Travel back in time to the 19th-century by wandering through Austin’s Bremond Block Historic District and view 11 houses that have been maintained to a pristine condition.
Members of the Bremond family who were involved in the merchandising and banking industries built the majority of the houses. Although various organizations and businesses currently own the properties, upkeep of the National Register of Historic Places’ structures has been uniformly meticulous.
Two brothers, Eugene and John, began building the collection of houses concentrated in a city block, while others built or altered by the North family are interspersed. Read the descriptions on plaques in front of the properties for identifying residences and a brief history on each one.
Two of the oldest structures are single-story houses from the middle of the 19th-century with their pillared front verandahs. Look for one of the buildings that resembles a 19th-century house you might find in Paris with its French-style mansard roof and balconies surrounded with ornate wrought-iron railings.
An impressive castle is included among the historic buildings with its Romanesque arches, buttressed walls and a tower. Imagine the social functions that occurred on the premises, which is now where the Austin Woman’s Club has its meeting place. Nearby is another expansive single story home with Victorian charm.
Take a picture of the John Bremond house that is regularly featured as an example of Texas Victorian architecture because of its majestic presence, which features elaborate dormers on a mansard roof and detailed cast-iron railings on two floors of balconies. One of the smaller buildings is a cottage and was built to be a music studio for the builder’s daughter. It’s currently used as an apartment building.
Find Bremond Block Historic District bordered by West Seventh, West Eighth, Guadalupe and San Antonio streets. Although none of the buildings are open to visitors, a walk through this area is charming and serves as a time capsule of what this part of Austin was like over a century ago.
