O. Henry Hall

O. Henry Hall, formerly known as the U.S. Post Office and Federal Building, is a historic courthouse and post office in Austin, Texas. It is located within the Sixth Street Historic District in Downtown Austin. O. Henry Hall serves as the administrative headquarters of the Texas State University System (TSUS),^[2] and until 2017 served as the University of Texas System headquarters.

U.S. Post Office and Federal Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
O. Henry Hall as it appeared in 2005
Show map of Texas Show map of the United States
Location	601 Colorado Street, Austin, Texas
Coordinates	30°16′7″N 97°44′36″W
Area	0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Built	1879
Architect	James G. Hill
Architectural style	Renaissance
NRHP reference No.	70000771[1]
Added to NRHP	August 25, 1970

History

The United States Court House and Post Office in Austin Texas in 1901

Architect James G. Hill 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 met there from then until 1936. One of its most noted trials occurred in February 1898, when William Sidney Porter - the man who later became known under the pen name of O. Henry - was tried and convicted of embezzlement.^[3]

It was acquired by the University of Texas System 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 on August 25, 1970.^[1] It previously served as the administrative headquarters of that system.^[4]

TSUS purchased O. Henry Hall in 2015 for $8.2 million.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

See also

• United States portal
• Texas portal

• List of United States federal courthouses in Texas

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "Contact Us." Texas State University System. Retrieved on November 19, 2017. "The Texas State University System O. Henry Hall 601 Colorado Street Austin, Texas 78701"
3. Victoria Blake, ed., Selected Stories of O. Henry (2003), p. x.
4. "UT System Contact Information." University of Texas System. October 6, 2009. Retrieved on November 19, 2017. "UT System Contact Information General Contact Information 601 Colorado Street Austin TX 78701-2982 "
5. "Redevelopment of UT System downtown property will generate millions in revenue for city". University of Texas System. February 2, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
6. "Regents Approve Purchase of O. Henry Hall from UT System" (Press release). Austin, Texas: Texas State University System. May 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
7. Bien, Calily (May 21, 2015). "O. Henry Hall sold to Texas State University System". KXAN. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

External links

Media related to O. Henry Hall at Wikimedia Commons

• Federal Judicial Center page on the United States Court House and Post Office
• O.Henry Hall - O'Connell Architecture (company doing architectural restoration for TSUS offices)