Architecture

The Henry Hirshfeld House and Cottage are two historic homes in downtown Austin, Texas, United States, originally inhabited by the prominent Hirshfeld family. The cottage, built in 1873, housed Henry and his wife Jennie until the larger house was built in 1885. The buildings are located at 303 and 305 W. 9th Street. The Hirshfeld House and Cottage is a City of Austin Landmark, State Antiquities Landmark, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and National Register-listed property. Produced by the Austin Heritage Society.

The Austin Files House Building collection includes content cataloged by address or street name.

This film was originally made in 1943 by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and all the rights transferred to the Austin History Center in 2006. The film highlights a wide array of city landmarks, including the Texas State Capitol, University of Texas Tower, the Moonlight Towers, Zilker Park, and Barton Springs. By following the Smiths, new residents of Austin, the film also visits many of the city's main attractions, including several museums, Treaty Oak, and a Longhorn football game. An overview of Austin's government and healthcare buildings, as well as the lakes along the Colorado River, is also included. The film was preserved and digitized in 2008 and made possible by a Partnership Grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Run time: 31minutes (color)

Photographs of the Texas State Capitol from 1853 to 1881

Photographs depicting the Texas State Capitol from 1881 to 1888

Photographs and illustrations documenting the Texas State Capitol building and grounds from 1839-1853 from the Austin Files collection

Photographs documenting Christie's Seafood, Steaks and Cocktails restaurant from the Austin Files collection. Christie's was located on Town Lake at 1st St in Austin.

Media documenting churches in the Austin metro area from the Austin Files collection

Photos documenting Baptist churches in Austin and Travis County from the Austin Files collection

Photographs documenting Catholic churches from the Austin Files collection

History is My Home: A survey of Texas Architectural Styles is a series of three filmstrip courses produced by the Texas State Historical Association in 1980. The three parts are: European Origins and the Early 19th Century, The Victorian Period, and The Twentieth Century. Along with three 35mm filmstrips and three audio cassettes, this course kit comes with study guides and brochures. As a whole, the series explains major architectural influences on buildings in Texas (with many examples from Austin), making the case that a lot can be learned about the history of Texas by understanding where the architectural styles came from and why they became dominant. First developed in the 1940’s, the filmstrip was a classroom educational technology that was comprised of a small roll of 35mm film that would be advanced one frame at a time through a projector, along with an audio recording that narrated the lesson. Filmstrip became an alternative to the more expensive 16mm educational films until it was replaced by videocassettes in the 1990s. You can read more about the history and technology of filmstrips here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmstrip Unfortunately the Austin History Center does not have the equipment necessary to be able to view filmstrip programs. Additionally, the History is My Home filmstrips are beginning to deteriorate with the distinct beginnings of vinegar syndrome. So in the interest of access and digital preservation, the each frame of the filmstrips was scanned and the audio cassettes digitized to create a video representation of what it would be like to watch this form of instructional media. The three filmstrips in this course are combined into one video, but the table of contents below will allow viewers to select topics that might interest them.

Photos documenting Austin Public Library branches from the Austin Files collection

Media documenting Austin museums from the Austin Files collection

Photographs of the Night Hawk restaurant from the Austin Files collection. Akin opened up the first Night Hawk Restaurant on December 24, 1932 in an abandoned fruit stand on the corner of South Congress Avenue and Riverside Drive. Robert Harry Akin was also the mayor of Austin, Texas from 1967-1969 and was well known for his participation in civil rights causes including working to desegregate Austin restaurants.

Photographs documenting the Texas School for the Blind from the Austin Files collection. The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired was established in Austin by the Sixth Texas Legislature on August 16, 1856, as the Asylum for the Blind, with five members of the board of trustees appointed by Gov. Elisha M. Pease. The first location of the school was the leased residence of Mr. W. L. Hill, west of the University of Texas on San Gabriel Street. That location is now the site of the Neill-Cochran House Museum. Dr. S. W. Baker, family doctor and close personal friend of Governor Pease, was the first superintendent. By 1857, three students were in attendance. Parents of the students paid tuition and expenses, but as needed, the tuition and expenses of the students were met by the school. The second location of the school was Block 71 of the area long known as Little Campus, now Heman Sweatt Campus, at the University of Texas. The main school building is now known as the Arno Nowotny Building. The cost of the new facilities was $12,390.00 and was completed in late 1857. In 1905 the legislature changed the name to Blind Institute, and in 1915 the name Texas School for the Blind was adopted. White, including Spanish-speaking, children between the ages of six and nineteen were admitted by direct application to the superintendent. A five dollar a week fee for incidentals was required of those able to pay; indigents were taken free of charge. By legislative provision there was no charge for board. In 1917 the institution was moved to its present location at 45th Street and Lamar Blvd, made possible by appropriations of the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth legislatures for the erection of buildings on the campus donated by citizens of Austin.