Austin, Travis County
Herman Becker (1857-1933) operated a successful downtown café, and he bought part of the historic Bouldin homestead in south Austin in 1891. His son H.E. Becker and son-in-law P.A. Wilde, proprietors of the Becker Lumber Company, donated three acres of Bouldin land to the Austin Independent School District in 1935 for a new school site. The firm of Giesecke and Harris designed the building, which opened in October 1936. A new wing added three years later more than doubled the school's size. The Art Deco style sections feature brick cladding with limestone columns, pilasters, belt courses and decorative insets, with contrasting materials emphasizing simple geometric forms. The campus includes several later additions. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2007