DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about O. Henry Hall, straight from the Texas Historical Commission's own account. Now, before we get to the writer whose name this building carries, let me tell you what kind of place we're standing in front of — because this building earned its reputation long before anybody hung a famous name on it.
Somewhere between 1877 and 1881, this structure rose up in Austin as a federal courthouse and post office. And it wasn't put together cheap or quick. The price tag came to two hundred thousand dollars — serious money in that era — and the man who built it was Abner Cook, one of the famed early Texas builders of his day.
The supervising architect was James G. Hill, out of the U.S. Treasury Department, and Hill apparently had his eyes set on something grander than the usual government construction.
Architecturally, this building draws its inspiration from the design of Italian High Renaissance palaces that were popular in the late 1870s. Exact symmetry. Pure lines.
Compared to how federal courthouses were typically built in that period, this one stands unique — not just in Texas, but in the whole nation. That's not local pride talking; that's the architectural record. Now, this was the sixth United States post office location in Austin, and that lineage traces all the way back to 1840, when the very first post office opened its doors in this city.
Six locations across more than four decades — Austin was growing, and its mail had to keep up. The building served as courthouse and post office until a new post office went up at 210 West Sixth Street, constructed between 1912 and 1914. After that, the old building kept right on working — as a courthouse first, then for miscellaneous federal agencies, all the way until 1968.
That's the better part of a century in continuous federal service. Then the federal government handed it over to the University of Texas System. The university restored it in 1971, and that's when they gave it the name you see today: O.
Henry Hall. O. Henry.
That was the pseudonym of William Sidney Porter — a noted American short story writer. And here's the thing that makes this building's name more than ceremonial: Porter's trial was held right here, in this federal courthouse. Whatever stories he went on to write, whatever name he made for himself on the page, this building had a chapter in his life first.
So when you look up at those pure lines and that exact symmetry — architecture unique in Texas and the nation, inspired by Italian High Renaissance palaces, built by Abner Cook for two hundred thousand dollars and opened for business somewhere between 1877 and 1881 — you're looking at a place that held federal law, delivered the mail, outlasted its original purpose by decades, and quietly witnessed a moment in the life of one of America's most storied writers. Not bad for a building that was supposed to just be a courthouse.
What the marker says
Built during the period 1877-1881 as a federal courthouse and post office, this was the sixth United States post office location in Austin, dating from the establishment of the first post office in 1840. The building was constructed by Abner Cook, famed early Texas builder, at a cost of $200,000. James G. Hill of the U. S. Treasury Department was the supervising architect. Following construction of the new post office at 210 West Sixth Street in 1912-1914, the building continued to be used as a courthouse and later for miscellaneous federal agencies until 1968. Given to the University of Texas System by the federal government, the building was restored by the university in 1971 and named O. Henry Hall after William Sidney Porter, a noted American short story writer whose psuedonym was O. Henry and whose trial was held here in the federal courthouse. Architecturally, the building is considered to be of national significance because of its exact symmetry and pure lines apparently inspired by the design of Italian High Renaissance palaces popular in the late 1870's. Compared to typical architectural design of federal courthouses in this period, this building is unique both in Texas and the nation. [Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974]