Possible delay or change of plans with new FB practice facility?
- By SWTHORN123
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 31 Replies
Next UT football showdown is with Texas Historical Commission
Edwin Bautista knew it was a lastditch effort, a long shot to save the 91year-old historic building that the University of Texas wants to bulldoze so it can build a new football practice facility.
Then, last week, a preliminary win. The state Antiquities Advisory Board recommended approval of Bautista’s request for protected landmark status for the old University Junior High building, a1930s schoolhouse in the southeastern corner of the UT campus. The Spanish Revival building, notable for its role in desegregating Austin schools starting in the late 1950s, most recently housed the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (as well as the stunning stairwell mural by Raúl Valdez that I wrote about last year).
I should note: The advisory board’s 9-1 vote last Wednesday is just a recommendation.
The matter now goes to the Texas Historical Commission, which is expected to consider the application in July.
The application process delays the building demolition that had been slated for June. And if the Texas Historical Commission decides to grant State Antiquities Landmark status to the old schoolhouse, UT wouldn’t be able to get a demolition permit without undergoing a rigorous state review – which would complicate, or possibly derail, its plans to build the new football practice facility on that coveted turf.
Bautista said that’s the point: A building with this level of community importance, already listed in the National Register of Historic Places, shouldn’t be easy to tear down.
“For the university to disregard (the University Junior High building’s history) is just so disappointing, because they are turning their back on our history, and that is something that I’m not willing to accept,” said Bautista, who earned his bachelor’s in urban studies and his master’s in community and regional planning at UT.
“UT is all about changing the world and being leaders in sustainability,” Bautista added, arguing the aging schoolhouse should be restored, not razed. “Well, you know, here’s a chance for you to live up to what you say you’re about.”
In response to the advisory board’s vote, UT spokesman Mike Rosen told me last week: “We respect the process.
There are multiple steps, and we’ll let it play out.”
One option: UT could formally oppose the nomination, triggering an administrative hearing process, Antiquities Advisory Board Chair Jim Bruseth said at last week’s meeting.
“Things could get a lot more complex for the (Texas Historical) Commission down the road, and probably will, would be my guess,” Bruseth told his fellow board members.
Rosen has said that renovating the old University Junior High building would be “cost prohibitive.” He pointed to a March 2015 strategic master plan that put the price tag at $52 million.
But that same report presented such a renovation as a desirable investment: “We should want to build on this structure, both for its strength of character and history as well as its location,” Luis H. Zayas, then the dean of the School of Social Work, wrote in 2015.
That location is also enticing to the UT football program, though. Last year, UT announced a grand bargain of sorts: The School of Social Work would move to a larger, more modern building on campus, allowing UT to knock down the 1930s schoolhouse and build a football practice facility that would be just a short walk from the football program’s headquarters. (The current practice fields are a 10minute walk or an even longer bus ride away.)
Rosen said UT will preserve the memory of the historic building through extensive walk-through photography and a documentary film.
“We are planning to salvage and store many of the valued artifacts, artwork and other mementos from the building, for example, the University High School emblem over the main entrance and ceiling light fixtures in the vestibule, theater and arcade,” Rosen added.
Still, you can build a new football practice site in any number of places.
You can’t replace a 91year-old building with a cherished history. In a city changing as quickly as Austin, the touchstones of our past should not be discarded as an impediment. They connect us to a community story that is larger than our personal experience.
In recommending landmark protections last week, Antiquities Advisory Board member Norman Alston highlighted the fact the schoolhouse was designed by renowned architect George Dahl.
“As a Dahl aficionado, and an alumnus of the University of Texas, the need for this nomination is clear to me,” Alston said, “and I very much appreciate members of the community coming forward and making a stand for preserving some of our really most important historic buildings.”
Sadly, UT doesn’t share that view of this building. But something important is finally happening: a conversation beyond the UT campus about whether this piece of Austin history is worth preserving.
Grumet is the Statesman’s via Twitter at @bgrumet. Find her previous work at statesman.com/opinion/ columns.
