Littlefield Building

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Littlefield Building in Austin. Now, some buildings just hold offices. And some buildings make a statement.

This one made a statement. George Washington Littlefield was born in 1842, came to Texas from Mississippi in 1850, and by the time this story really gets going, he had already done enough living for three men. He rode with Terry's Texas Rangers in the Civil War.

After that, he made his fortune ranching and driving cattle. The kind of fortune that, when a man moves to Austin in 1883, the city notices. And when he establishes a bank in 1890, the whole territory pays attention.

That bank was the American National Bank, and it came with something that raised more than a few eyebrows in its day: a ladies' banking department. Right there from the start. Now when it came time to put up a building worthy of all that, Littlefield hired architect C.

H. Page, Jr., and told him to do it right. The result was a Beaux Arts Classical building.

The kind of architecture that doesn't whisper. It arrived in 1912, complete with a rooftop garden, and Littlefield's own bank occupied the ground floor. But here is the detail that stops people cold.

For the corner entrance, Littlefield commissioned Tiffany's of New York to cast bronze bas relief doors, sculpted by Daniel Webster. Bronze doors. From Tiffany's.

On a bank in Austin, Texas. Those doors were later donated to the University of Texas, an institution that counted Littlefield as a major benefactor. George Washington Littlefield died in 1920, but he left behind a building that still has something to say.

Some men sign their names. Littlefield cast his in bronze.

What the marker says

Littlefield Building George Washington Littlefield (1842-1920) came to Texas from Mississippi in 1850. After serving in Terry's Texas Rangers in the Civil War, he made his fortune ranching and driving cattle. He moved to Austin in 1883 and, in 1890, established the American National Bank, which included a ladies' banking department. He hired architect C. H. Page, Jr., to design this Beaux Arts Classical building, which opened in 1912 with a rooftop garden. His bank was on the ground floor. For the corner entrance, he commissioned Tiffany's of New York to cast bronze, Bas Relief doors by sculptor Daniel Webster. These were later donated to the University of Texas, of which Littlefield was a major benefactor. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002