National Register Listing

Briones, Genaro P. and Carolina, House

a.k.a. Casa de Suenos

1204 E. 7th St., Austin, TX

The Genaro and Carolina Briones House (1947) is named after its designer and builder, Genaro P. Briones, whose family has occupied one of the duplex units since the early 1950s. Known locally as Casa de Sueiios ("House of Dreams"), the house features one of Austin's finest examples of sculpted and tinted stucco decoration, a style introduced from Mexico in the 1920s. Genaro Briones began construction in 1947, and, working only nights and weekends, finished the main house in 1953. Briones worked continually on house additions until the late 1970s. The Briones House is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C, in the areas of Art and Architecture, at the local level of significance, as an excellent example of modern Texas folk architecture, and as a unique and monumental work of art.

Bibliography
Arkansas SHPO Staff. Arkansas Sculpmres of Dionicio Rodriguez, National Register of Historic Places nomination, (Litde Rock, 1986).

Beardsley, John. Gardens of Revelation. New York: Abbeville Press, 1995.

Briones, Carolina, interview, in Austin, TX, 4 August 1997.
Local significance of the building:
Architecture; Art

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.