O. Henry Hall, formerly known as the U.S. Post Office and Federal Building, is a historic

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It is located within the Sixth Street Historic District in

Downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the Un ...

. O. Henry Hall serves as the administrative headquarters of the

Texas State University System The Texas State University System (TSUS) was created in 1911 to oversee the state's normal schools. Since its creation it has broadened its focus and comprises institutions of many different scopes. The other systems of state universities are th ...

(TSUS), and until 2017 served as the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

headquarters.

History

Architect

James G. Hill James G. Hill (1841–1913) was an American architect who, during the period 1876 to 1883, headed the Office of the Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury, which oversaw major Federal buildings. During that period ...

designed the building, and it was constructed partially under the supervision of architect Abner Cook. The courthouse was completed in 1879 at a cost of $200,000. The

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has juri ...

met there from then until 1936. One of its most noted trials occurred in February 1898, when

William Sidney Porter William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the M ...

- the man who later became known under the pen name of O. Henry - was tried and convicted of

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

. It was acquired by the

in 1968 and renamed for the author, who had previously resided nearby in what is now officially called the

William Sidney Porter House The William Sydney Porter House or O. Henry House is a historic structure in Downtown Austin, Texas. William Sydney Porter, better known as the author O. Henry, lived there between 1893 and 1895. The Porter house was added to the National Regist ...

, but is better known as the O. Henry House. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on August 25, 1970. It previously served as the administrative headquarters of that system. TSUS purchased O. Henry Hall in 2015 for $8.2 million. The UT System leased it and continued using it as its administrative headquarters prior to the 2017 completion of the UT System's current headquarters. TSUS did the move so it could have a single administrative office in Downtown; it formerly occupied three different downtown buildings operated by the state government.

References

External links

Federal Judicial Center page on the United States Court House and Post OfficeO.Henry Hall
- O'Connell Architecture (company doing architectural restoration for TSUS offices) Federal buildings in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Renaissance Revival architecture in Texas Government buildings completed in 1881 Buildings and structures in Austin, Texas Former federal courthouses in the United States Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas O. Henry 1881 establishments in Texas {{Texas-NRHP-stub

History

See also

References

External links