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.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
After the Civil War, Texas rebuilt itself largely on cattle. Longhorns ran wild across the state, and markets in the North were hungry for beef. The great cattle drives of the late 1800s pushed huge herds up the trails to railheads, and men who managed them well could become very rich.
Many of those fortunes moved into the cities. Ranchers became bankers, investors and builders, and their money helped turn places like Austin from frontier towns into modern capitals.
By the early 1900s, Austin's downtown was filling with grand new buildings. Architects borrowed from classical Europe to give banks and offices an air of permanence and trust. The Beaux Arts style, with its formal symmetry and rich ornament, was a favorite choice for institutions that wanted to look solid.
Austin was also home to the University of Texas, still young and growing. Wealthy Texans who chose to support it helped shape what it would become.
People & events
George Washington Littlefield was born in 1842 and came to Texas from Mississippi in 1850 as a boy. During the Civil War he served in Terry's Texas Rangers, a well-known Confederate cavalry regiment.
After the war he turned to ranching and cattle driving, and that is where he made his fortune. In 1883 he moved to Austin, and in 1890 he founded the American National Bank. The bank included a ladies' banking department, a notable touch at a time when banks were run almost entirely by and for men.
For his headquarters, Littlefield hired the architect C. H. Page, Jr., who designed this Beaux Arts Classical building. It opened in 1912 with a rooftop garden, and the bank occupied the ground floor. For the corner entrance, Littlefield ordered bronze doors in bas relief by the sculptor Daniel Webster, cast by Tiffany's of New York.
Littlefield was a major benefactor of the University of Texas. Those Tiffany doors were later given to the university. He died in 1920, but his name remains closely tied to both downtown Austin and the campus he supported.
Its place in the American story
The Littlefield Building is a direct link between the cattle-drive West and the modern American city. Littlefield's life follows a path many Americans took after the Civil War: from soldier to cattleman to banker and builder, turning frontier wealth into lasting institutions.
Its architecture tells part of that story. The Beaux Arts style spread across America in the decades around 1900, giving banks, libraries and civic buildings a classical grandeur. Commissioning bronze doors from Tiffany's in New York shows how a Texas cattleman could reach for the best craftsmanship in the country.
The ladies' banking department points to the changing place of women in American economic life. Making room for women as customers was a small but real sign of the shift toward their greater independence.
Littlefield's giving also reflects a broad pattern in American history, in which private fortunes helped build public universities. Much of the cattle-era wealth of Texas eventually supported education, and the University of Texas is part of that legacy.
If you visit
Look at the building's classical lines, the symmetry and ornament typical of the Beaux Arts style. Try to imagine it in 1912, with a bank on the ground floor, customers coming and going, and a garden up on the roof.
Pay special attention to the corner entrance. That is where Littlefield's Tiffany-cast bronze doors once stood before they were given to the University of Texas. If you are curious about where they are today, ask at the university, which honors Littlefield as one of its major benefactors.
The Littlefield Building is in the heart of downtown Austin, close to the Capitol, so it pairs easily with a walk along Congress Avenue. The Scarbrough Building, another landmark of the same era, is just nearby.
A short trip to the University of Texas campus makes a good follow-up, letting you trace Littlefield's story from his downtown bank to the university he helped build.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · George Washington Littlefield
- · C. H. Page Jr.
Themes & tags
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