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 structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, United States. It is located within the Sixth Street Historic District in

Downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. The area of the district is bound by Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Austin), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north, Inte ...

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

Texas State University System The Texas State University System (TSUS) is a public university system in Texas. It was created in 1911 to oversee the state's normal schools. It has since broadened its focus and comprises institutions of many different scopes. It is the only ...

(TSUS), and until 2017 served as the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Texas. It includes nine universities and five independent health institutions. The UT System is headquartered in Downtown Austin. It is the large ...

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 h ...

designed the building, and it was constructed partially under the supervision of architect

Abner Cook Abner Hugh Cook (March 15, 1814 – February 22, 1884) was a self-taught Texas architect and general contractor responsible for the design of several historic and notable buildings in Texas, particularly Austin, such as the Texas Governor's M ...

. 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 ...

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 Ma ...

– the man who later became known under the pen name of

O. Henry 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 Ma ...

– was tried and convicted of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

. 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, 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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