{"nrhp_refnum":"90001174","name":"Sears, Rev. Henry M. and Jennie, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"209 W. 39th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.302683659000024,"lon":-97.73468012199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-08-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story frame vernacular house with Queen Anne detailing at 209 West 39th Street in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin, Travis County, Texas, built about 1903 for the Reverend Henry M. Sears.","why_significant":"It is nominated under Criterion C as one of the finest and best-preserved examples of late-Victorian architecture in Hyde Park, combining vernacular form with ornate Queen Anne detailing. It also represents the affordable suburban housing that early Hyde Park promoters offered as an alternative to urban living. Few houses in the neighborhood predate World War I, and similar houses elsewhere have lost their integrity.","narrative":"Built about 1903 at 209 West 39th Street in Austin's Hyde Park neighborhood, this one-story frame house combines a vernacular plan with Queen Anne detailing. An off-center gabled wing with cutaway corners, a pent roof and fish-scale shingles gives the facade its asymmetry, while a three-bay porch carries delicate turned-wood ornament. Windows are double-hung sash, and the steeply pitched roof joins hipped and gabled forms. The house was built for the Reverend Henry M. Sears, a Methodist presiding elder who later served as chaplain of the Texas Senate and of the State Lunatic Asylum. He lived there until his death in 1915, after which it passed to his wife, Jennie, and then their daughter, Florence. Hyde Park has few dwellings predating World War I, and this one retains unusually good integrity. It was listed for its local architectural value and as an example of the modest suburban housing promoted in the neighborhood's early development. Recent owners have rehabilitated it.","period_of_significance":"c.1903","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Vernacular with Queen Anne detailing; modified L-plan","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling; recent restoration or rehabilitation has been completed and the house has changed little over the years.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:20.871022-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/83/9702/40970283/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/90001174.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001174/9ba95a635f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001174/9ba95a635f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Gilborrego","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rev._Henry_M._and_Jennie_Sears_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Gilborrego</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:Rev._Henry_M._and_Jennie_Sears_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40970283","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000847"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/sears-rev-henry-m-and-jennie-house-90001174/"}