History of the The Austin Woman's Club

Bellevue Place, a French Romanesque Chateau, is described in State records as having been built on a ‘high bluff, the Colorado River to the south, San Antonio Street (Old High Road) on the east and Hickory Street (Eighth Street) on the north. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey C. North came to Austin in 1869 and built three edifices facing San Antonio Street which was termed Old High Road: Bellevue Place, Bellevue Cottage and Villa Bellevue. All three edifices were completed by the year 1874 for the records show that Harvey and Catherine North sold Bellevue Villa, which later became known as North Flats, to their eldest son, William Franklin North, that year. Bellevue Place or ‘Old North Castle’ was a three-story structure, rectangular in shape, with a two-story west wing extending below the cliff to the bank of Little Shoal Creek. There were no long wooden galleries on the south of the west wing. Following the death of Harvey C. North in 1881, Catherine Athalie Adams North sold the property in 1884 to Augusta and William Gaines, owner and publisher of the Daily Democrat Statesman, and moved to the Villa Bellevue to live with her son, William Franklin and family. Later in 1884, Catherine North assumed ownership of Bellevue Place and attempted to sell the home to the city for a hospital. The attempt failed, and it was rented to an English family by the name of Spaulding.

Major Ira H. Evans and wife Francese Hobart, purchased both Bellevue Place and Bellevue Cottage in 1892 from Augusta and William Gaines and the original deeds are now filed for preservation in the Barker History Center. Major Evans hired Alfred Giles noted architect of New Orleans, San Antonio and Mexico to remodel both the interior and exterior of the chateau. In 1896, a part of the west wing was torn down and the stone was used to build a rock wall on the north, an addition to the third floor, a ‘Carriage House’ and stately stone porches on the south of the main structure. The retaining wall fell in 1900, and rock was brought by wagon teams from Round Rock and from bluffs overlooking Bull Creek to build the buttresses which extend sixteen feet under ground. The city put Little Shoal Creek through conduits, covered them with tons of dirt, and the lowest terrace became the ‘Sunken Garden’ around the century-old oak tree. (The massive oak, the limbs of which shaded the greater part of the parking lot, died in the summer of 1991.)

The interior of the original structure was completely remodeled by the Evans family, using the finest of cherry-wood, walnut and long-leaf Texas pine in the hand-carved stairway grill work the wainscoting and the sliding doors between the drawing rooms on the second floor. The vault at the east wall of the North-Evans family dining room was probably used by Major Evans.

Fireplaces on the main and top floors have their own particular charm. ‘Olde Bookes to Rede - Olde Woode to Burne - Olde Friends to Talke’ is the legend inscribed almost a century ago onto the face of the entrance hall fireplace a legend which sets the theme for the gracious living this old home has known. The fireplaces in the drawing rooms feature the beautiful materials of black marble tile, brass and copper, and the one in the library adds its own charm from the past. On the third floor there are three fireplaces which are faced in marble tiles and painted with complete picture stories of nursery rhyme, history and Biblical themes.

The chandeliers in the Chateau are reminiscent of the Romanesque period of the late Victorian years. Those throughout the original floors were fashioned for gas jets and are still unique though converted to electricity. The chandeliers in the drawing rooms are matching crystal fixtures of the Versailles type. In the library there is an excellent example of early French brass and copper lighting.

The fixtures installed in 1975 in the Evans’ dining room and gallery are copies of the Victorian period. The unique and impressive chandeliers which hang in the Chateau Dining Wing, were designed by artist Raymond Everitt and hand-wrought by the Weigl Company.

In 1938, a stone-arched porch was erected at the San Antonio entrance, and a handsome iron fence gate was placed along the front of the property. During the years 1958-1960, an extensive dining wing was built extending south from the kitchen area and manager’s apartment and over the third terrace. A stairway with a tiled landing was built to the second floor within the space of one of the many porches and the porch on the south of the family dining room was enclosed. This Chateau Dining Wing was completed and dedicated in September of 1960.

The sunken garden area was paved for parking in1960 and an elevator was installed to the first floor in 1962. In July 1970, the Club negotiated the acquisition of the property adjacent to the existing parking lot for further parking and erected a three-foot wall on the south of the lot. The Eighth Street garden wall collapsed on June 8, 1989, and with the generosity of the Club membership and with help from the city, the wall was rebuilt and completed in June of 1991.

The Emilie Wheelock Howson Scholarship was established many years ago to honor the name of a very distinguished Club benefactor and to provide financial assistance to worthy coeds working toward a degree at The University of Texas at Austin. Scholarships are awarded annually.

~ Historical Recognition ~

In 1962, the Club was honored by the erection of a Medallion Plate as the Official Historical marker from the Texas Historical Survey Committee and was cited by the Austin Heritage Society for its continuing restoration and careful maintenance of the historic building. The Austin Woman’s Club was placed in the Historic Bremond Block District and listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1969.

This Club was built on faith and a constant awareness of women’s responsibility in the molding of a city’s culture. Through its splendid programs and lectures on literary, artistic, and cultural subjects and its continuing provisions of instruction in study groups, the Club has provided for its membership the educational tools for which it was incorporated. Reading the minutes of its Board of Directors, one is reminded of the tremendous responsibility placed on the shoulders of this lovely old castle and in the preserving of a portion of Austin’s heritage for future generations.