-founder and former president of Scenic America, a national non-profit organization devoted to protecting America’s scenic landscapes.
Learn more about the Heritage Society Awards Luncheon.

Oct. 6, 2009

Please come to the our fundraiser next Sunday at The Continental Club. It's a concert featuring our neighbors and friends, Bill Oliver, Frank Meyer, The Tiny Tin Hearts, The Callous Taoboys, Mandy Mercier and Jon Dee Graham. $10 Donation for admission. We'll have some light snacks (can you contribute anything?) and hand-printed, signed and numbered Travis Heights Historic District prints by Jon Patillo for sale, like the one on our main page.

We are sharing this event with the Norwood Posse, the folks dedicated to restoring the historic Norwood House at IH-35 and Riverside Drive. So your donation will help us both.

Of course, we'd love it if you brought your checkbook and would consider donating a little bit more. We definitely need thousands of dollars.

We also need YOU! Volunteers are sorely needed to keep this project going. We are always on the brink of complete shut-down due to having so few helpers. The three or four people who have been hands-on for the last three years are really tired and we all want to quit but truly believe that you all DO WANT a historic district for our neighborhood. It is unquestionably deserving and qualified. We are getting along great and open to all ideas related to design standards. Honestly, we are the most peaceful, laid-back historic neighborhood in Austin so it would be a shame to give up mid-way through merely due to lack of volunteers. PLEASE join in and/or donate to keep this project moving forward.

August 17, 2009

Thank you all for coming down to the council meeting this month and voicing your support for changes to the Local Historic District Ordinance. The Council voted to approve those changes and lowered the sign-on required to apply for an LHD designation from 60 percent to 51 percent of owners (by acreage). An amendment to that change will also allow city-owned property that is deemed historic (such as our Stacy Park may be) to count up to 17 percent of the 51 percent of the acreage and count as a "yes."

The lowered sign-on is by no means a rubber stamp of approval of a historic district. It is simply allowing us to "begin the conversation," as Council Member Laura Morrison explained at the meeting.

We still have much to do before we even get to that step. If you view the nomination form, it is quite extensive. Our number one goal today is to raise at least $5,000 as soon as possible to pay our preservation consultant, Preservation Central, for their services over the last year. You can view the bill here (PDF).

You can easily donate online here. It is very needed and appreciated!

Preservation is the ultimate in sustainability. You will have many, many opportunities for incorporating sustainable building materials and practices into your construction projects. The city's Energy Department is working to dispel myths about window replacement and other fears. They are prepared to take a historic home's important attributes into account in their audits.

Read more about resources for Sustainability, Green Building and Preservation here.

We can't state it enough: Travis Heights and Fairview Park will never dictate your paint choices. We can even accept a house with cartoon characters painted on it!

No one will be forced to fix up their houses or take anything back to a moment in history it no longer embodies, unless they choose to. If they do, depending on how much they spend on a remodeling project with a fraction put into restoration, they can receive a tax freeze for 7-10 years on the value of the remodel amount. The City's Historic Preservation Office can tell you more about the projects that qualify. Here is a PDF they have created explaining Local Historic Districts.

We have not yet created any design standards for our potential district so we would love to hear what you want and don't want. We can take what we like from a general template the Heritage Society of Austin is compiling, describing the wide variety of architectural styles in our neighborhood, as well as describing modern styles and techniques that are compatible. All of this will be available for every property owner to read before signing yes or no to the application petition.

Please attend our next meeting, August 18, at 7 p.m. at Grace United Methodist on Monroe to learn more and have your questions answered.

July 20, 2009

A lack of volunteers and donations has slowed things down lately but the biggest roadblocks have come from the daunting city-imposed standards we must meet to merely apply for a Local Historic District designation.

With a new climate and new members on City Council, though, we are hopeful some of these hurdles will be lowered to some extent and we can keep moving forward. However, we still can't do anything without the help of neighbors and you, the neighbors, have to take ownership of this effort. Two or three people alone can't run this project. The city has created this program to only be successful only if the neighbors do massive amounts of administrative work and being the largest neighborhood currently working toward a historic district, it's even more challenging. Petition, design standards, education, fundraising....these are crucial but the small handful of people who have been holding on to this goal can't do it any longer without a new installment of effort from neighbors.

Please come to the meeting on Tuesday, July 21, at 7 p.m. at Grace United Methodist on Monroe to learn more about what we are doing. We haven't had a meeting in many months so we need to catch up.

