{"nrhp_refnum":"04001416","name":"Cranfill, Thomas, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1901 Cliff St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.287068421000072,"lon":-97.75199416399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-12-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story wood-frame Ranch Style house at 1901 Cliff Street in Austin, Texas, designed in 1952 and built in 1955 for University of Texas English professor and art collector Thomas Cranfill. Harwell Hamilton Harris designed it.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an outstanding example of mid-century Modern design by a master architect, Harwell Hamilton Harris. It is one of the few projects he completed in Austin while he was the first Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas. Its design echoes his early California wooden houses but uses local cypress. It is nominated at the local level under Criterion C.","narrative":"Perched at the end of Cliff Street on a steep bank above the Shoal Creek basin, this 1955 house was built for University of Texas English professor and art collector Thomas Cranfill. Architect Harwell Hamilton Harris designed it in 1952 while serving as the first director of the university's School of Architecture. Two single-story pavilions, a house and a garage, form an L-plan around a courtyard, with cypress board-and-batten walls, a shallow hip roof with deep overhangs, and a north-facing clerestory. The plan follows a three-foot grid, with custom cypress cabinetry, a limestone wall separating the living room from a former art gallery, and French doors linking indoor and outdoor spaces. The design resembles Harris's early California wooden houses but uses local cypress instead of redwood. Its listing rests on its standing as an outstanding example of mid-century Modern design by a master architect and as one of his few Austin works. Construction was supervised by architect Eugene George, and the house remains a single-family home.","period_of_significance":"1955","architect_builder":"Harwell Hamilton Harris, Architect/J. M. Odom, General Contractor","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Ranch Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a single-family dwelling; the original wood shingle roof has been replaced with asphalt shingles.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.667338-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/9736/40973669/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/04001416.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"03000937","name":"Old West Austin Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/old-west-austin-historic-district-03000937/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973669","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107317448"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/cranfill-thomas-house-04001416/"}