The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is advancing a sweeping and damaging proposal to rewrite the regulations for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). If implemented, these new rules would dramatically diminish the current legal protections for historic and cultural places.

Preservation Austinis thrilled to announce that Austin City Council designated the Hill-Thompson House as a City of Austin Landmark at their May 28 meeting. The residence, located at 1906 Maple Avenue, was designed by pioneering Black architect John S. Chase, FAIA, for civic leader Irene Hill-Thompson, widow of Oscar Thompson, the first Black student to graduate from The University of Texas at Austin.

Preservation Austin is thrilled to announce that Austin City Council voted to designate the Calhoun House as a City of Austin Landmark. The residence was once the home of pioneering Black educators and civic leaders, Thelma and T.C. Calhoun.

Preservation Austin’s mission is to empower Austinites to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community culture through preservation. As stewards of this mission, and as the only citywide nonprofit for historic preservation, we seek to educate Austinites about Proposition Q’s impact on the City of Austin’s preservation program ahead of the November 4 election. 

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.

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. 

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!