Also, very important, we need you to write to our City Council members and/or attend the Council meeting on August 6 to show your support of the proposed changes to the Local Historic District Ordinance, which includes lowering the sign-on from 60 percent to 51 percent of owners (by acreage). Remember, this sign-on does not create the district; it only allows us to file our application. It has been shown that our 60 percent sign-on is, basically, the toughest in the nation. For a GREAT read...visit the link below to read about a study done by University of Texas Preservation students this year, showing how Austin's Local Historic District effort compares with other cities around Texas and the nation:

Austin Local Historic District Study

March 26, 2009

You would think that the slump in the economy would slow the rate of demolitions. In fact, they have not slowed down one bit, according to the City of Austin Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky, and may be even more prevalent than before, now that home sale prices have fallen.

So it is still urgent that we make progress toward our historic district. Please check in with Michele Webre at Michele@HistoricTravisHeights.org to lend your help with our next fundraiser, the Travis Heights-Fairview Park Historic Homes Tour. If you'd like to learn more about what you can do to help our project, please check our Volunteer link.

March 14, 2009

"How to Green Your Historic Home"
Workshop by the Heritage Society of Austin
Monday, March 30, 6-7:30 p.m.
Carver Library, 1161 Angelina.
Free.

Limited space available, RSVP required at rsvp@hsaustin.org or 474-5198.

The greenest house is the one already built but you can still make your old house even more eco-friendly. In this first of a three-part series on how to green your historic property without compromising its irreplaceable character and integrity, you'll learn the concepts of green building and sustainable preservation.

You'll explore decisions on replacing performance systems and building components, how to recycle or find reclaimed materials, funding sources to pay for improvements, and many other vital topics to those considering making their historic home more green. Featured presenter will be Meghan Kleon, MS in Sustainable Design candidate and coordinator of the Graduate Portfolio Program in Sustainability at The University of Texas at Austin.

Part II will address green choices for historic interiors including plumbing and electrical systems, selecting interior finishings and more. Part III will focus on sustainable landscaping strategies that are historically appropriate. Spring & Fall dates to be announced.

March 10, 2009

Keep your e-mails and letters going to the Planning Commission and the City Council, endorsing the Heritage Society's letter (see last entry for more information). The request to change the Local Historic District Ordinance to require only 51 percent sign-on by property owners (by acreage) instead of the current, onerous, 60 percent. They are also requesting that the deed research be reduced or eliminated, in keeping with what other cities require. So far, we've had success and have won the approval of the Historic Landmark Commission. Next stop, Planning Commission and Zoning and Platting.

We have accomplished an incredible amount of work--we're basically done with our resident history research, we've completed our physical survey and are awaiting the compiled results and our narrative history, so the next thing to think about is raising money to pay for that narrative. This is an important part of our application and requires the expertise of a preservation specialist, in our case Terri Myers of Preservation Central.

If you're wondering what you can do to help now (besides donating money), get involved with our next big fundraiser, our Travis Heights-Fairview Park Historic Homes Tour. It will be either Sunday, May 31 or June 7. That date isn't confirmed yet, but we do know we'll need plenty of volunteers for planning and executing this, especially on the day of the event. We'll need sponsors, publicists, and lots of docents, among other jobs, so if you can help in any way, for any amount of time, please contact Michele Webre at Michele@HistoricTravisHeights.org.

Feb. 12, 2009

The Heritage Society of Austin, working in hand with the nine Austin neighborhoods seeking Local Historic District status, drafted a letter to present to City Council this week, asking them to acknowledge that the current ordinance, after nearly 5 years, is not helping to create historic districts. So far, there is only the one--The Harthan Street Historic District, a block of 10 houses.

If you would like to read the letter, click here for a PDF version. In general, we are asking to them reduce their sign-on requirement from 60 percent of property owners (by acreage) to 50 or 51 percent, as our peer cities such as Ft. Worth and San Antonio require.

We would also like them to consider that creating historic districts will save the city money by reducing the need to designate so many homes as historic landmarks which receive tax abatements.

Please voice your feelings to the city council if you agree. There are several new council members on board who are fully supportive of our historic district efforts and they would love to receive your encouragement.

Feb. 9, 2009

Come to our meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church on Monroe.

The City of Austin's Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky and The Texas Historical Commission's Gregory Smith will be there to answer your questions about Local Historic Districts and National Register Historic Districts. If you have any questions you'd like to send in advance, that would be helpful for our speakers. You can send those to Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org.

We're still planning on a Homes Tour in late Spring, so we need you to volunteer for this in any way possible. This could be our big money-maker that saves the day and we want it to be great. Consider having your home on the tour or help us plan or work on those days....anything you can think of. Please let Michele Webre (Michele@HistoricTravisHeights.org) know of your interest so we can include you in our planning group.

As always, we still need your donations and volunteer effort to make this historic district a reality. There is no one else to do it. We hope to see you at the next meeting on Feb. 17!

