{"nrhp_refnum":"90001891","name":"Austin, F. K. and Mary, House","other_names":["#29"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"702 N. Penelope St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Belton","county":"Bell County","state":"TX","lat":31.06246033000008,"lon":-97.45958921999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-12-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2-story, L-plan frame Italianate house at 702 North Penelope in Belton, Bell County, Texas, built around 1885 for local merchant F. K. Austin.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an excellent example of High Victorian Italianate architecture and one of the preeminent Italianate designs in the region. It also relates to the wealth Belton gained during the early cotton boom years. Its prominent 2-story porch and elaborate projecting bay illustrate the decorative exuberance of the style's later phase.","narrative":"Built around 1885 at 702 North Penelope in Belton, Texas, this 2-story, L-plan frame house was constructed for local merchant F. K. Austin, who moved to Belton with his family around 1854 and opened a grocery on the courthouse square. Members of the Austin family lived in the house until 1950. Clad in weatherboard with a wood-shingled roof and shallow hipped roofs, it is dominated by a 2-story classically inspired porch with Tuscan columns, a bowed end and a Renaissance Revival-style balustrade. Projecting hexagonal bays, paneled trim, and hood molds over the tall windows add Italianate detail. The house was recognized for its architecture as an intact example of High Victorian Italianate design, a later and more decorative phase of a style popular in Texas from about 1860 to 1890. It also reflects the prosperity of Belton's early cotton boom years. It remains in very good condition and is still a single-family dwelling.","period_of_significance":"C. 1885","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in very good condition with only minor alterations to the interior and exterior; still used as a single dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.184535-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/37/9682/40968237/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/90001891.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001891/05831fc699-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001891/05831fc699-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_House_Belton_Texas.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</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:Austin_House_Belton_Texas.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40968237","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000873"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bell-county/austin-f-k-and-mary-house-90001891/"}