Southgate-Lewis House
a.k.a. Site #23
1501 E. 12th St., Austin, TX1501 East 12th Street is an excellent example of a richly textured late Victorian house. Few residences of its period, style and complexity remain in East Austin where simple, vernacular buildings were the rule and high-style structures, such as the Southgate-Lewis House, were the exception. The House is also significant because it was constructed by R. C. Lambie, a well-known real estate developer and contractor associated with the construction of a number of landmark public buildings in Central Texas; and because it was occupied by several important Austin residents. John Southgate, the first owner, was a printer and bookbinder who eventually associated with publisher Eugene Von Boeckmann. In 1913, the house, like many others in the Robertson Hill area, was acquired by Blacks. An historically accurate series of children's books relating to Black history in East Austin and authored by local resident Ada De Blanc Simond, uses the Southgate-Lewis House and the Lewis family for their inspiration.
Local significance of the building: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.