811 Congress Avenue is an address with a storied history. Although it is impossible to ascertain the date of construction, the building does appear on the earliest map in the Austin History Center, circa 1873.

The building has been used for a saloon, a printing shop, retail clothing store, a café, and most recently as an Asian restaurant. From 1891 to 1894, D.T. Lamme of Lamme’s Candy fame, leased the building for his Red Front Candy Store. 811 is also known as the Von Boeckmann house, named for its most prominent owner, Eugene Von Boeckmann who purchased the building in 1894 and began a printing business. He was the publisher of the Texas Historical Association’s Quarterly Review and was recognized as the state printer. The building received historic landmark status in 2001, recognized as an outstanding example of commercial architecture built in the decades following the Civil War. Noteworthy features include the cut stone façade, stone and brick rubble sidewalls, and arched window openings with segmental arched lintels and keystones.

When Dennis Karbach purchased the residence in October of 2000 it was abandoned. Each floor was dark; fire damaged, smelled of pigeons, and was covered with bat guano. The challenge of the historical renovation and creating a comfortable residence fell to architect, Tim Cuppett and interior designer, Tracey Overbeck Stead. Karbach’s needs were clearly defined-convenience, space for entertaining, private space as well as space for his daughter and guests. “ I was living downtown in a space which was too small. There was no privacy and I needed space for my daughter. I knew I wanted to live downtown and several people-Eddy Safady-The Hellers were also beginning to renovate at the same time. I really don’t think anyone ever knows what they are getting into with a historic building until they are into it.” Featured on the HGTV series, Renovation Generation, the residence has won several awards including the prestigious Texas Society of Architects Design Award, for staying true to its historic roots at the same time morphing into a stunning example of modern design.

Architect Tim Cuppett responded to the challenge of the eccentric 21’ wide and 150’ deep space in this way: “My favorite quote of which this project is a perfect example,  ‘Consult the genius of the place in all…” by Alexander Pope. In this case I wanted the owner to experience the eccentric proportions of the building, and at the same time, feel comfortable in his home.” The concept was to embrace the length and height of the building. A long stair runs from the Congress Ave. entrance up through three floors for living to a roof top cabana and pool. Upon reaching the top by stair or elevator, one is confronted with stunning views of the Austin skyline beyond the pool and garden. Natural light is transmitted down into the building through skylights in the pool floor. Most of the original pine timber and stone structure remains, but has been strengthened with a new steel skeleton. Contrast is expressed by the juxtaposition of the old structure and new modern interiors.

For fourth generation Austinite, interior designer, Tracy Overbeck Stead, it was an honor and a responsibility to work on such a unique historical gem. For her the challenge was making sure the adaptation from commercial to single-family would result in a warm family environment while historically preserving the space. She accomplished her goal in several ways. The first way was to sandblast one side of the limestone shell to make the stone shine and add a lighter feel on the walls. The stone on the opposite walls were covered with drywall to soften the shell so it wouldn’t feel like you lived in a cave, Next, a long drywall fur down was installed on the ceilings of floor 1 and 2 to bring the scale down to a comfortable level and give space to add many architectural and decorative lights to brighten the space. She also used warm quarter-sawn hardwoods on the semi-private and private floors in a medium stain and wax. Lastly, to bring the scale to a comfortable residential level, a walnut band and fur down was added around the kitchen cabinetry to delineate the kitchen from the dining and to add a cozy texture and color into the cabinetry while preparing meals.

The first floor is for public gatherings. Dennis and Robert love to host benefit galas so the first floor is open and airy to provide entertaining for large groups.
The second floor is a semi-private space for friends and family. The living room is designed with modern furniture mixed with antiques to give character and warmth throughout.

The third floor is the private floor with the master suite including the master bath and bar. This floor also houses two guest rooms for family visits. The light pours onto the third floor from the glass bottom swimming pool above installed on the 4th floor to provide a ton of natural light. The master bedroom is a handsome and richly textured bedroom. It features dark wenge stained built-ins used for the headboard, a platform bed with custom bedding, a deep red rug for a punch of color, electronically controlled red velvet drapes, and a minimal leather chaise and side table for reading the newspaper.

Lastly, the fourth floor is the party floor with a ‘sky lounge’ for indoor cooking and relaxing by the fireplace and an outdoor oasis with a Jacuzzi, glass bottom negative-edge lap pool and an amazing garden overlooking Congress Avenue. This floor is a true Austin gem.

With more than 8400 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, and 3 living areas, the home might seem imposing. Instead it is remarkably livable for a space of its size. Karbach, an independent technical consultant and Brown, a development manager for the Long Center frequently entertain and host large gatherings for several causes and organizations they actively support. Of the home, Karbach says, “ The rooms are large and very open.we have 2,000 square feet on each floor and we live in the entire house. Some things are over the top-we have 4 dishwashers in the house, but everything in this house was designed for comfort and convenience.” Brown agrees. “We use this house and we love it. I think my favorite spot is the sky lounge and sky deck overlooking Congress. We have dinner parties or watch DVDs with friends in the theater. We host a lot of events for non-profits and political organizations.”

Recently Karbach and Brown have purchased and are renovating a Victorian House in the Castro section of San Francisco and plan to split their time between the two cities prompting them to place 811 Congress on the market. Buyers can continue to write the script on this storied home for a cool $6.5 million.

Tags: Home, Interior