{"nrhp_refnum":"74002091","name":"Little Campus","other_names":["Asylum for the Blind"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bounded by 18th, Oldham, 19th, and Red River Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.27847263800004,"lon":-97.73166377699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-08-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-acre district in Austin, Travis County, Texas, bounded by 18th, Oldham, 19th and Red River Streets, centered on the 1857 Asylum for the Blind building and five later brick buildings, now known as Little Campus.","why_significant":"The site housed the first asylum for the blind in Texas, authorized by the Legislature in 1856, and later served as a school for the blind until 1915. It was also used for military aviation training in World War I and then became part of the University of Texas. The buildings show 19th and early 20th century architecture, including Italianate detailing.","narrative":"Little Campus is a seven-acre group of buildings in Austin that began as the first asylum for the blind in Texas. The Legislature appropriated land and money for it in 1856, and the main building, finished in 1857, was built of rough limestone with dark brick cornices by contractor Abner H. Cooke. The asylum closed in 1865 because of the Civil War, and General Custer and his family later used the building as a residence. From 1866 to 1915 the complex again served blind students, and brick buildings were added in 1880, 1883, 1900, 1903 and 1912, including an auditorium with a large Italianate arch. The grounds were vacant from 1915 to 1917, then served as a World War I air training school. The University of Texas acquired the complex after the war, giving it the name Little Campus. Its buildings now hold extension offices, research space and storage.","period_of_significance":"1856-present","architect_builder":"Abner H. Cooke (contractor for the original building)","architectural_style":"Italianate influence (High Victorian Italianate); original site plan described as Italian in style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in good condition; altered. Buildings are used by the University of Texas for extension offices, research and storage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.845543-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/37/9737/40973737/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/74002091.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002091/cd90473ea1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002091/cd90473ea1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little_campus_2012.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:Little_campus_2012.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973737","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Campus","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55264649"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/little-campus-74002091/"}