Holly Street home gets a bit more time

Despite some gaps in the public record, the Historic Landmark Commission took its first step toward making the home at 1907 Holly St. a historic landmark at its most recent meeting. The home, which the Historic Preservation Office believes was built in 1913, is currently slated for demolition, though those hoping to demolish the house were not present at the commission’s May 22 meeting, when that demolition was under consideration. Instead of allowing the demolition to move forward, commissioners voted unanimously to initiate historic zoning on the property. That move will allow city staff and interested parties to further research the building. Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky noted that they believed the home was built in the early 1910s, though that isn’t backed up by “sometimes wrong” historic Sanborn Maps of the lot. Additionally, in some documentation that Sadowsky noted could also be wrong (or misleading), there was a 1971 city permit to move a house to the lot. “One way or another, this house was identified in our 2016 survey of East Austin,” he said. “They recommend that it is eligible as a local landmark and individually eligible for the National Register (of) Historic Places.” Next-door neighbor John Schultz explained that there was another home on the property that had been demolished, which could account for the 1971 data.