DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Austin High School John T. Allan Campus, right here in Travis County. Now settle in, because this one's got red brick, a domed rotunda, and not one but two fires before it's done.
The public high school in Austin was founded in 1881, but for a while, the students made do with classrooms in a temporary home — the former temporary State Capitol building, up at 11th and Congress. That arrangement came to an abrupt end when those classrooms were destroyed by fire. And so, with some urgency behind it, construction was hastened on a proper building right here at this site.
When it was completed in 1900, drawn up from the plans of Bert McDonald and James Reily, folks took one look at that ornate red brick structure with its domed rotunda and started callin' it Old Red. Now, a school like that doesn't stand still. As Austin High grew, additions went up around the original structure.
Under the steady hand of principal James E. Pearce — who held that post from 1895 all the way to 1918 — and alongside superintendent A. N.
McCallum, who guided things from 1903 to 1942, Austin High School built itself a quality academic program worth braggin' about. And they weren't just runnin' a standard operation either. The school put together the John T.
Allan manual training center, and they stood up one of the earliest domestic arts departments — what we'd call home economics today — in the entire nation. Not just Texas. The nation.
But time has a way of outgrowing even the finest red brick walls. By 1925, Old Red and the buildings around it simply could not hold Austin High School anymore. So plans were drawn to move the school to the larger junior high campus over at 12th and Rio Grande.
And here's where it gets just a little poetic — the switch was made during the Thanksgiving holidays of that year. Can you picture it? Students walked out before the holiday and came back to a whole new school.
Old Red didn't sit empty, though. It became John T. Allan Junior High School, and classes were held on that site for another three decades.
Right up until 1956. That's when fire came callin' a second time — and the complex was destroyed. Two fires bookending one story.
The marker stands now as just about all that's left to tell it.
What the marker says
An ornate, red brick building at this site served as the first structure in town built for the public high school, founded in 1881. Construction of the facility was hastened when the classrooms in the former temporary State Capitol at 11th and Congress were destroyed by fire. Completed in 1900 from the plans of Bert McDonald and James Reily, “Old Red” featured a domed rotunda. As the school grew, additions were made to the original structure. Under the supervision of principal James E. Pearce, 1895-1918, an superintendent A. N. McCallum 1903-1942, Austin high school developed a quality academic program. Innovations included the John T. Allan manual training center and one of the earliest domestic arts (home economics) departments in the nation. The buildings here could no longer accommodate the growing Austin high school by 1925 and plans were made to utilize the larger junior high campus at the corner of 12th and Rio Grande. The switch was made during the Thanksgiving holidays of that year and “Old Red” became John T Allen Junior high school. Classes were held at the site until 1956, when the complex was destroyed by fire. (1981)