The Byrne-Reed House: The New Headquarters of Humanities Texas

FAIN: CH-50493-08

Humanities Texas (Austin, TX 78701-1506)
Michael L. Gillette (Project Director: May 2007 to November 2012)

Humanities Texas seeks a $1 million NEH Challenge Grant to retire debt and fund restoration of its new headquarters in downtown Austin. The three-story structure will raise the council's visibility among state government, potential institutional partners, and citizens of Texas. Its 11,000 square feet will allow the council, for the first time, to host lectures, workshops, exhibits, and other public events in its own space. The building's white stucco facade conceals a hidden treasure: the Byrne-Reed House, a century-old brick mansion. This restoration will result in an aesthetically pleasing and highly functional home for the humanities in the center of Texas's capital city. It will dramatically increase the quantity and intellectual quality of humanities programming; it will also, through the accompanying capital campaign, expand the council's fundraising base and relationships with institutional and individual donors. The Challenge Grant will transform the council and its work.