Jan. 17, 200

Thank you so much for volunteering to help with our survey of "historical resources"! We are basically done with our part and can congratulate ourselves on working so hard and fast. I'm sure this has saved us hundreds of dollars in fees for our architectural historian's services. We surveyed nearly 1,200 homes, bridges, the Moon Tower€“you name it! We surveyed it.

In talking to the historians and their perceptions of what was seen, our neighborhood is deemed truly eclectic. The wide variety of architectural, historical styles is more diverse than in any other part of Austin. For instance, we far surpass Hyde Park in the presence of Tudor-influenced cottages, which we all know are adorable. That's not an official architectural term, I know.

I think it's safe to say that all the volunteers, including myself, came away from the survey work with a deeper appreciation for what we already value here. Much like learning the names of plants and people, it makes us care about them more. Preservation Central's staff was especially fun to work with. Thanks to them and to you!

So now....back to fundraising. This is our next very important mission. We will have spent all our earnings in completing the survey, so we will be at a standstill on some parts of the project until we build up more funds for the historians' services.

We must present a fundraising plan for 2009 to the Austin Community Foundation, so we need to meet and get this going. However, we really have not found enough people to run this committee. We need a leader as well as motivated, idea people.

We definitely want to have a homes tour. That has been the biggest money-maker for other neighborhoods (up to $20,000 for Hyde Park) and a successful one could help solve all our financial problems. We want to include our larger and landmarked homes, but we'd also love to feature our smaller, funky homes, or homes with hidden surprises which make our neighborhood so unique.

The other, very important aspect of this project is creating the Design Standards. Now that our survey is being analyzed, we will know more about what's appropriate or acceptable in our district and that will be a good starting point for a group of our neighbors to work on creating our specific Design Standards. This is a committee in which only one person has shown an interest. You don't need to be an architect, designer or a historian, as we'll have the help of Preservation Central in crafting the basics. Someone could get started now compiling examples of compatible additions, appropriate fences and other examples we might use to inform neighbors about the standards.

We also need Block Captains. I have broken down sections of every street into groups of a dozen or so houses. A Block Captain would distribute information to those homeowners and report those neighbors' desires and ideas to the larger group. This is an important duty that we must accept if we want to be successful in winning our neighbors' sign-on to the petition. We want this to be an inclusive process and with a neighborhood so large, it would be impossible to reach everyone without these emissaries.

There are still many elements left to even get our application submitted to the City and we desperately need leaders to make them happen. If you can help in any way, please contact us at Melanie@historictravisheights.org. Or if you'd just like to make a donation, you can do so by visiting our Donation page. Help is much needed and greatly appreciated!

And don't forget that our regular monthly meeting for January has been moved to the next day due to the Presidential Inauguration. We'll meet on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 7-8:30 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church on Monroe, where SRCC meets. If we're not in the big meeting room downstairs, we'll be down the hall to the left, in a smaller conference room.

Jan. 1, 2009

Volunteers needed! As always!...This time we need help with the inventory of properties within our proposed boundaries, also known as the Walking Survey. We'll start on Saturday, Jan. 3 and go through Jan. 18. If we aren't done by then, we'll pick up again the last week of January.

If you can help, we will meet at Dominican Joe at your appointed time (9-11, 11-1 and 2-4) to head out for a walk through the neighborhood. You'd be holding the clipboard and checking off boxes on a form while the architectural historian team of Preservation Central calls out the architectural features and other details. They will photograph every house, so having your hands is a big help. This is also a great way to save us huge amounts of money for hourly fees for fieldwork. The more compactly we can do this and get it done quickly, the more money we save.

Please contact me at Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org if you can help and I will send you the schedule to see what slots are open that you can fill. We particularly need people for the 9-11 shift. You can do one day only if that's all you have time for or you can do as many as you like. This is going to be the most fun part of the project, so don't hesitate to get involved.

Dec. 27, 2008

We're wrapping up the year on a high note, with an optimistic article in the Austin American-Statesman on Dec. 21, Unsinkable Preservationist Sets Sights on Travis Heights.

It might have been a little too optimistic, however.

Yes, we have accomplished a lot this year. Our drive-by survey was very helpful in estimating the numbers of contributing and non-contributing properties and getting a general idea of the best boundaries for the district. Our historic research at the History Center is nearly complete. We had a great fundraiser with our concert and silent auction and have made some progress in spreading the word about the project.

But there is no chance we will complete our district early next year€“I'm not sure where that idea came from. We still need $30,000 to reach our goal (to pay Preservation Central, our architectural historian) and to do the individual property inventory along with photography. Among many other tedious steps to take, we still need to create design standards and, most important, we must enlist the signed support of 60 percent, by acreage, of the property owners within our proposed district and we have yet to even create a petition for that.

