Walsh, James M. & Leana B., House
3701 Bonnie Rd., Austin, TXThe Walsh House is an excellent local example of the Mission Revival Style as applied to a single-family residence, a relative rarity in Austin where other early twentieth century revivals were vastly more popular. Key character defining features include a curved, sculpted parapet which incorporates a blind quatrefoil window-like ornament; red tile roofs; a dominant porch with a corbel arch entry; wall ornament reminiscent of a blind arcade; multi-light windows; and thick masonry walls. Unlike most other Mission Revival residences in the Southwest, however, the Walsh House’s exterior masonry walls are not covered in stucco. Instead, they are left bare, revealing a distinctive, vernacular method of construction which utilized an assortment of limestone materials ranging from precisely-cut large stones to small rubble or chips embedded into the mortar joints. The limestone building material lends additional significance to the property, as it was sourced from a quarry located a short distance from the house--likely the same quarry owned and operated by the Walsh family at the turn of the century. The house was constructed in 1926 in Walsh Place, a newly platted neighborhood which subdivided the original 100 acres that once supported the Walsh family’s successful lime business.
The Walsh House was designated a City of Austin Landmark in 2001. As an excellent local example of the Mission Revival Style distinctively constructed of materials that reflect the history of the house’s original occupant and immediate geographic location, the Walsh House is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the area of Architecture, at the local level of significance. The period of significance is 1926, the date of original construction.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
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.