National Register Listing

Cranfill Apartments

a.k.a. Cranfill-Beacham Apartments; Cliff Street Condominiums Building B

1909 Cliff St., Building B, Austin, TX

The Cranfill apartment building is a two-story building composed of concrete masonry units (CMU) and board-and-batten redwood siding. Design work began in 1958 and the building was completed in 1960. Designed on a 4x8 grid with minor adjustments during construction, the apartment building is comprised of three residential units in a linear arrangement. Two single-story arms extend west from the apartment building and create a “U” shape, surrounding a central courtyard with a large oak tree. The primary facade, including the apartment entrances, faces west into the courtyard. The three apartment units are identical in layout with the exception of an additional wing in Unit 3. The building has seen little change since its construction beyond interior finishes and a condominium conversion, which involved the separation of once-shared utilities and new HVAC equipment. The apartments were designed by Harwell Hamilton Harris for Thomas Cranfill, an English professor at The University of Texas at Austin. Cranfill commissioned the building as a residence for his partner Hans Beacham, a professional photographer. Beacham occupied Unit 3 until his death in 2004, after which the apartment units were sold individually as condominiums by the Cranfill family.

Local significance of the building:
Architecture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

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.