So to get the ball rolling, we really need to band together now and start getting active on our own blocks. I seriously need to pressure you to volunteer for the role of Block Captain. This isn't the same as the SRCC block caption. I would love to have everyone take responsibility for about a dozen houses around them, spreading the word about the project by handing out the flyers and helping communicate your block's questions and ideas to the larger group. We want to make sure everyone is informed about the project and not under any misconceptions, which are common. I can tell you more if you are willing.

The REALLY FUN PART of the project is happening in January and you can help. We need you to volunteer about two hours to walk around the neighborhood with Terri Myers and her assistant historian, filling out the individual inventory cards for the historic survey. You will be checking off boxes on a simple form while Terri takes photos and calls out the information to you. You will learn all about the architecture of our neighborhood and we can meet for coffee before and after, as we switch out teams. If you can do this, please let me know so I can schedule you ...Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org

Thank you all for helping us get this far into the project. We really do have good forces behind us, so please volunteer and help us get it done!

Also, I would like to introduce you all to Michele Webre, who has volunteered to help take up a little slack for me, helping to lead this effort. You may be hearing from her in the future. She is a great help, but we still need about 5 more of you to take on that level of dedication. I'll be backing down a bit to pursue some income and education that I sorely lack! So your help will be very much appreciated.

Nov. 10, 2008

In honor of Veterans' Day, enjoy an article on Minimal Traditional architecture, a prominent style in our neighborhood, seen in many variations, influenced by both the Depression Era-inspired frugality in style and the postwar housing boom. Looking around Travis Heights and the Bouldin Creek Neighborhoods, in particular, you'll see countless examples because this was the most prominent period of development here. Some people love them, others still haven't appreciated their charm. In any case, they have influenced our community's landscape and merit attention.

Good news! The Austin American-Statesman published a well researched article about the Harthan Street Historic District and included many pro-preservation economic facts from my favorite preservation economist Donovan Rypkema. You can view the article here.

I'm looking for at least five dedicated, energetic individuals who can take on some responsibility for this project. I need to step back a bit and pursue some other duties I've neglected since kick-starting this effort two years ago. I will still be participating but whether or not I continue, this project needs at least a half-dozen go-getters to tackle the scope of this project. No individual can do it alone.

As the largest neighborhood in Austin pursuing a National and Local Historic District, we must operate like many small neighborhoods. So far, the only LHD in Austin includes 10 homes. We have approximately 1,100. While insightful, the experiences of these small neighborhoods and the precedents they set still don't compare to the effort needed to make Travis Heights and Fairview Park a historic district. We are well deserving of this status, with about 70% historic structures remaining but we will have a big job ahead of us.

What can you do besides be a leader? We need you to volunteer as a Block Captain. Block Captains make sure their neighbors get relevant literature or announcements and can share their enthusiasm for the historic district. We can also cultivate positive signatures for our petition by developing informative relationships with our neighbors. You know your part of the neighborhood better than I do, so your neighbors will trust you as a resource. I only have a few people signed up to handle their part of their streets.

We still need to finish our research at the History Center but after the first of the year, we will likely be starting our field survey, documenting every house within the proposed district. Volunteers will walk around with the historians and take notes as directed. This should be a fun way to learn more about the architecture and light a fire of engagement. Your help will speed this up.

I especially hope those of you who live on still-historically pristine streets recognize the beauty of your historic streetscape and get involved to protect it.

Thank you all for your efforts!–Melanie Martinez

Oct. 11, 2008

We'll soon be creating design standards for our historic district but we need to study our own architecture and history first, so we know what we have and how to best represent our neighborhood. That information will come from our survey that's being conducted by Preservation Central, with the help of our research volunteers, and from the input of our residents. It's important to consider what's there now, so we don't unnecessarily give away something that can easily be protected, or that we don't impose unrealistically strict guidelines that don't fit here.

For example, in the Crestview Neighborhood where many homes have one-car garages that were converted into living space, it wouldn't help a historic district to consider those remodeled homes as non-contributing. In fact, their conversion is part of a historical trend in that neighborhood and if it were forbidden, would eliminate the possibility of a historic district there. In another neighborhood (not in Austin), many houses are covered in a certain type of siding not considered historic, per se. However, neighborhood history revealed that one of its historic residents was a siding salesman and all the houses surrounding him had "his" siding on them, so they told a story about the neighborhood's history that made the siding-clad homes just as historic as any other in that neighborhood, with their own story to tell.

For these reasons, it is best to finish our survey before we create our standards. But it is not too soon to start thinking about the basics. I'm desperately looking for someone to lead this aspect of the project--preferably someone with and architecture, design or historical background, but it can be anyone who is dedicated and willing to learn.

As a reference, we should also look to other neighborhoods' design standards, as well as the guidelines of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, although the National Trust's guidelines can be fairly esoteric and abstract. But that's helpful, too.

