Darnall House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for the Darnall House, straight from the Texas Historical Commission's own inscription. Now settle in, because this is a story about a house that was ahead of its time before Austin even knew what time it was. The year is 1940.

Two native Austin architects, Arthur Fehr, born in 1904, and Charles Granger Jr., born in 1913, sit down to design a home for their friends. Not a client. Their friends.

Dr. Charles Milton Darnall and his wife Gertrude, who everyone called Queenie. That detail alone tells you something about the kind of people in this circle.

Now, Dr. Darnall had come back to Austin in 1934, returning from Rochester, Minnesota to open his medical practice. That same year, he and Queenie welcomed the birth of their daughter.

He would go on to serve in the Army Medical Corps during World War II, and he served local and statewide communities of medicine. The man was not sitting still. But before all of that, there was the matter of this house.

What Fehr and Granger drew up was one of the earliest international style homes built in Texas. In the Old West Austin Historic District, there are only four international style homes to speak of, and the Darnall House is one of just two that follow an asymmetrical floor plan. That asymmetry is not an accident.

That is intention. Now, the international style tends toward the sleek and the spare, but these two Austin architects weren't about to ignore where they were standing. They wrapped the exterior in a heavily pitched Cordova cream limestone veneer, pulled from Texas quarries.

A local adaptation, right there in the bones of the building. Metal-sash casement windows are grouped in ribbon patterns across the facade, pulling your eye sideways, emphasizing the horizontal, which is exactly the point. Inside, the home included materials that were rare for the time: concrete piers and beams, mahogany veneer plywood, fluorescent lights, and steel railings.

Fehr and Granger designed the house to maximize the breezes coming off Shoal Creek and the natural surroundings, because the rear portion of the lot slopes steeply down to the Shoal Creek basin. Step out onto the second-floor terrace on the rear, the southeast elevation, and you get a panoramic view of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt and the University of Texas Tower, which had been completed in 1937. As for the interior, it keeps faith with the international style: little to no decorative detailing, no ornamentation to speak of, save for the original built-in casework.

Many of the original fixtures have been restored. The house hasn't forgotten what it was. Charles Milton Darnall was born in 1906 and died in 1984.

Queenie, born in 1911, lived until 2010. Arthur Fehr, born in 1904, died in 1969. Charles Granger Jr., born in 1913, died in 1966.

They are all gone now, but the house they shared between them, the friendship that built it, the limestone and the casement windows and the view of that tower, all of it is still standing in the Old West Austin Historic District. Ahead of its time, and right at home.

What the marker says

Designed in 1940 by native Austin architects Arthur Fehr (1904-1969) and Charles Granger Jr. (1913-1966), the Darnall House was one of the earliest international style homes built in Texas. Fehr and Granger designed the home for their friends, Dr. Charles Milton (1906-1984) and Gertrude "Queenie" (1911-2010) Darnall. Dr. Darnall moved back to Austin in 1934 from Rochester, Minnesota to open his medical practice. The couple also welcomed the birth of their daughter that year. Dr. Darnall later worked in the Army Medical Corps during World War II. He served local and statewide communities of medicine. The home is located in the Old West Austin Historic District. There are only four international style homes present in the district, and the Darnall House is only one of two that follow an asymmetrical floor plan. A heavily pitched Cordova cream limestone veneer from Texas quarries is a unique local adaptation to the international architectural style. Metal-sash casement windows are typically grouped in ribbon patterns that accentuate the horizontal emphasis of the design. The home also included rare materials for the time: concrete piers and beams, mahogany veneer plywood, fluorescent lights and steel railings. The rear or southeast elevation contains a second-floor terrace that provides a panoramic view of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt and the University of Texas Tower, completed in 1937. The rear portion of the lot slopes steeply to the shoal creek basin. Fehr and Granger designed the home to maximize the creek's breezes and natural surroundings. Inside, many of the original fixtures have been restored to the home. In keeping with international style, the home features little to no decorative detailing and ornamentation, other than the presence of original built-in casework. The design is a distinctive residence in the Old West Austin Historic District. (RTHL - 2022)