Austin, Travis County
BROWN BUILDING In 1938, architects C.H. Page and Son designed the Brown Building for legendary businessman Herman Brown on a prominent site at the southwest corner of Colorado and eighth streets in downtown Austin. Built of concrete reinforced with structural steel, the eight-story office tower exemplified the tenets of Art Moderne design. Its flush piers, recessed metal spandrels, vertically arranged casement windows and stylized granite entry provide the hallmarks of the style. Additions of a ninth story in 1949 and a tenth story in 1952 matched the scale and materials of the original composition. Surviving virtually unchanged since this period of significance, the building retains a high degree of its historic integrity. The building’s interior also reflects the Art Moderne design with panels of pink tinged marble gracing the ceiling and walls, contrasting with a pink, green and yellow terrazzo floor. Elaborate geometric aluminum and glass lighting panels sweep from the center of the ceiling to the top of each elevator. The building housed many significant companies throughout the 20th century, including construction firm Brown & Root, offices for U.S. congressman and future president Lyndon Baines Johnson, and the Texas Broadcasting Corporation, which operated from the building for many years with humorist Cactus Pryor and future governor John Connally. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. In the early 2000s, the building was converted to include high-end lofts. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2013