{"nrhp_refnum":"10001224","name":"Norwood Building","other_names":["Norwood Tower"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"114 W. 7th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.273351475000027,"lon":-97.74519204499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-02-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A sixteen-story Gothic Revival skyscraper at 114 West Seventh Street in downtown Austin, Texas, completed in 1929 to designs by Giesecke & Harris for developer O. O. Norwood.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is the only Gothic Revival or Commercial Gothic tall building in Austin and an example of the work of the architectural firm Giesecke & Harris. It retains its cast stone Gothic ornamentation and massing, including motifs referring to law and medicine. It is nominated at the local level under Criterion C for Architecture.","narrative":"Rising sixteen stories half a block west of Congress Avenue, the Norwood Building was completed in 1929 and was once the tallest commercial building in downtown Austin. Developer O. O. Norwood commissioned the Texas firm of Giesecke & Harris, with Frank Barron as general contractor. The steel frame is clad in white cast stone panels resembling native limestone, decorated with quatrefoils, pointed arches, finials, gargoyles and a clock face designed like a rose window. A band of reliefs near the thirteenth floor shows scales of justice and caducei, reflecting the lawyers and physicians who were early tenants. The building is Austin's only Gothic Revival skyscraper. Its original wood windows and ground-level awning have been lost, but the ornament and stepped massing remain. A renovation in 1982-83 restored the lobby and recreated its coffered ceiling with gold leaf. The adjoining Motoramp Garage, heavily altered, was excluded from the listing. The building was listed for its architecture at the local level.","period_of_significance":"1929","architect_builder":"Bertram Giesecke and August Watkins \"Watt\" Harris, Architects; Frank Barron, General Contractor","architectural_style":"Late 19th and early 20th-century American Movements: Skyscraper; Late 19th and early 20th-century Revivals: Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as an office building, with a private residence in the penthouse and a bank on the ground floor. Restored in 1982-83, when the lobby ceiling was recreated.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.820797-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/81/9736/40973681/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/10001224.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001224/7f078a8ea6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001224/7f078a8ea6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LoneStarMike","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NorwoodTower-2010-08-b.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">LoneStarMike</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NorwoodTower-2010-08-b.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973681","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwood_Tower","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q46996839"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/norwood-building-10001224/"}