Bremond Block, Austin
You've had a chance to see how people who were the early settlers of the Austin area lived a very hard life in the pioneer times recreated at Pioneer Farms and you probably have seen the Neill house where Union Prisoners were treated in a make-shift hospital - for a peek at Victorian-era high society, take a stroll through the Bremond Block Historic District in Austin and see how the other half really lived.
The Bremond block was a enclave of posh homes built on the edge of Austin's commercial district just before the turn of the century. The collection of homes all belonged to the relatives of the John Bremond, Sr. Family, who was a wealthy merchant who owned the Dry Goods Store and the State National Bank, which today is known as Chase Bank. The Bremonds also created the first coffee roasting company in the State of Texas. Bremond resided in this area along with his well-to-do neighbors, the Robinsons and Hirschfields.
The homes were designed by Abner Cook, who also built the Neill House and these homes carry his unique design and attention to detail along with his signature columns and wheat sheaths he normally incorporated in his architectural designs.
There are guided walking tours of the Historic Bremond Block take place at 11 AM Saturdays and Sundays. If you prefer to take a self-guided tours, you may use an informative brochure available at the City Tourism Office for free and walk these neighborhoods at your leisure.
You will also be within walking distance of historic Hyde Park which is one of Austin's oldest neighborhoods and the historic Texas State Cemetery, the resting place of many Texas heroes.
