Arthur P. Watson House, AKA The Chateau

Austin (1853): Overlooking Waller Creek on the University of Texas at Austin campus, this remarkable early Texas survivor was built by Mrs. Margaret Neville Bowie, sister- in-law of James Bowie, who died at the Battle of the Alamo. One of the oldest remaining buildings in Austin, this property holds many histories: architectural, Texas, Austin, UT, African American, and female, as well as 50 years of LGBTQ+ stories. Arthur Pope Watson Jr. was the last private owner, and along with his partner in business and life, Robert Wayne Garrett, they designed the interiors of the Driskill Club at Austin’s historic Driskill Hotel and UT’s Littlefield Home. The Chateau was the scene of salons for the design elite and parties for Austin society, as well as a gracious refuge for the then-closeted gay community. After standing empty for 15 years and making Preservation Texas’ 2022 List of Most Endangered Historical Places, UT has begun the process to determine preservation viability.