Preservation Merit Award for the Travis County Probate Courthouse
Established in 1960, Preservation Austin’s annual Preservation Merit Awards program honors visionary approaches to preserving Austin’s unique architectural, cultural, and environmental heritage.
This depression-era Moderne architecture courthouse building has served as both a practical and visual Federal presence among nearby municipal and private historic buildings in downtown Austin since it was completed in 1936.
It remains a handsome 4-story limestone-clad presence with an exterior defined by fluted, reed-like pilasters, decorative metal grilles and a carved stone parapet. Its interior has both Art Deco and Art Moderne finishes including marble-clad lobbies and corridors.
On December 29, 2016, Travis County received deed to the building from the U.S. Government with a covenant that stipulates that the building’s historic integrity be preserved. The County intends to use it for its Probate Court, and is committed to the preservation of the building. To that end, it awarded the restoration assignment to a multi-disciplinary team that includes Limbacher & Godfrey in a leadership role. LGA lead during the programming and the schematic design phases, and continued in a senior advisory capacity through to project completion. The project required coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service. The Historic Austin Federal Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
In collaboration with prime architect, Lord Aeck Sargent Architects.
Alfred Godfrey spoke at the fifth and final AIA Austin Design Talks event of 2021, sharing the firm’s Dove Springs Recreation Center project and discussing the role and importance of recreation centers to their communities. Other speakers were Heather McKinney, FAIA of McKinney York Architects and Dr. Liana Kallivoka, Assistant Director of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department. About 50 architects were in attendance.
Laurie Limbacher, Keynote Speaker, The Daughters of the Republic of Texas
Her talk, The Legacy of the CCC in Texas State Parks, traced the history of parks in Texas and the DRT’s role as an early champion for historic preservation in public parks. It covered the history of the CCC nationally, its importance for Texas and its enduring influence on parks development today.
The event was an annual workshop attended by 80 DRT members from 21 Texas counties.
Alfred Godfrey and the Seaholm Waterfront Project
As Trail Foundation board member https://thetrailfoundation.org/ and as chair of the Projects Committee, Alfred Godfrey has played a leadership role in the development of this project from the beginning. For a description of the process and the project itself, check out this recent Towers article:
Hidden Railroad Relic Steams Toward Historic Status
The Shoal Creek Conservancy seeks to place the Third Street Trestle on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the heart of downtown, the trestle is one of the last remaining vestiges of Austin’s railroad infrastructure. Limbacher & Godfrey’s concepts for converting it into a linear park space support the application, and serve as the centerpiece of the Cypress & Shoal Creek planning project.
The TOWERS media network writes for an audience passionate about city life, real estate, and urbanist culture. Since 2007, TOWERS Austin has published commentary and news updates on the real estate market, architecture, new development, and local urban issues.
Happy Trails
As an online promotion for the Guide to Austin Architecture, AIA Austin has just released the “Happy Trails” tour. Following the hike-and-bike trail around Lady Bird Lake, the tour includes The Boardwalk:
The Guide to Austin Architecture is a program of @austinfdnforarchitecture and @aiaaustin, and is supported by Austin Energy Green Building. Special thanks to community partner @thetrailfoundation for their assistance in the production of this tour.
Image by James Innes. #archguideatx
Preservation Austin Merit Award for Shipe Park Shelter House
Established in 1960, Preservation Austin’s annual Preservation Merit Awards program honors visionary approaches to preserving Austin’s unique architectural, cultural, and environmental heritage.
Shipe Park was opened after the city’s 1928 plan called for a new parks system. Early shelter houses supported athletics, dancing and crafts. The Shipe Park Shelter House is one of just four that remain today. Completed in 1930, its unusual design takes inspiration from 19th century dogtrot cabins. Shipe Park is located in the Hyde Park Local Historic District. A conditions assessment by Limbacher & Godfrey served as the basis for this rehabilitation by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department.
The firm is contributing planning and historic preservation services to a multi-disciplinary team studying the public spaces for a six-block stretch of Third Street between Nueces and Seaholm Drive. The plan area also includes passage along Shoal Creek, the site of the city’s oldest hike and bike trail. The goal is to create a series of inviting public spaces and to improve pedestrian and cycling safety and connectivity in this rapidly-transforming area of west downtown Austin. Additional considerations include interpretive strategies to link contemporary life to the site’s rich history as a rail corridor and as the location of significant industrial infrastructure, particularly associated with power generation.
The study was commissioned by a partnership of the Shoal Creek Conservancy and the Downtown Austin Alliance.
In collaboration with Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Lake|Flato Architects, fd2s and a full complement of technical support.
A. J. Jernigan House Wins Preservation Merit Award
Preservation Austin has recognized Limbacher & Godfrey’s A. J. Jernigan House Rehabilitation and Addition at its 59th Annual Preservation Merit Awards event. Established in 1960, this juried program honors the hard work and visionary approaches of those preserving Austin’s unique architectural, cultural, and environmental heritage.
The A. J. Jernigan House can be seen here: http://limbacher-godfrey.com/project/a-j-jernigan-house/
Preservation Austin has been Austin’s leading nonprofit voice for historic preservation since 1953.
An Austin treasure: $2.1 million gift gets Barton Springs Bathhouse to funding goal
At Thursday’s “Toast to the Springs” poolside event, philanthropist Ross Moody announced his family foundation’s $2.1 million gift to complete the rehabilitation of the Barton Springs Bathhouse, an estimated $8 million project. The bathhouse was designed in 1947 by Recreation Department staff architect Dan Driscoll, and has long needed an upgrade.
“It’s an Austin treasure,” said Moody, who has been swimming at the pool since 1980. “The project brings together health, wellness and nature as well as historical, cultural and environmental preservation. It’s a one-stop shop.”
Austin-based Limbacher & Godfrey Architects has been charged with the rehabilitation project.