National Register Listing

McGown, Floyd, House

a.k.a. Site #1

1202 Garden St., Austin, TX

The McGown House, a visually imposing building appropriately sited on a large lot in the Canterbury Square Subdivision, is one of the earliest and most architect-turally impressive residences in the subdivision area. While sources are conflicting about the construction date, the deed records, assessors's abstracts, and city direc-tories strongly suggest that the building was erected in 1888, one year after Floyd McGown purchased from his brother, prominent Austin physician W.C. McGown, the three lots on which it was originally located. Floyd McGown, partner in the Congress Avenue law firm of West & McGown, resided in his Victorian house until about 1900 when he moved to San Antonio. Subsequently, the house was owned by seven different individuals between 1901 and 1914, including newspaper publisher Henry Steussy and contractor R. C. Lambie. After 1914, ownership of the building remained with one family for more than 50 years, a fact which may account for the relatively intact condition on the building.

Local significance of the building:
Architecture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

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.