Buen Retiro
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Colonial Revival mansion built 1902 by Austin financier Louis Nicholas Goldbeck. Sold 1908 to Texas Association of Phi Gamma Delta, national fraternity first chartered in Texas in 1856. Housing Tau Deuteron chapter, this has been campus residence of men who became statesmen and cultural and business leaders. Financing for property cam from many friends, with notable gifts from family of university regent and alumnus H. J. Lutcher Stark. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Austin financier Louis Nicholas Goldbeck built this Colonial Revival mansion in 1902, and in 1908 it was sold to the Texas association of Phi Gamma Delta, a fraternity first chartered in the state in 1856. As the home of the Tau Deuteron chapter, it has housed generations of University of Texas men who went on to careers in statecraft, culture, and business, aided by gifts from supporters including the family of regent H.J. Lutcher Stark.
Why it matters
The mansion reflects the social and residential world of a growing state university and the networks that shaped its graduates.
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Related people
- · Louis Nicholas Goldbeck
- · H.J. Lutcher Stark
Themes & tags
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