Brown Building

Duane's take

The marker at the Brown Building in downtown Austin is what I'm going on about here, and every word of it comes straight from the official Texas Historical Commission inscription. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. Architects C.H.

Page and Son designed the Brown Building in 1938, commissioned by a legendary businessman by the name of Herman Brown. The site they chose was no back-alley lot, either. Southwest corner of Colorado and Eighth Streets, right in the heart of downtown Austin, where everybody would see it.

And brother, they made sure there was something worth seeing. The tower rose eight stories of concrete reinforced with structural steel, done up in the style called Art Moderne. Flush piers, recessed metal spandrels, casement windows arranged in clean vertical lines, and a stylized granite entry that announced itself without apology.

If a building could straighten its tie and clear its throat, this was that building. Now here is where the story gets interesting, because the Brown Building didn't just arrive and sit still. In 1949, it grew a ninth story.

In 1952, it grew a tenth. And both additions matched the scale and materials of the original composition so well that the whole thing read as one unified statement. The marker notes the building has survived virtually unchanged since that period of significance and retains a high degree of its historic integrity.

That's preservation-speak for: this building kept its word. Step inside and it only gets better. Pink-tinged marble panels grace the ceiling and the walls.

The floor beneath your feet is terrazzo in pink, green, and yellow. And sweeping from the center of the ceiling all the way down to the top of each elevator, there are elaborate geometric panels of aluminum and glass that catch the light and hold it. The Art Moderne gospel, preached all the way to the baseboards.

Now, a building like this doesn't stay empty. Throughout the twentieth century, it housed some significant company. Brown and Root, the construction firm, set up shop here.

Lyndon Baines Johnson, then a U.S. congressman and future president of these United States, kept offices in this building. The Texas Broadcasting Corporation operated from here for many years, and on its roster were two names that Texas did not soon forget: humorist Cactus Pryor, and a man named John Connally, who would go on to become governor. In 1994, the Brown Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

And in the early two-thousands, it was converted to include high-end lofts, meaning people now wake up every morning inside a piece of Art Moderne history at the corner of Colorado and Eighth. Herman Brown wanted a prominent site. Turns out, prominent was just the beginning.

What the marker says

BROWN BUILDING In 1938, architects C.H. Page and Son designed the Brown Building for legendary businessman Herman Brown on a prominent site at the southwest corner of Colorado and eighth streets in downtown Austin. Built of concrete reinforced with structural steel, the eight-story office tower exemplified the tenets of Art Moderne design. Its flush piers, recessed metal spandrels, vertically arranged casement windows and stylized granite entry provide the hallmarks of the style. Additions of a ninth story in 1949 and a tenth story in 1952 matched the scale and materials of the original composition. Surviving virtually unchanged since this period of significance, the building retains a high degree of its historic integrity. The building's interior also reflects the Art Moderne design with panels of pink tinged marble gracing the ceiling and walls, contrasting with a pink, green and yellow terrazzo floor. Elaborate geometric aluminum and glass lighting panels sweep from the center of the ceiling to the top of each elevator. The building housed many significant companies throughout the 20th century, including construction firm Brown & Root, offices for U.S. congressman and future president Lyndon Baines Johnson, and the Texas Broadcasting Corporation, which operated from the building for many years with humorist Cactus Pryor and future governor John Connally. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. In the early 2000s, the building was converted to include high-end lofts. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK - 2013