Hyde Park Neighborhood has just completed their design standards. Take a look at them (download the Hyde Park Standards PDF) and start thinking about Travis Heights and Fairview Park and how these issues can be considered here and what alternatives for stricter or looser standards might be proposed.

And please contact me at Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org if you would like to take charge of this aspect of our project. I can provide you with many helpful materials and contacts.

Sept. 26, 2008

Good news from the City of Austin! City-owned or -managed property in an area proposed as a Local Historic District will be considered a "Yes" in support of the application.

The resolution, initiated by Council member Laura Morrison, passed this week at city council, pointing to a shift in the city's approach to preservation and indicates they see Local Historic Districts as a benefit to the city.

We need a total of 60 percent approval (by acreage) from property owners (based on acreage) in order to apply for a Local Historic District. With this resolution, the city will grant up to 20 percent of the acreage they own within the proposed district toward support. While we don't yet know our total acreage or the acreage of Stacy Park, this will definitely help our cause.

Sept. 19, 2008

Travis Heights Poster

This beautiful, very limited edition serigraph print by Jon Pattillo of Fat Caddy Plus will be available at our Concert and Silent Auction this Sunday! Noon to 6 at Mercury Hall.

Sept. 7, 2008

Come to our benefit concert and silent auction for a really fun day on Sunday, Sept. 21, noon to 6 p.m. at Mercury Hall, 615 Cardinal Lane.

Admission is free but donations are encouraged. The lineup includes BAM, Jon Dee Graham, Steve Poltz, The Tiny Tin Hearts and Channing Lewis.

Meanwhile, the Silent Auction should attract your attention. We still need donations of items or services, but we're getting some eclectic, South Austin treasures. You can preview these at our Events page.

If you would like to donate something, it's a great opportunity to get your service or merchandise in front of a few hundred people in one day, as well as those who will see it on our web site. Mostly, though, it's an opportunity to participate in preserving our community's historic character. The money will be used specifically to fund the professional research and fieldwork that go into writing the historic district application.

Please contact me at Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org if you would like to donate anything or sponsor us, or if you'd like to volunteer in preparing for the event. We operate under the umbrella of the Austin Community Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit Organization.

Sept. 2, 2008

The National Trust is coming!

We just learned from The Heritage Society of Austin that the National Trust for Historic Preservation chose our city to host its annual meeting in 2010. That's quite an honor for a city whose preservation office says people don't consider Austin a historic destination. So how crazy would it be for us to have both our Local Historic District and National Register Historic District status by then?

It could happen if we keep this project moving forward. There will be homes tours throughout the city for the conventioneers and it's been shown time and again that Heritage Tourism brings more dollars to a city than any other type of visitor. Austin hasn't kept good records about this, it seems, unlike the music community who can clearly tell the city what they bring to our economy. Maybe one day....

Meanwhile, we continue to forge ahead. Our Benefit Concert and Silent Auction is faced with lots of bureaucratic hurdles that have delayed confirmation of the date, but if we keep proceeding with faith that it will happen, I think it can be successful. We desperately need to keep the funds coming in to keep our architectural historian employed and moving ahead with the research and documentation needed for the application.

While throwing a giant fundraiser shows how much we love you and want to visit in person, the easier way to raise money is from direct donations through our web site. These fundraisers take incredible amounts of time and energy to coordinate, managed by just a handful of people who apparently feel our neighborhood is worth the volunteer time. Let's reward them with a matching effort in donations and participation in any way you can offer. There is an end to this and it is 2010 or sooner! Right? Right.

August 21, 2008

We're having a benefit Concert and Silent Auction next month and it's shaping up to be a lot of fun with excellent musicians and auction items!

We're still awaiting confirmation from the Parks Department but expect it will be held September 20 in Little Stacy Park and will feature our friends and neighbors: Jon Dee Graham, Steve Poltz, The Tiny Tin Hearts, Channing Lewis of Grand Champeen and BAM. We'd love to have donations for the auction of services and merchandise. All donations are tax-deductible through the Austin Community Foundation.

Visit our Events link to learn more about the concert artists and auction items.

August 20, 2008

Our meeting this month focused on building Task Forces to get specific parts of this very complex project moving simultaneously. If you would like to be involved (and I hope you will--we need EVERYONE!) please visit the Volunteer link to learn about the teams. We especially need Block Captains to help pass out materials to their neighbors and spread the word about the proposed Historic District.

August 18, 2008

Don't forget our meeting tomorrow night at Grace United Methodist Church, 205 E. Monroe, 7-9 p.m. Our speaker never confirmed so we will probably have a loose schedule and talk about breaking into Task Forces to handle the different angles of the project.

Our meeting last month with Steve Sadowsky gave us a lot to think about and illuminated just how much work there really is to do. I've posted notes from that meeting at this link. It's long but interesting.

