Littlefield Building
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Littlefield Building George Washington Littlefield (1842-1920) came to Texas from Mississippi in 1850. After serving in Terry's Texas Rangers in the Civil War, he made his fortune ranching and driving cattle. He moved to Austin in 1883 and, in 1890, established the American National Bank, which included a ladies' banking department. He hired architect C. H. Page, Jr., to design this Beaux Arts Classical building, which opened in 1912 with a rooftop garden. His bank was on the ground floor. For the corner entrance, he commissioned Tiffany's of New York to cast bronze, Bas Relief doors by sculptor Daniel Webster. These were later donated to the University of Texas, of which Littlefield was a major benefactor. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
George Washington Littlefield came to Texas as a boy, rode with Terry's Texas Rangers in the Civil War, and afterward built a fortune in ranching and cattle drives. Settling in Austin, he founded the American National Bank and in 1912 opened this Beaux Arts Classical building with a rooftop garden and Tiffany-cast bronze doors. A major benefactor of the University of Texas, he later gave those doors to the school.
Why it matters
It links the cattle-drive frontier fortunes of the nineteenth century to the banking, architecture, and university philanthropy that built modern Austin.
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Related people
- · George Washington Littlefield
- · C. H. Page Jr.
Themes & tags
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