Tucked into an overgrown cliff by Waller Creek stands a fading beauty: the Arthur P. Watson House, a.k.a. Watson Chateau (or simply “The Chateau”). The structure is the oldest building on campus, and ranks among the five oldest buildings standing in Austin.
The Watson Chateau was built in 1853, by Margaret Francis Neville Bowie, widow of Rezin Bowie (inventor of the Bowie Knife) and sister-in-law of James Bowie, who died at the Battle of the Alamo). Ownership of the property went through a string of prominent Austinites, including suffragette Nell Doom; the Granberry family; and Governor Beauford Jester’s secretary/mistress, Caroline Roget. The last private owner was well-known interior designer Arthur Pope Watson, Jr. (grandson of prominent Austin families: Watsons, Popes, and Coverts). Via eminent domain laws and lawsuits, the property was “purchased” from Watson by The University of Texas in the 1960s. Watson was granted permission to live out his life there with Robert “Bob” Wayne Garrett, his partner in life and in business.
When Watson bought The Chateau in 1959, he and Garrett began a steady stream of upgrades until the structure reached its current size of 1,650 square feet. The couple transformed the old house into a showstopper suited to host the many gatherings and parties for which the couple became known. To expand the interior space, the two-story balcony in the back of the structure was enclosed with glass. Two garages were built—one for vehicles, and another to use as their home design studio—with a formal English garden on the roof. A greenhouse large enough for a small party was constructed; it housed Garrett’s collection of bromeliads and orchids. The duo’s landscaping efforts continued as a seamless extension of the house, with terraced, informal gardens tumbling down the slope down to Waller Creek. The crowning jewel came in the 1970s: a swimming pool blasted out of solid limestone, encircled by a deck, guarded by twin cabanas and a life-sized, bronze statue of Mercury. Rarely a day went by without the two gentlemen hosting clients, family, or friends. After Watson passed away in 1993, Garrett continued to live on the premises until 2009.
Under the care of the university, the house has remained vacant and was never properly preserved. In 2020, historian Marta Stefaniuk began to research The Chateau’s history; in 2022, she successfully petitioned Preservation Texas to place the home on its 10 Most Endangered Historic Places List. With help from Friends of the Watson Chateau and the AIA Austin’s LGBTQIA+ Alliance, there is renewed community interest in saving The Chateau. Currently, the university is documenting the interior and exterior of the house, and looking for ways in which the property can continue its role as keeper of many legacies: architectural, Texas, Austin, female, African American, and 50 years of LGBTQIA+ history. – Marta Stefaniuk
