Title
Resolution - A Resolution Approving a Preservation Agreement Between the City of Mansfield and Manuel and Elva Hernandez, Owners of 301 W. Broad St.
Requested Action
To consider approval of the Preservation Grant
Recommendation
Staff recommended approval of a Historic Mansfield Preservation Grant of up to $10,000 for the replacement of the street-facing windows at the Gaulden-Baskin House to the Historic Landmark Commission on June 13, 2019.
On June 13, 2019, the Historic Landmark Commission voted 6 to 0 to recommend approval of a Historic Mansfield Preservation Grant of up to $10,000 for the replacement of the street-facing windows at the Gaulden-Baskin House.
Description/History
The City Council provided the Historic Landmark Commission with $10,000.00 from the hotel/motel tax (HOT) funds for a Historic Mansfield Preservation Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to assist in the preservation of the City’s cultural heritage through the preservation and restoration of Mansfield’s historic homes. A request for a Preservation Grant has been made by Manuel and Elva Hernandez, owners of the Gaulden-Baskin House at 301 W. Broad Street.
The Arlington Board of Realtors (ARBORS) is in the process of making repairs to the Gaulden-Baskin House as part of the City’s volunteer program. In addition to the structural repairs and repainting being done by the ARBORS, the house also needs repairs to the windows. The current windows are modern with aluminum frames, and some of the glass is broken.
The City’s Design Guidelines for Historic Residential Properties recommends that new windows on a historic house be made of wood. Because of the expense of wood windows, the property owners are seeking a grant from the Historic Preservation Grant Program to replace 6 existing windows facing the street with wood windows.
The house currently has three 1 pane over 1 pane (1/1) windows and one 6 pane over 6 pane (6/6) window facing W. Broad Street. There is another 6/6 window and a non-historic arched window facing S. 2nd Avenue. The owners have agreed to replace the arched window with a historically appropriate window instead. The three 1/1 windows need the most repair.
Staff consulted with several preservation companies on the cost of window replacements. A representative estimate was provided by Hull Historical, a company that specializes in historic millwork, as follows:
• 6/6 windows will cost roughly $3,550 per window (if the 6/6 windows are replaced with more historically accurate windows, the cost is roughly $3,480 per window)
• 1/1 windows will cost roughly $3,308 per window
This is a turn-key price and assumes removing existing window and reinstalling primed, restored window.
It is necessary to replace the windows in stages, starting with the 1/1 windows. In light of the potential costs, the Historic Landmark Commission recommended a grant of up to $10,000 for the first phase of this project. The Commission will be requesting funds to complete this project in its 2019-2020 HOT fund application.
The owners of 301 W. Broad Street have submitted an application for historic landmark designation as a condition of the grant. Because the owners are on a limited income, the Commission recommends that the work being done by the ARBORS be considered an in-kind match on the part of the owners.
The Commission determined that the Gaulden-Baskin House is worthy of preservation based on the following considerations:
1. Although the house has been altered, the simple gabled form is representative of a typical house of the early 1900s.
2. The house is located on one of the historic blocks of W. Broad Street and is representative of buildings of its era.
3. The house is identified with a person or persons who contributed to the development of the City of Mansfield.
The house is described in the Tarrant County Historic Resources Survey, 1990, as follows, with additional information from “The History of Mansfield, Texas,” 1996, and the records of the Mansfield Historical Museum:
R.A. Gaulden bought the parcel in 1891 and constructed the house around 1900. J.N. Baskin, a farmer who moved to Mansfield from Webb, bought the property in 1917 and lived there until his death in 1939. The house may have been added to, and its simple gabled form is typical of the period.
Robert A. Gaulden (1829-1911) served as a private in the Union Army from 1864 to 1865. As a property owner in 1890, Mr. Gaulden was a signer of the Original Town of Mansfield plat to incorporate the City of Mansfield. He served as Mansfield’s postmaster from 1897-1905, and was an 1892 charter member of the Mansfield I.O.O.F. Lodge No. 138.
In 1899, the Gaulden family was struck by tragedy when Mr. Gaulden’s son, Roy S. Gaulden, was shot and killed in the Mansfield Post Office by J.D. “Doke” Murphree. According to newspaper accounts of the time, Robert Gaulden was also wounded in the shoulder during the shooting.
This house is one of the stops on the Historic Mansfield West Side Walking Tour.
Prepared By
Lisa Sudbury, AICP, Interim Director of Planning
817-276-4227
Art Wright, AICP, Planner II
817-276-4226