{"nrhp_refnum":"70000771","name":"U.S. Post Office and Federal Building","other_names":["O`Henry Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"126 W. 6th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.26875384400006,"lon":-97.74374315699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-08-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story limestone ashlar federal building in Austin, Travis County, Texas, designed in 1877 with construction beginning in 1878. It was built as a post office and federal building and is now known as O. Henry Hall.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is nationally significant as an architectural anomaly. Designed at the height of the Second Empire style, it instead follows an Italian High Renaissance palace model with strict symmetry and horizontal massing. Its near absence of applied ornament is described as possibly unique nationally and probably unique in Texas.","narrative":"Designed in 1877 and begun the next year, this three-story limestone ashlar building in Austin was constructed as a post office and federal building. It sits on a sloping site with a rusticated basement and flat roof. The main facade faces Colorado Avenue, while the more frequently noticed minor facade faces 6th Street. Its symmetrical massing recalls the casino of the Villa Borghese in Rome, and broad segmental arches, round-arched windows and a set-back attic with a tall arcade give it a calm, balanced look. The nomination calls it an architectural sport: built at the height of the Second Empire style, it instead borrowed from Italian High Renaissance palaces, a choice thought probably unique in Texas. Most federal buildings of the period were richly decorated, whereas this one has only simplified cornices, balustrades and molding strips. Abner Cook, known for Greek Revival work in Austin, was the contractor. The University of Texas now owns it, and it has been renamed O. Henry Hall.","period_of_significance":"1878","architect_builder":"Contractor: Abner Cook; architect not named (designed in Washington)","architectural_style":"Modified Renaissance Revival (Italian High Renaissance palace prototype)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the University of Texas; being restored on the exterior and remodeled inside for office space. Condition listed as good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.63123-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/9736/40973673/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/70000771.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000771/a1e83b067a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000771/a1e83b067a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"WhisperToMe","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OHenryHall.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">WhisperToMe</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OHenryHall.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"75002132","name":"Sixth Street Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/sixth-street-historic-district-75002132/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973673","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Henry_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7072121"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/u-s-post-office-and-federal-building-70000771/"}