Badu House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The year was 1891, and the city of Llano was riding high. Iron production was booming, and somebody decided this boomtown needed a proper bank.

So up went the First National Bank of Llano, a building worthy of the moment. The Austin firm of Larramour and Watson drew up the plans, and what they delivered was no ordinary storefront. Renaissance revival detailing, the kind of thing that makes you slow down and look twice.

And then there's the detail that really stops you cold: a distinctive band of native granite laid out in a checkerboard pattern. Right there in the wall. Llano stone, dressed up and showing off.

Now, the bank did what banks do for a while. But by 1898, the building changed hands, and this is where the story gets interesting. The man who bought it was a French native by the name of N.

J. Badu, known around town as Professor Badu, a noted local mineralogist. A man who studied rocks for a living took one look at that checkerboard granite and thought, yes, this is exactly where I want to live.

And so the First National Bank of Llano became the Badu House, a residence. The Professor moved in, and his descendants after him, living there for many years. A bank that became a home.

A mineralogist who recognized fine stone when he saw it, and made it his own. Some buildings just find the right people, and the right people find them right back.

What the marker says

Built in 1891 during the city's iron production boom days, this structure originally housed the First National Bank of Llano. In 1898 it was purchased by French native N. J. "Professor" Badu, a noted local mineralogist, for use as a residence. Designed by the Austin firm of Larramour and Watson, it features renaissance revival detailing and a distinctive band of native granite in a checkerboard pattern. Badu's descendants lived here for many years. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981