AUSTIN (KXAN) — A historic building on the University of Texas at Austin campus is one step closer to getting a state landmark status ahead of plans to raze the building for a football facility.
On Friday, the Texas Historical Commission approved a State Antiquities Landmark status nomination for the University Junior High School building, the first integrated public junior high school in Austin. Most recently, the building housed the Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
The vote was the first step in an administrative process to give the building the highest level of historic designation from the state. The landmark status does not protect the building from demolition.
A university spokesperson said UT will continue to follow the process.
According to the Texas Historical Commission, properties with the status must have a permit from the commission before they are removed, altered, damaged, salvaged or excavated.
Other sites in Austin with a State Antiquities Landmark status include the Barton Springs Bath House, the Austin State Hospital, the Governor’s Mansion, Pease District Park and the Texas State Capitol Building.
Kevin Eltife, the UT Board of Regents chairman, said keeping the building and using it as classrooms does not make sense for the university. He added there are plans to make an exhibit with historical artifacts from the building.
“There comes a time when it just isn’t feasible to maintain and keep the building,” he said. “Yes, there were students in it eight weeks ago. Is it completely accessible if we want to rehab it? No.”
Kim Barker, the UT preservation planner, said rehabilitating the building was “cost prohibitive,” and the decision to relocate the social work school was made with the school’s dean to a better location with more academic uses than athletic uses in the current location. The school moved at the end of May.
A local grassroots group called Save the Past for the Future formed in 2023 to stop the building demolition and preserve University Junior High School. Barbara Anderson, a co-organizer, said their group and other preservation groups are on pins and needles awaiting the next step in the administrative hearing process.
“We’re just thrilled that the public’s right to this history has been honored,” Anderson said.
The building’s past
The building on San Jacinto was built in 1933 as the University Junior High School operated by the university and the Austin Public School System. It was a facility for practice teachers, according to national register documents.
The school became the first junior high school in Austin to integrate in the 1957-58 school year, according to the national register. In 1967, UT took ownership of the property and students were transferred to other Austin schools.
The campus later became a temporary headquarters for the music department, continuing education department and College of Education, according to the national register. In 1991, Texas’ first childcare center for state employees opened on the campus. The UT School of Social Work moved into the building in 1994.
The building’s future
Last year, Texas Athletics shared more information about the new football facility, which will replace the Frank Denius Fields and “The Bubble.” The practice facility was slated to begin construction in 2024.
The facility will have indoor and outdoor practice fields, a three-lane sprint track, drill space for both offensive and defensive linemen, a hospitality area and parking, according to Texas Athletics.