Commission endorses historic zoning for Castle Hill estate

Another Castle Hill residence is poised to join Austin’s roster of registered landmarks, with owners of 610 Baylor St. winning over Historic Landmark Commission members last week in their bid for historic zoning.

Since 1982, the city has granted landmark status to a smaller home at neighboring 608 Baylor St., built sometime around 1903 as a wedding gift for Mary Ball and Howard H. Taylor, daughter and son-in-law of Elton and Lucy Perry. Meanwhile, the couple’s more extravagant residence next door, built the same year, has flown under the landmark radar.

After years of restoration work, the Victorian estate is now on its way to share the distinction, with commissioners voting unanimously to endorse the bid for landmarking. The home’s elaborate Queen Anne style and its connections to the storied Perry family were enough to move the dial.

The home’s origin story begins with Elton Perry, born 1836 into a long line of East Coast seafarers who had made history with their exploits in colonial diplomacy. Thanks to his father’s career in the shipping industry, the young Perry found himself in Texas by way of Galveston, then a booming port city and hub of international trade. There he would meet his wife Lucy, and in the aftermath of the Civil War, the two would make their way to the state’s capital.

In 1903, the couple dazzled neighbors with their impressive hilltop estate, fashioned with stained glass windows, five fireplaces and wraparound porches overlooking downtown. Full of turn-of-the-century optimism, the Perrys were among the pioneers of a nascent suburbia emerging west of Shoal Creek, traversing the former boundary on sleek new streetcar lines abuzz with a sense of impending modernity.

Perry channeled the era’s spirit of innovation as an engineer for Washington Fire Company No. 1, one of several volunteer brigades convening to act as a rudimentary fire department. His steam-powered engines were a welcome upgrade to their formerly horse-drawn approach, and were among those used to combat the 1881 fire at Austin’s former capitol, though the building was ultimately destroyed.

In the later half of the 20th century, a shifting housing market would see the Elton & Lucy Perry House become a multifamily rental property, its interior reconfigured to house middle-class Austinites in discrete leased units. In 1998, the home was purchased by another influential figure, former City Council member and mayoral candidate Laura Morrison, who resided there while leasing a portion of the property to renters until 2018.

Now, owners Hayes and Jessica Barnard will oversee 610 Baylor’s preservation as a local landmark, enjoying a property tax abatement in exchange for their stewardship. Hayes Barnard, a fintech CEO, purchased the home in 2022 and has since outfitted the home with a brand-new swimming pool and garage.

Readers may be more familiar with another association of Barnard’s, a company called GoodLeap that offers financing for homeowners priced out of green energy investments like solar panels and batteries. Recently, GoodLeap has found itself mired in controversy, generating a number of lawsuits, including one filed by Minnesota’s attorney general, who claims that the company systematically misled customers with false promises of low-interest loans only to charge sizable fees excluded from sales proposals.

Nevertheless, Barnard can find comfort in his resplendent estate. Like Perry, he too will have his place in the story of his own turbulent and unpredictable century.

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Posted In: Preservation, District 9