Throwback Thursday: The Lorenzo de Zavala Building, Home of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission

By Steven Kantner, Digital Asset Coordinator

Austin neighborhoods around the Texas State Capitol changed tremendously since the 1950s as homes and businesses made way for various state office buildings and parking garages. Here are some before-and-after views of the areas surrounding TSLAC’s Lorenzo De Zavala building. These 1950s photographs were found in the Department of Public Safety Photograph collection, an ongoing digitization project at TSLAC.

View of the Lorenzo de Zavala Building from Brazos Street

View from the Corner of 13th Street and Brazos Street

View from the Corner of 13th Street and San Jacinto

View from San Jacinto Street

View from San Jacinto Street and 14th Street

View from San Jacinto and 12th Streets

View from San Jacinto and 14th Streets, Looking South

View from 13th and San Jacinto Streets

These and other photographs from the Department of Public Safety Photograph collection can be seen at: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/tda/texas-state-agencies/dps/photographs/

 

Archival Animals

By Caroline Jones, Reference Archivist

Enjoy watching cat videos? Follow any cute pugs on Instagram? It feels like every day we see friends posting selfies with their pets or videos of their pets, and even creating social media accounts for their pets. It is clear we love our animal friends, and based on some finds in our archival collections, it appears that we have always loved them. Here are a few highlights from our collections that are cute, funny, and simply adorable images of some pets in the archives:

Before they ruled the internet, cats stole our hearts in these family albums:

Robert Jasper Hunnicutt, Elizabeth H. Stroud (center), and sitting on a porch holding kittens

Robert Jasper Hunnicutt, Elizabeth H. Stroud (center), and sitting on a porch holding kittens. Citation: 1968/029-75, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Doris Ruth Hunnicutt, crouching holding a cat. Citation: 1968/029-340, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Mary Lowry with cat, Black Bess

Mary Lowry with cat, Black Bess. Citation: 1946/1-38, Reynolds Lowry – Thomas F. McKinney Collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Man seated on porch in rocking chair with cat.

Man seated on porch in rocking chair with cat. Citation: 1995.112-60, Clyde and Thelma See glass plate negatives collection. Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.]

Man’s best friend has always been like a member of the family:

Unidentified young child with bulldog

Unidentified young child with bulldog. Citation: 73.2222.122, Samuel Bell Maxey photograph collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Woman posing with dog

Woman posing with dog. Citation: 1964/306-1675, Photographs, Graham (R. Niles) collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Dog sleeping on porch

Dog sleeping on porch. Citation: 1964/306-1676, Photographs, Graham (R. Niles) collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

A couple of children with a couple of dogs

A couple of children with a couple of dogs. Citation: 1976/031-10, William Deming Hornaday photograph collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

A little girl and a dog

A little girl and a dog. Citation: 1976/031-16, William Deming Hornaday photograph collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Child with dog

Child with dog. Citation: 2011/348-20.95, Miscellaneous photographs, Photographs, Richard Bachman collection. Archives and Information Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

3 puppies in front of the J.T. Young Home

Three puppies in front of the J.T. Young Home. Citation: 1970/101-156, Fannie Ratchford photograph collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Couple with small dog

Couple with small dog. Citation: 2001078_005_70_080_023ac, Fields, Farms, and Landscapes, Texas Department of Agriculture photograph collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Even these unlikely animal friends have gotten into the spirit:

Governor O'Daniel and Cuero turkey

Governor O’Daniel and Cuero turkey. Citation: 1976/008-593, Photographic and film media, Texas Department of Public Safety records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Cowboy with parrot

Cowboy with parrot. Citation: 1991077_704_084ac, Attractions, Activities, and Events, Audiovisual material, Texas Tourist Development Agency. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Couple with peacock outside Mission San Jose

Couple with peacock outside Mission San Jose. Citation: 1991077_105_041ac, Forts, Parks, and Historic Sites, Audiovisual material, Texas Tourist Development Agency. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Our photograph collections include original photographs, born digital images, and digitized versions of original photographs. Many of the images included in this post are digitized and accessible through the Texas Digital Archives, the Texas State Archives Flickr, and our online exhibits page. For more information on accessing images currently unavailable through the web, please contact the Reference Desk by phone or email at 512-463-5455 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.

As a bonus, here are some more recent images of a familiar face with some unusual guests at the Texas Capitol!

Governor Perry with penguin

Governor Perry with penguin. Citation: Penguin2, Photographs, Texas Governor Rick Perry Press Office media files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.]

Governor Perry with snake

Governor Perry with snake. Citation: Snake, Photographs, Texas Governor Rick Perry Press Office media files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Monday Mystery – Terry’s Texas Rangers

We’re back with another Monday Mystery post. All of the images from this feature are available on the Texas Digital Archive (TDA), and we welcome folks to browse through all of the images available on this site. We’re looking to our community of patrons, which includes academic researchers, genealogists, photography historians, and Texas enthusiasts, to help us identify some of our photographic treasures.

This Monday Mystery is aided by the research of Dr. David Gracy II, former State Archivist here at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Dr. Gracy has helped staff identify and confirm the identities of many of the veterans in this image as a part of his research on George W. Littlefield. Archives staff are grateful for his perseverance and meticulous citations.

Terry’s Texas Rangers reunion panorama photograph, 1908.

Terry’s Texas Rangers reunion panorama. 1961/053-1, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

View or download this photograph on the TDA at: tsl.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/digitalFile_479a53ee-f6d4-4ee2-804f-c3b721407cfc/

Question: Can you help further identify some of the veterans in this image? Review the list of men already identified, get more information about this panorama, and read a brief history of the Terry’s Texas Rangers at the online finding aid: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/50140/tsl-50140.html.

And, as always, if you find an image on the TDA that you’d like to submit for a future Monday Mystery post please email archinfo@tsl.texas.gov and include “Monday Mystery” in the subject line.