Please consider volunteering as a Block Captain to help spread the word and pass out materials to your immediate neighbors. Because you know each other, a bond of trust will generally keep minds open better than a stranger coming in to talk about the project. We need to act like many smaller neighborhoods in order to tackle this job so it depends on all of us getting involved. No involvement equals no historic district.

Thank you for your help. You all have been great!

August 17, 2008

I've created a simple, one-page flyer answering the most frequently asked questions. You can download it here and pass it along to your friends and neighbors. Free free to make copies and distribute.

August 8, 2008

We had a great turnout at our Research Training at the History center last month. I know a lot of you weren't able to make it but with the help of those who were trained, you'll still be able to catch up. Also, the following link will take you to the slide show that explains the research.

How to Research Property for our Historic District

The application for a Local Historic District requires occupant history for 25 percent of the contributing homes. That is about 250. We'd like to get a good sampling from every street in the neighborhood, so if there are some that you are curious about or think are worthy of note, please e-mail me, Jennifer Ross or Terri Myers with those addresses to include. If you already have this information about your house, you can save us some work by sharing that and having it count toward the 25 percent. Also, the historic landmarks in the neighborhood should already have this information and we'd love to include those, also. We'll soon have a file box in the reference room at the History Center that will hold cards for designated contributing properties that need research. I'll let you know as soon as that's available.

I want to emphasize the importance of starting with the Sanborn Maps and not jumping ahead to the City Directories, or you will likely be researching the wrong address because house numbers (and even street names) may have changed. The earliest Sanborn Map is from 1922 but it is only available online. The next map, 1935, and its predecessors are available in the reference room.

The work that goes into this research will save us hundreds of dollars from the project budget, so we are very grateful. Now, for the other projects.....there are so many in limbo that need a push. I will write more about them specifically soon but I'm going to need people to step up from every street to become block captions. This will require a bit of commitment to getting informational materials to your immediate neighbors and selling the idea to them. Our neighborhood is so much larger than any other that is applying, we have to think like a dozen small neighborhoods to be effective in spreading the word and raising money. You know your immediate neighbors better than I do, so they would surely feel more comfortable hearing from you.

Our next meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 19, may be a purely task-oriented one, trying to build teams and find leaders. I've invited Greg Smith, from the State's Preservation Office to speak to us about National Register Historic Districts but he hasn't confirmed yet. I will let you know when I find out more.

Just a reminder about the Survey Map, the large master copy was scanned upside down, so North is on the bottom of the map rather than the top. Green is Contributing; Red is Non-Contributing. We are still wondering if we should include Edgecliff Terrace (any ideas?), but we will definitely include the south side of East Side Drive.

Also, if anyone would like to be added to our mailing list, please e-mail Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org. Or be our friend at www.MySpace.com/historictravisheights.

July 7, 2008

Thanks for coming out to First Thursday and the Fourth of July picnic. It was great to put faces with names and show off our preliminary survey map.

In preparation for our Research Training at the Austin History Center this Wednesday, or for your own interest, you can download this 27-page PDF file, Researching Your House.

I've also uploaded a flyer announcing our meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 15. If you would like to, download it and print it out. You'll have to cut it (2 flyers per page). Please distribute them to any of your neighbors. We'll be meeting in the big meeting room at Grace United Methodist Church, in the basement where the SRCC normally meets.

June 30, 2008

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, July 9, 7-9 p.m. and come to The Austin History Center (810 Guadalupe St.) to train as a property researcher. Your efforts researching specific properties in our neighborhood will help complete our application for both Local and National Register Historic Districts.

The training will be conducted in a private meeting room by Jennifer Ross, an architectural historian neighbor who is volunteering her expertise, and will include a Power Point presentation. If enough volunteers attend this training, they should be able to train others who were unable to attend.

June 21, 2008

Thank you all for your donations! Because of your generosity we were able to pay our bill with Preservation Central and complete the first big phase of our project, the Reconnaissance Survey. So now we are ready to start the second big part, the Intensive Survey which includes historical research on individual properties.

Our survey showed we have approximately 37 High Priority properties, those which meet the level of integrity that they would likely quality for individual landmark status, based solely on their architectural merit. Of course, we also have properties with historic merit, based on individuals who have lived there, but this first survey was strictly based on a visual assessment.

We have approximately 806 Medium Priority properties. These don't reach the level of landmark status homes, but are still good examples of an architectural style and have retained their integrity from the streetscape view. Both the High and Medium Priority homes are considered contributing, giving us about 843, and they are shown as green on our Survey Map. The remaining 309 properties considered Low Priority are non-contributing, due to alterations or they were built within the last 50 years. This breaks down to roughly 70 percent contributing. This tells us we have a good deal over the 51 percent required to qualify for both a National Register District and a Local Historic District. For comparison, Hyde park has only about 55 percent contributing.

