Austin City Council Designates Whitehall Cooperative as a Historic Landmark
AUSTIN, TX (October 10, 2025) – Preservation Austin is thrilled to announce that Austin City Council voted to designate the Whitehall Cooperative Building as a City of Austin Landmark at their October 9 meeting. The cooperative residence, located on Nueces Street in West Campus, is a rare landmark of women’s history and one of Texas’s oldest housing co-ops.
“As development pressures continue to intensify and the cost of living increases, Whitehall remains one of the very last affordable housing options in West Campus. Preservation Austin is proud to support Whitehall Cooperative in its pursuit of historic designation so it may continue its historic mission of providing affordable housing to the people of Austin,” said Preservation Austin President Miriam Conner in the organization’s letter of support for the designation.
In working with property owners to designate underrepresented heritage sites, Preservation Austin aims to increase the presence of African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, the LGBTQIA community, women, the disabled, and the working class in our city’s inventory of historic resources and better tell the full story of Austin’s diverse history.
About Whitehall Cooperative
The Whitehall Cooperative has provided affordable housing in the West Campus neighborhood since 1949. Established as a women’s residence for UT Austin students, Whitehall began occupying the 1896 Queen Anne-style residence at 2500 Nueces in 1955. In 1956, when Black students were first admitted to UT, Whitehall was one of only two University co-ops to integrate racially. In 1960, when the opportunity to purchase the building arose, four of Whitehall’s female residents purchased the building for $25,000. The co-op became a co-ed residence for students and non-students alike in 1971. Over the decades, the home’s appearance has evolved, reflecting the cooperative’s spirit of communal involvement and individual creativity, all while maintaining its Victorian character.
Read more about the history of Whitehall Co-op here.
Whitehall Cooperative (Courtesy of Whitehall Cooperative)
Whitehall Cooperative yearbook photo, 1959 (Courtesy of Whitehall Cooperative)