Ireland and Mary Graves House
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the 1930s, Ireland Graves (1885-1969), an attorney and former district judge, bought property in Pemberton Heights from Josephine Lucile Fisher. He hired noted Austin architect Hugo F. Kuehne to build a home for him and his wife, Mary Willis (Stedman) Graves (1884-1965). Construction began in 1937 and was completed the following year. The two-story Southern Colonial-style house features an entry portico and bricks from "Old Main" at the University of Texas. A two-car garage reflects the growing importance of the automobile. In 1946, Judge Graves and his son-in-law formed Graves Dougherty Law Firm. The house stayed in the Graves family until 1972. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2013
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the 1930s attorney and former district judge Ireland Graves bought property in Austin's Pemberton Heights and hired noted architect Hugo F. Kuehne to build a home, completed in 1938. The two-story Southern Colonial house features an entry portico and is laid up with bricks salvaged from "Old Main" at the University of Texas, while its two-car garage signaled the rising importance of the automobile. Graves went on to co-found the Graves Dougherty law firm in 1946, and the house stayed in the family until 1972.
Why it matters
The home ties a prominent Austin legal family to the city's genteel interwar neighborhoods and to the automobile age reshaping American domestic life.
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Related people
- · Ireland Graves
- · Mary Willis Graves
- · Hugo F. Kuehne
Themes & tags
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