The issue of boundaries is still pending. The south side of East Side drive will be included, despite its omission from the map. That was a technical error and we will be adding those properties. We are still looking at the Edgecliff Terrace section across Riverside and that depends on how much interest those residents have in participating. Steve Sadowsky, the City of Austin Preservation Officer, was agreeable to allowing that portion of the neighborhood to create its own separate district, anchored by the Norwood House, should those neighbors choose to take that route. We are still looking at some of those streets near Kenwood to determine their integrity. It is important that the boundaries make sense in relation to the development of the subdivision as well as contain enough contributing properties to benefit the district. Keep in mind that any additional streets and properties we add increases our expense in creating the district, so we will need even more donations and fundraising. Please give us your input on these issues.

A good way to help ameliorate the cost is to volunteer to help with historic research. Our Research Volunteer Coordinator Jennifer Ross is conducting training at the Austin History Center on July 9, from 7-9 p.m. We will start by researching those High Priority homes and move on to the Mediums, choosing at least one of those on every street to research in depth. If you would like to participate, please show up on that date or contact Jennifer at jenniferross2002@hotmail.com.

Please keep those donations coming so we can keep moving forward! Thank you, again. This is a great neighborhood!

June 10, 2008

Download the PDF Reconnaissance Survey Map to see what's initially considered contributing and non-contributing. Please bear in mind that this is only a preliminary map and every house will be photographed and studied in deed research before a final decision is made.

Some things are deceptive. A potentially contributing property may turn out to be a clever imitation, or original stucco may be confused with new, an addition visible from the street may be older than 50 years and qualify as contributing. Many things will be learned in the next phase of our survey. You can keep up with more news of the project by joining our Google Group. And remember to attend our meeting June 17 with Preservation Central.

Unfortunately, our fundraising has not yielded enough to go further with the project. We need donations desperately to continue the second phase of the project. I can't stress enough the importance of working quickly to prevent losing contributing properties to demolition. Even with ample funds, this project could easily take another year to complete. Please consider donating as little as $20 to keep the project going. You can make a tax-deductible online donation here.

Thank you!

June 2, 2008

Our first level of the Reconnaissance survey and the first part of the Comprehensive survey of the Travis Heights and Fairview Park neighborhoods is in! I'm very excited to announce that we have approximately 74 percent contributing properties, giving us incredible historic integrity, higher than even the Hyde Park neighborhood. This means we are more than qualified to receive Historic District status, which requires 51 percent contributing properties. I am uploading the entire "Letter Report" onto our Google Group.

I've excerpted the report from Terri Myers and her team at Preservation Central below. It describes the proposed boundaries, the historic period of development and architecture and the percentage of remaining historic properties.

"The survey reveals that Live Oak, Riverside, Kenwood, and the rear property line of the east side of South Congress Avenue present the most logical boundaries for both a National Register district and a Local Historic District for the Fairview and Travis Heights neighborhoods. These boundaries enclose a large, densely developed collection of late-19th and early 20th century domestic architecture that represents all phases of residential development in South Austin during its earliest periods of suburban growth.

Fairview/Travis Heights neighborhood is almost exclusively residential with a few schools, churches, and parks representing other property types that are compatible and, indeed, integral, to the residential neighborhoods. Landscape features including built elements of Stacy Park and Little Stacy Park, and the wealth of mature trees, historic rock walls, and other mature plantings help define the neighborhood and are considered contributing resources within the potential district.

The earliest dwellings are Late Victorian era houses which are found in the earlier Fairview section. A number of intact frame Folk Victorian cottages lie near South Congress and larger Queen Anne style houses appear infrequently throughout the early Austin suburban addition.

In Travis Heights, early 20th century Revival styles including Tudor and Spanish Colonial Revival houses are found in large numbers.

Good examples of Mid-20th century Ranch and Minimal Traditional styles complete the historic period. Although no single style dominates the landscape, Craftsman influenced bungalows outnumber other styles by a large margin in both the Travis Heights and Fairview sections, attesting to the late 1910s, 1920s, and early 1930s as the area's most prolific period of construction.

The bungalow form is also found in Tudor and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, attesting to the popularity of the plan type in the early 20th century.

Of 1,022 cultural resources within the Fairview/Travis Heights project area, 37 properties (4%) were considered High priorities; that is, they are unique or outstanding examples of their type or style and retain virtually all of their original architectural fabric. Medium priorities constituted the majority of cultural resources within the potential district.

There are 719 Medium priority resources (70%); these properties are good or typical examples of their type or style and retain their original design and materials to a good degree.

Finally, 266 resources (26%) were considered Low priority properties; they are either nonhistoric or have received substantial incompatible alteration such that they no longer possess historic character.

