{"nrhp_refnum":"08000319","name":"Santa Rita Courts","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by E. 2nd, Pedernales, Santa Rita & Corta Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.25801345900004,"lon":-97.71688407949698,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-04-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Politics/Government","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A public housing district of 11 one-story residential buildings and one storage building on 3.2 acres in east Austin, Travis County, Texas, built between November 1938 and June 1939 for the Austin Housing Authority.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the first public housing development completed under the 1937 U.S. Housing Act and is nationally significant under Criteria A and B. It is also tied to Lyndon Baines Johnson, whose advocacy for the project is presented as an early example of his support for civil rights and social justice. It was built for families of Mexican descent during the era of segregated public housing.","narrative":"Santa Rita Courts is a public housing complex in east Austin, Texas, made up of 11 one-story residential buildings and a storage building on about 3.2 acres. Built between November 1938 and June 1939, it was designed by Giesecke & Harris under the supervision of H.F. Kuehne. The buildings follow International Style principles, with parallel rows laid out for light and a central children's play area based on German Zeilenbau planning. It was built for families of Mexican descent, as one of three segregated East Austin projects. The nomination identifies it as the first public housing project completed under the 1937 Housing Act. It also stresses the role of Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson, who pushed for Austin to be first and who posed with the first family to move in. The project cost far less per unit than the national average. The buildings keep their original site plan, and the complex still serves as public housing today. A later 1954 annex lies outside the listed area.","period_of_significance":"1938-1957","architect_builder":"H.F. Kuehne (supervising architect), Giesecke & Harris, Page & Southerland, Kreisle & Brooks","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: International Style","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Still functions as public housing; a 2002 renovation was described as historically sensitive and mostly interior. Original flat roofs now have low-gabled shingle roofs and the windows were replaced.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.576464-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/47/9738/40973847/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/08000319.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000319/3223ba5281-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000319/3223ba5281-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Santa_rita_courts_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:Santa_rita_courts_2011.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973847","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999873"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/santa-rita-courts-08000319/"}