In Austin’s West Campus area — characterized today by towering apartment buildings, huge window panes, bright signs, and a boisterous population of 15,000 students — a medium-sized house known as Whitehall Cooperative sits as a haven of affordable housing for its residents.

SB 2639 threatens the future of historic preservation in Texas by rewriting the rules for how cities protect significant historic sites. The bill will be heard in the House Committee on Land and Resource Management on Thursday, May 22 at 8 AM. Please reach out to the members of the Committee members and urge them to vote NO on SB 2639. Read on for more. 

Federal historic preservation programs are in crisis. The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) is currently threatened with total elimination by President Trump’s proposed FY26 Budget. The HPF provides critical funding for preservation work across the nation and here at home. Write to your representative today and ask them to support full funding of the HPF.

For Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, read about the history of Asians in Austin from Hanna Huang, Executive Director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival.

Preservation Austin’s Grants Program fuels essential projects across three categories: education, bricks and mortar, and planning/survey/historic designation. By providing funding to important projects citywide, we aim to financially support our fellow Austinites as they preserve our shared past.

JuanRaymon joined our board of directors in 2022. He had everything – technical expertise as a preservation architect, a righteous commitment to advocacy, and boundless capacity for giving back to his community. His good nature and humor infused our work with so much happiness. He was a dear friend and collaborator who was beloved by our staff and board.

Preservation Austin and our partners secured Council's vote to SAVE 1500 East 12th Street from demolition by Eureka Holdings. We needed a supermajority vote of 9 of 11 members to designate and against all odds we GOT EM!

Preservation Austin is announcing a $1 million gift by the McBee Family Foundation in support of the organization’s mission to empower Austinites to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community culture through preservation. Preservation Austin was founded as the Heritage Society of Austin in 1953, and this is the largest gift in its 71-year history.