Preservation Austin Receives Transformative $1 Million Gift From McBee Family Foundation
AUSTIN, TX – Today, December 5, 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.
The McBee family’s gift will support establishing the newly-named McFarland-McBee House, built in 1947, as Preservation Austin’s office and home base. This year Preservation Austin launched its first-ever capital campaign, recognizing the existential need to grow its capacity for advocacy and programming to better serve our city, and its historic places, at this unprecedented time of urban growth and change.
The newly-named McFarland-McBee House, 2024 (TWest Photography)
Sue & Frank McBee, date unknown (Austin History Center, PICB 17596)
"[Architect and campaign Steering Committee Member] Emily Little probably deserves much of the credit for our making this gift,” said Robert F. McBee, President of the McBee Family Foundation and son of the late, legendary Austinites Sue and Frank McBee. “She phoned my sister about the new capital campaign and the two of them made the decision, in much the same way as my mother did things. But we are pleased to be able to help in a truly meaningful way.”
He continued: “The McBee Family Foundation is not huge and historically has given useful, but certainly not life-changing, grants to a number of well-deserving organizations. With this grant, though, we believe we can make a real difference for Preservation Austin. They need and deserve a real home. Our mother and father were both devoted to the preservation of historical buildings in Austin, mainly through the efforts of the Heritage Society, and so with this gift we are going back to our roots, so to speak. We look forward to watching how Preservation Austin grows and blossoms in its new headquarters."
“We are honored, and so moved, to accept this monumental gift from the McBee Family Foundation,” said Lindsey Derrington, Preservation Austin’s Executive Director. “Sue McBee was an Austin icon – a dynamic civic force and a true leader of our city’s preservation movement. It is our privilege to keep her spirit alive by establishing the McFarland-McBee House as a center for preserving Austin’s cultural and architectural heritage for generations to come. This is the largest single gift in Preservation Austin’s 71-year history, and a true testament to the McBee family’s commitment to our city.”
“Sue McBee’s passion for preservation in Austin lives on, and this gift affirms the need for our work at this critical time in our city’s growth,” said Melissa Barry, Board President of Preservation Austin. “Preservation Austin is the only citywide nonprofit dedicated to preserving historic places, from legacy businesses to historic neighborhoods, and this generous gift will allow us to sustainably grow our impact in Austin.”
Robert F. McBee (center), President of the McBee Family Foundation, joined our staff and board at the newly named McFarland-McBee House to celebrate this monumental moment.
Robert F. McBee, President of the McBee Family Foundation (center), with Lindsey Derrington, Preservation Austin's Executive Director (left), and Melissa Barry, Board President (right).
About the McFarland-McBee House
Preservation Austin saved this beloved Streamline Moderne house at 3805 Red River Street from demolition in 2014. The organization has invested significant resources into its preservation since 2019, including critical structural repairs to reverse decades of neglect. The house is a City of Austin Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The McFarland-McBee House will be home to Preservation Austin’s staff with space for public gatherings and educational programming. This is the first space that Preservation Austin has owned and occupied since 1978. The building embodies the organization’s spirit of advocacy, optimism, and celebration of the irreplaceable historic places that define so much of Austin’s culture and character.
Titan of Austin’s Preservation Movement
Sue Brandt McBee (1923-2011) was a leading force in Austin’s civic life for decades, including as a staunch advocate for preserving our city’s historic places. In 1964, she and husband Frank W. McBee, Jr. (1920-2000) purchased, restored, and made their family home in the 19th century Catherine Robinson House at 705 San Antonio Street in downtown’s Bremond Block, now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Sue was a tireless advocate for preserving downtown Austin and was active in saving the Driskill Hotel and Paramount Theatre, among many other landmarks.
Sue solidified her place as a titan of Austin’s preservation movement when her city needed her most, at a time when too many historic places were falling to the wrecking ball. During the 1970s she was a leader in Preservation Austin, then known as the Heritage Society of Austin, serving as Vice President of Public Relations, then President, and later Chair of the organization’s Historic Preservation Committee. In 1975, she co-authored AUSTIN: The Past Still Present, a defining collection of stories about many of the city’s historically and architecturally significant buildings and homes. Sue spent decades thereafter nurturing the next generation of Austin preservationists through her advocacy and mentorship. She remained a supporter and leader within Preservation Austin until her death in 2011.
About Sue and Frank McBee
Sue Brandt McBee was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States with her family as a young child. She married Frank W. McBee, Jr., her high school sweetheart, in 1943 and they had two children together, Marilyn and Robert.
Sue and Frank were towering civic leaders who left their mark on Austin over the course of the 20th century. Frank McBee is known as Austin’s “godfather of high tech” and famously nicknamed the city “Silicon Gulch.” In 1955, he co-founded what would become Tracor, Austin’s first homegrown Fortune 500 and NYSE-listed corporation, which grew to more than 11,000 employees and catalyzed the birth of Austin’s tech industry. Frank was a much-lauded engineer, businessman, and public figure as Tracor’s longtime CEO and Chair.
Sue worked as a writer and columnist for the Austin American-Statesman and managed Tracor’s public relations during its early years. Her columns for the paper included “Hereabouts” in the 1950s and “Reflections” in the 1980s, portraying life here in Austin and shaping the public consciousness about what it means to be an Austinite. The McBees were in the thick of it, counting Cactus Pryor among their closest friends. In the mid-1950s, Sue published Go magazine with John Henry Faulk, another iconic Austinite and a renowned folklorist, humorist, and author.
Sue was a poet, whose collection Lines for a Texas Town was published in 1999 and honored by the Texas Book Festival that same year. In 1994 she was instrumental in the installation of the Philosophers’ Rock sculpture at her beloved Barton Springs, honoring friend and legendary folklorist J. Frank Dobie along with naturalist Roy Bedichek and historian Walter Prescott Webb.
Sue and Frank were fixtures at downtown’s Headliners Club, where Sue served on the Board of Trustees. She was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Communications of the University of Texas and recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from St. Edward's University. AISD’s Sue and Frank McBee Elementary School opened in 2000, a great honor and testament to them both. They are buried together at the Texas State Cemetery.
Preservation Austin’s Capital Campaign still has $461,000 left to go! Click below to learn more.
Naming opportunities are available starting at $50,000. To learn more or schedule a tour, email Development Coordinator Sarah Anderson.