Goodman Building (Austin, Texas)
in Austin, United StatesCategory: Attraction
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204 W 13th St, Austin, TX 78701, USA Print route »
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The Goodman Building is a late Victorian style historic commerce building in downtown Austin, Texas. It was constructed as a grocery in the mid-1880s to serve Austinites northwest of the Texas State Capitol. Today is serves as a state government adjunct office. A local bar, "The Cloak Room," occupies the basement and is a favorite for government employees. It is located at 202 W. 13th Street. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.JOSEPH GOODMAN
Joseph Goodman was a German immigrant from (Westphalia??) who lived across from his grocery store in a one-story home with wrap-around porch that was located on the SE corner of Lavaca and (??) Street, which he shared with his wife (name?), son (Frank?), and three daughters: Amelia, "Nanny", and Margaret. Amelia Goodman later married Wilton F. Rose and moved to San Antonio where she lived the rest of her life. Daughters Margaret and "Nanny" (name?) never married and lived the rest of their lives in Austin. Joseph Goodman's brother (name?), departed Austin with a large amount in savings to open a store in (Georgetown?), north of Austin, but was found killed just north of town and his money stolen. His apparent murder was never solved.
For many years, Joseph Goodman's grocery business prospered and served Austinites, including such noteworthy residents as famed sculptor and fellow German immigrant Elizabet Ney, who regularly rode her horse to the Goodman Store from her home and studio in Hyde Park. A prosperous merchant in an early, formative phase of Austin's development, Joseph Goodman's fortunes soured during World War 1, when the anti-German sentiment that swept the United States at the time turned many citizens against him. Customers either never paid their bills or simply took goods from the store with impunity. As a result, Goodman's economic fortunes declined and although he was able to keep his store open after the war, he was forced to close it in (193?) at age (____).
Although the property was sold long ago, many of Joseph Goodman's descendants still reside in Austin, including noted attorney Robert ("Bob") Hearon, his brother Richard A. Hearon, and their sister Marcia H. Lind (now deceased). Other Austin residents descended from Joseph Goodman include well-known author and political historian Michael Lind and his brother Mark Lind, a residential and commercial designer.
