{"nrhp_refnum":"01000432","name":"Austin US Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"200 West Eighth St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.27051264000005,"lon":-97.74366880399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-04-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story limestone and granite federal courthouse at 200 West Eighth Street in downtown Austin, Travis County, Texas, completed in 1936 in the Moderne style.","why_significant":"The nomination finds it significant under Criterion A for its link to 1930s federal construction programs that relieved Depression-era unemployment and symbolized federal presence in Austin. Under Criterion C, it is an excellent example of mid-1930s federal Moderne architecture designed under the Treasury Department's Supervising Architect. It also housed Lyndon B. Johnson's congressional offices in the 1940s.","narrative":"Completed in 1936 at 200 West Eighth Street, the Austin U.S. Courthouse is a four-story steel and concrete building clad in cream-colored limestone above a Texas gray granite base. Its Moderne design shows in fluted pilasters, vertical window bays, cast-iron spandrels with stylized eagles, and a carved limestone eagle above the south entrance. Inside, the lobby, main stair, corridors and ceremonial courtroom keep marble, terrazzo, white bronze and Art Deco details. Charles H. Page and Kenneth Franzheim designed it under Treasury Supervising Architect Louis Simon, and Algernon Blair of Montgomery, Alabama, built it. Funded with a $415,000 appropriation during the Depression, the project provided jobs and signaled the federal government's lasting presence in the state capital. It replaced an earlier 1881 federal building. Lyndon B. Johnson kept congressional offices here through the 1940s and into his vice presidency. The building still houses federal courts and agencies, and alterations have mostly affected office interiors.","period_of_significance":"1936-1950","architect_builder":"Louis A. Simon (Supervising Architect, U.S. Treasury Department); C.H. Page Sr., Austin; Kenneth Franzheim, New York; builder Algernon Blair of Montgomery, Alabama","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Moderne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a courthouse and government offices; exterior largely intact, with the main interior spaces retaining original finishes and office areas heavily renovated.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.699528-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/37/9738/40973837/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/01000432.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000432/959f56c147-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000432/959f56c147-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_us_courthouse_2011.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_us_courthouse_2011.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973837","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Courthouse_(Austin,_Texas,_1936)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26339163"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/austin-us-courthouse-01000432/"}