Tucker Apartment House
a.k.a. Tucker-Winfield Apartment House
1105 Nueces St., Austin, TXThe Tucker Apartment House is a rare, exceptionally intact example of the once common four-unit apartment house type that defined modern multi-family housing in downtown Austin from the 1920s through the 1930s.
Built in 1939,the Tucker Apartment House is a rare, exceptionally intact example of the once common four-unit apartment house type that defined modern multi-family housing in downtown Austin from the 1920s through the 1930s. Offering a level of autonomy, affordability, contemporary design, the efficient four-unit apartment “house” appealed to a rising salaried class of young urbanites who flocked to the Texas capital during that period for white-collar jobs as civil servants, legal assistants, sales representatives,and office workers. Scores of apartment houses of this type designed in various Period Revival styles rose in the downtown business district to meet the demand, among them the Tucker Apartment House. The Tucker Apartment House was immediately successful, especially with single career women many of whom worked within easy walking distance to the new Travis County Courthouse or the Texas State Capitol complex. Though the property continued to attract this type of resident into the 1950s, the postwar era marked the end of the downtown four-unit apartment house as a dominant downtown housing option. Land values in the central business district sky-rocketed in the latter half of the 20thcentury and many of the older buildings were replaced by high-rise offices and hotels and multi-level parking garages, especially around the growing State Capitol complex. As a result of extensive redevelopment in the area, the Tucker Apartment House is one of the few remaining four-unit apartment houses in Austin’s downtown core. The building is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the area of Architecture as a rare, exceptionally intact example of a locally significant building type that helped define downtown Austin’s built environment in the early 20th century. The building retains its Period Revival design elements and architectural integrity and is an outstanding reflection of the four-unit apartment house type that dominated multi-family development in that period. The building is also nominated under Criterion A in the area of Community Planning and Development for its association with the rise and growth of Austin as the center of state government and higher education. Its style, form, and amenities convey a tangible response to the changing demands of the urban workforce that needed modern, efficient housing options to fit their lifestyle. The period of significance spans between 1939 and 1967 to adhere to the 50 year cut off.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
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.