High and Medium priority properties together account for the project area's 74% contributing resources as compared with only 24% noncontributing resources. The percentage far exceeds the 51% contributing/noncontributing ratio recommended for historic districts by the National Park Service for listing in the National Register (NR). It also meets the 51% contributing/noncontributing ratio required by the City of Austin for Local Historic Districts (LHD).

As a result of the Drive-By and combined Reconnaissance/Intensive Level surveys, Preservation Central recommends that the Fairview/Travis Heights neighborhood is eligible for both the National Register of Historic Places and the City of Austin's Local Historic District program. The neighborhood contains sufficient historic fabric, nearly three-fourths contributing properties, and maintains logical district boundaries to warrant these designations.

Preservation Central further recommends that the neighborhood proceed with its nomination and application process to protect and preserve its remaining historic resources."

Don't forget our meeting on June 17th, Grace United Methodist (205 E. Monroe), 7-9 p.m., where Preservation Central will present these results and answer questions about the survey. The city's Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky will also be present to answer questions.

May 27, 2008

Starting June 17, from 7-9 p.m., we'll have a regular monthly meeting at Grace United Church, 205 E. Monroe St., dedicated to the Historic District Project. Check here for updates on our first presentation.

May 16, 2008

In monthly meetings with representatives from the Heritage Society of Austin and the city's other historic neighborhoods seeking Historic District status, we're learning from each other how to get through the application process. We've found every neighborhood is unique but we have enough in common to share valuable support and information. I highly recommend visiting the Heritage Society's web page with articles about the Local Historic District Ordinance.

We're looking forward to having our own monthly public meetings to learn more about the Historic District Project. We should have the meeting place and time confirmed in the next few weeks. We will have presentations from the city's Preservation Office, from our architectural historian Terri Myers, representatives from other historic neighborhoods, as well as an open forum to ask questions. We are still at a very early stage in the process but with our initial survey being complete at any moment, we'll have a more defined path within the next month.

If you would like to participate in research for the upcoming full survey, please contact me at Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org. Survey and Research volunteers will meet with Terri Myers at the Austin History Center for training on how to research deeds and resident histories.

As always, we can only work as fast as our donations take us. If we run out, we have to stop, so please consider donating to the project online through the Austin Community Foundation.

February 29, 2008

Our initial survey results will be in any day. A preliminary glance indicates we may have as much as 70 percent contributing properties within the boundaries of our proposed district, even more than Hyde Park. The boundaries are still not final but will probably be Lady Bird Lake, Kenwood, Live Oak, and the properties on the rear side of Congress Avenue. We wish that Congress Avenue could get its own Historic District designation as a retail development, but at this point are undecided about what to do with Congress. If the property owners there want to be part of our district, we would welcome them, even though they would bring down our contributing numbers because so much has been lost on Congress, but we may be able to absorb the loss. If anyone has opinions on this issue, please let us know what you think.

Our first house concert has also been delayed a few weeks. South by Southwest's presence in the area demands our artists' full attention but we promise you some excellent entertainment very soon. Again, if anyone would like to donate drinks or snacks or donate chairs for the day or simple labor, please join in. We are also looking for laid-back hosts with spacious yards to accommodate many people so we can raise lots of money for the project! E-mail: melanie@historictravisheights.org

On a sad note, we have seen several demolition threats on neighborhood structures worthy of restoration. We can keep fighting these individually, but that is exhausting and, many times, these houses are really most valuable as a collection, rather than an individual that must meet very high standards on its own for historic landmark status.

Unfortunately, the Local Historic District ordinance created by the City of Austin is very complex and time-consuming, requiring the help of an architectural historian, necessitating fundraising. If every homeowner in the proposed district donated $50, we would have our fundraising goal met very quickly and have our historic district before the City Council within the next year. We need your help in every way possible.

While we are obviously concerned about the tear-down epidemic here, what is most important is that this neighborhood is historic, without a doubt, and that history deserves recognition. That is why the loss to so many teardowns is threatening the character of Travis Heights and Fairview Park. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to our project, it can be made online through the Austin Community Foundation.

February 12, 2008

We finish our windshield survey this month and will start our more in-depth survey immediately following.
I'm looking forward to really learning the styles and periods of our neighborhood and finding a vocabulary to express what's great about them. Some of you may already know the history of your homes and appreciate their historic merit. We would love to hear your stories. You can send them to Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org

Our next big fundraiser will be an intimate House Concert in one of Fairview Park's oldest homes during the week of South by Southwest. Details are still pending but we are excited about presenting some of the best songwriters you'll find in the city during the festival. You can hear the best without even leaving the neighborhood. If you would like to volunteer or donate catering or beverages or printing, please contact me at that same address above.

For earlier news, please view our Archive for 2007.