DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, if you want to talk about a family that planted roots and watched them grow into something considerable, you pull up right here and listen close. Henry Hirshfeld came over from Germany, born in 1834, and by the time Austin knew his name he was a prominent merchant and a recognized leader in the city's Jewish community.
A man who had built something worth building. And in 1873, he and his wife Jennie — Jennie Melasky before she was a Hirshfeld — they built themselves a one-story limestone cottage on the lot just west of where you're standing right now. Modest.
Solid. A beginning. But here's where the story gets interesting.
Financial success has a way of changing the arithmetic of what a family needs under one roof. And the Hirshfelds — well, they had eight children. Eight.
So the limestone cottage, fine as it was, was starting to feel a little cozy. Plans were drawn up for something bigger. Something right here on this site.
Construction on the new house began in 1885. A two-story brick and cut stone house, designed and built by architect John Andrewartha. The family moved in a year after completion.
Now, John Andrewartha knew what he was doing. The house carries characteristics of Victorian and Eastlake styling, and it does not apologize for a single inch of it. Double gallery out front.
A bay. Stained glass catching the Texas light. Ornate woodwork.
Intricate limestone detailing worked into the exterior like somebody had something to prove. And soon after the main house was finished, up went a two-story stick style carriage house to complete the picture. All eight of those Hirshfeld children grew up inside those walls.
Two of the sons, Jake and Sam, followed their father into commerce and opened separate clothing stores of their own. Jake and his brother Morris went further still — both served as directors of the Austin National Bank, an institution their father Henry had helped establish back in 1890. Three generations of that same merchant instinct, running like a current through the family.
Henry Hirshfeld died in 1911. But the family never left. They stayed in that house, decade after decade, long past the world that built it.
Family members continued to reside here all the way until 1973, when the Hirshfelds' daughter, Leila Hirshfeld Bernheim, passed away. One family. One house.
A limestone cottage that became a Victorian landmark, and a story that lasted a full century on the same piece of Austin ground.
What the marker says
Henry Hirshfeld (1834-1911), a native of Germany, was a prominent Austin merchant and a leader in the city's Jewish community. In 1873 he and hid wife Jennie (Melasky) built a one-story limestone cottage on the lot west of this site. Because of the financial success and a growing family, they later made plans for a larger home here. Construction of this two-story brick and cut stone house began in 1885 and the family moved in a year after completion. Designed and built by architect John Andrewartha, it features characteristics of Victorian and Eastlake styling. Exterior ornamentation includes a double gallery, a bay, strained glass, ornate woodwork, and intricate limestone detailing. The two-story stick style carriage house was built soon after completion of the main residence. The Hirshfelds had eight children. Two of their son's Jake and Sam, also became merchants and opened separate clothing stores. Jake and his brother Morris served as directors of the Austin National Bank, an institution their father helped establish in 1890. Family members continued to reside here until the death of the Hirshfelds' daughter Leila Hirshfeld Bernheim in 1973. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962