{"nrhp_refnum":"87002148","name":"Swenson, William and Shirley, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1726 Swenson Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Abilene","county":"Taylor County","state":"TX","lat":32.46952862300003,"lon":-99.74142165299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large residence at 1726 Swenson Avenue in Abilene, Taylor County, Texas, built 1908-1910 and remodeled around 1928. It occupies a full city block and has a rear two-story garage/servants' quarters and a pergola.","why_significant":"The house is a one-of-a-kind hybrid of Prairie Style and Spanish Colonial Revival design with a fine classically inspired interior and high-quality materials and workmanship. It was also the home of William Gray Swenson, a banker, utility and railroad president, and real estate developer who shaped Abilene's growth. Reviewers found it significant under architecture and under commerce.","narrative":"Occupying a full city block in an older Abilene neighborhood, this roughly 6,300-square-foot house was built between 1908 and 1910 for William Gray Swenson and his wife Shirley. Swenson planned it with architect W.P. Preston. It began as a largely Prairie Style house with cypress siding and broad overhangs. A major remodeling around 1928 added brick veneer, a red clay tile roof and mission-inspired windows, strengthening its Spanish Colonial Revival character. Inside, a two-story entrance hall with a divided staircase, stained and leaded glass, fine woodwork and period fixtures survive largely intact. Swenson was a leading Abilene businessman. He was involved in banking, the Abilene and Northern Railroad, utilities, the street railway, ice manufacturing and downtown real estate development until his death in 1969. The house is considered the largest and most intact early twentieth-century residence in the city and a reminder of the pioneering business leaders who built the town.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"W.P. Preston (architect); W.G. Swenson (builder/designer)","architectural_style":"Prairie School, American Foursquare and Spanish Colonial Revival hybrid","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Occupied private residence in good condition; majority interest transferred to the Abilene Preservation League, which hopes to open it to the public later.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:20.901546-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/76/9735/40973576/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/87002148.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002148/fc6792cdac-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002148/fc6792cdac-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"MLL","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swenson_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">MLL</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swenson_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973576","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107320233"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/taylor-county/swenson-william-and-shirley-house-87002148/"}