Metro columnist. Her column, ATX in Context, contains her opinions. Share yours via email at bgrumet@ statesman.com or
GRUMET
from page B1 to page B3
The building that recently housed the Steve Hicks School of Social Work was built during the Great Depression and opened in 1933 as University Junior High School. UT plans to raze it to create space for a football facility. BRIDGET GRUMET/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
ATX in Context Bridget Grumet Austin American-Statesman USA TODAY NETWORK
The historic University Junior High building on the UT campus is notable for its role in desegregating Austin schools starting in the late 1950s. MIKALA COMPTON/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Follow the link below to view the article.
Next UT football showdown is with Texas Historical Commission
Edwin Bautista knew it was a lastditch effort, a long shot to save the 91year-old historic building that the University of Texas wants to bulldoze so it can build a new football practice facility.
Then, last week, a preliminary win. The state Antiquities Advisory Board recommended approval of Bautista’s request for protected landmark status for the old University Junior High building, a1930s schoolhouse in the southeastern corner of the UT campus. The Spanish Revival building, notable for its role in desegregating Austin schools starting in the late 1950s, most recently housed the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (as well as the stunning stairwell mural by Raúl Valdez that I wrote about last year).
I should note: The advisory board’s 9-1 vote last Wednesday is just a recommendation.
The matter now goes to the Texas Historical Commission, which is expected to consider the application in July.
The application process delays the building demolition that had been slated for June. And if the Texas Historical Commission decides to grant State Antiquities Landmark status to the old schoolhouse, UT wouldn’t be able to get a demolition permit without undergoing a rigorous state review – which would complicate, or possibly derail, its plans to build the new football practice facility on that coveted turf.
Bautista said that’s the point: A building with this level of community importance, already listed in the National Register of Historic Places, shouldn’t be easy to tear down.
“For the university to disregard (the University Junior High building’s history) is just so disappointing, because they are turning their back on our history, and that is something that I’m not willing to accept,” said Bautista, who earned his bachelor’s in urban studies and his master’s in community and regional planning at UT.
“UT is all about changing the world and being leaders in sustainability,” Bautista added, arguing the aging schoolhouse should be restored, not razed. “Well, you know, here’s a chance for you to live up to what you say you’re about.”
In response to the advisory board’s vote, UT spokesman Mike Rosen told me last week: “We respect the process.
There are multiple steps, and we’ll let it play out.”
One option: UT could formally oppose the nomination, triggering an administrative hearing process, Antiquities Advisory Board Chair Jim Bruseth said at last week’s meeting.
“Things could get a lot more complex for the (Texas Historical) Commission down the road, and probably will, would be my guess,” Bruseth told his fellow board members.
Rosen has said that renovating the old University Junior High building would be “cost prohibitive.” He pointed to a March 2015 strategic master plan that put the price tag at $52 million.
But that same report presented such a renovation as a desirable investment: “We should want to build on this structure, both for its strength of character and history as well as its location,” Luis H. Zayas, then the dean of the School of Social Work, wrote in 2015.
That location is also enticing to the UT football program, though. Last year, UT announced a grand bargain of sorts: The School of Social Work would move to a larger, more modern building on campus, allowing UT to knock down the 1930s schoolhouse and build a football practice facility that would be just a short walk from the football program’s headquarters. (The current practice fields are a 10minute walk or an even longer bus ride away.)
Rosen said UT will preserve the memory of the historic building through extensive walk-through photography and a documentary film.
“We are planning to salvage and store many of the valued artifacts, artwork and other mementos from the building, for example, the University High School emblem over the main entrance and ceiling light fixtures in the vestibule, theater and arcade,” Rosen added.
Still, you can build a new football practice site in any number of places.
You can’t replace a 91year-old building with a cherished history. In a city changing as quickly as Austin, the touchstones of our past should not be discarded as an impediment. They connect us to a community story that is larger than our personal experience.
In recommending landmark protections last week, Antiquities Advisory Board member Norman Alston highlighted the fact the schoolhouse was designed by renowned architect George Dahl.
