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MATHEWS SCHOOL
Austin, Texas
Application for a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Designation
April 2006
Preparing Children for the Future while Instilling Respect for the Past
Mathews School has been educating Austin's children for 87 years. When the doors
opened in the fall of 1916, 190 students attended first through sixth grades. The school had
six large classrooms but only five teachers.' Today, approximately 400 Pre-kindergarten
through sixth grade students meet in 26 classrooms. They are taught by 33 teachers.2 Over
time, enrollment numbers have doubled, the space has expanded, and the student-faculty
ratio has improved dramatically. Despite all this change, however, much remains the same
at Mathews. The exterior of the original building looks much like it did in 1916. And
although modifications have been made to the interior, four of the original classrooms
remain.
The preservation of the building and the campus' rich traditions are important to
the Mathews community. In the spring of 1999, a group of students participating in an
after-school enrichment class successfully sought to have the school designated as a City
of Austin Historic Landmark.3 The marker was placed on the front of the school in
November 1999. At the ceremony, Mathews principal Benjamin Kramer spoke to the
school's significance over the last nine decades and the role it has played in educating tens
of thousands of children.
"Something Old... About our Neighborhood," by May Schmidt. Neighborhood Occasional Paper II,
Summer, 1976. Mathews School history files; and Original Blueprints for East End and West End Schools,
1916. Dennis R. Walsh, architect. Austin Independent School District (ISD) CAD files, Building Services
Division.
2 Oral interviews with Benjamin Kramer, former principal, Mathews School, August 2003 and Amy
Kinkade, March 2005. Interviewed by Kim Kronzer O'Brien
3 "A School for the History Books" by Sharon Jayson. Austin American Statesman, May 24, 1999. Seventeen
students participated in the Mathews History after-school class: Andy Akins, Graham Black, Jose Campos,
Adriana Candelas, Jessica Cavanaugh, Alicia Davila-Shukalo, John Boone DeSanto, Jamie Hedrick, Lanelle
Jarmon, Rose Levy-Rubinett, Hannah O'Brien, Emily Sullivan, Reggie Thompson, David Traverso, Diana
Traverso, Henry Widener, and Meghan Wolff. On May 24, 1999, they made a presentation to the City of
Austin's Historic Landmark Commission requesting historic designation. They approved the request. In
August 1999, the Austin City Council concurred with their recommendation and awarded historic marker
status.