Penn and Nellie Wooldridge House
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1913, Nellie Wylie Holden (1863-1944) built a home here. Tradition holds that her children helped noted architect Hugo F. Kuehne design the Georgian Revival house. Holden, an Austin philantropist, worked in many civic and charitable organizations. In 1917, she wed prominent Austin Mayor Alexander Penn Wooldridge (1847-1930). In 1943, Nellie sold the house, which features original details, including sidelights, fanlight, paired Doric columns and Flemish bond brickwork. A rear porch built ca. 1930 and a garage apartment and connecting breezeway added in the 1960s are the only major additions. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1913 Austin philanthropist Nellie Wylie Holden built this Georgian Revival home, which tradition says her children helped noted architect Hugo F. Kuehne design, complete with sidelights, a fanlight, paired Doric columns, and Flemish-bond brickwork. Active in many civic and charitable organizations, in 1917 she married Alexander Penn Wooldridge, the prominent Austin mayor. She sold the house in 1943, and it survives with its original details largely intact.
Why it matters
The home links two figures who shaped early twentieth-century Austin—a civic-minded philanthropist and a reforming mayor—and preserves a fine example of the era's revival architecture.
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Related people
- · Nellie Wylie Holden
- · Alexander Penn Wooldridge
- · Hugo F. Kuehne
Themes & tags
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