“As a Dahl aficionado, and an alumnus of the University of Texas, the need for this nomination is clear to me,” Alston said, “and I very much appreciate members of the community coming forward and making a stand for preserving some of our really most important historic buildings.”
Sadly, UT doesn’t share that view of this building. But something important is finally happening: a conversation beyond the UT campus about whether this piece of Austin history is worth preserving.
Grumet is the Statesman’s via Twitter at @bgrumet. Find her previous work at statesman.com/opinion/ columns.
Metro columnist. Her column, ATX in Context, contains her opinions. Share yours via email at bgrumet@ statesman.com or
GRUMET
from page B1 to page B3
The building that recently housed the Steve Hicks School of Social Work was built during the Great Depression and opened in 1933 as University Junior High School. UT plans to raze it to create space for a football facility. BRIDGET GRUMET/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
ATX in Context Bridget Grumet Austin American-Statesman USA TODAY NETWORK
The historic University Junior High building on the UT campus is notable for its role in desegregating Austin schools starting in the late 1950s. MIKALA COMPTON/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Follow the link below to view the article.
Next UT football showdown is with Texas Historical Commission
Next UT football showdown is with Texas Historical Commission
Edwin Bautista knew it was a lastditch effÂort, a long shot to save
statesman-tx.newsmemory.com
The Big Guy and Cesar Chavez ...
- By dzsmvk
- The Longhorn Corral
- 0 Replies
Sleepy got the Chavez Foundation backing today and told us he has a Bust of Chavez in the Oval. I wonder just how many Illegals and the Left know about Chavez's view on the Illegals, 'Wetbacks', as he called them?
Bet you didn't know that The Big Guy has a Bust of Dense with the caption 'You Ain't Black' in the Oval as-well!
In a related story, The Big Guy had his Justice Dept. arrest a mom for having his daughters Diary in her possession. The Diary is reported to have details on The Big Guy having taken showers with his daughter.
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Bet you didn't know that The Big Guy has a Bust of Dense with the caption 'You Ain't Black' in the Oval as-well!
In a related story, The Big Guy had his Justice Dept. arrest a mom for having his daughters Diary in her possession. The Diary is reported to have details on The Big Guy having taken showers with his daughter.
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Apple Store in New Jersey Files to Unionize in Renewed Push
- By bill james
- The Longhorn Corral
- 0 Replies
Lol
www.bloomberg.com
Apple Store in New Jersey Files to Unionize in Renewed Push
An Apple Inc. retail store in the upscale town of Short Hills, New Jersey, has petitioned to unionize, marking the first such effort after a yearlong lull.
www.bloomberg.com
Thought this was cool - eclipse related
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 3 Replies
I didn't see where this was already posted and I thought thought this was really cool... even though it's pretty quick. Video of the Shadow passing across the United States at 1500 mph.
https://www.livescience.com/space/t...america-at-1500-mph-in-epic-satellite-footage
https://www.livescience.com/space/t...america-at-1500-mph-in-epic-satellite-footage
Jonathan Simms Allen quarter miler out with injury
- By tnfnerd
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 2 Replies
Jonathan Simms Suffers Season Ending Injury
The reigning Texas UIL 6A 400m state champion will not defend his state title.
tx.milesplit.com
Another pro franchise to relocate? It could be the Arizona Coyotes this time
- By Yu Darvish
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 6 Replies
Relocation to Salt Lake City could be in the works soon according to the article. I’m sure they’d remain in the central division and hopefully remain wins for Dallas although a new owner could make a difference. The other team relocating is obviously the Oakland A’s of MLB, temporarily to Sacramento and then Vegas.
www.espn.com
Sources: NHL plan could move Coyotes to Utah
The NHL is preparing a contingency that could relocate the Coyotes to Utah as soon as next season, sources told ESPN.
2026 RB Javian Osborne talks recent Texas visit tour
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 0 Replies
Rivals.com - Rivals250 RB Javian Osborne talks recent Texas visit tour
Class of 2026 four-star running back Javian Osborne has proven to be one of the top prospects in the state of Texas.
n.rivals.com