Bohn House (Austin, Texas)

 residence, Streamline Moderne (architecture), interesting place, Art Deco (architecture), 1938_construction

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The 1938 Henry Bohn House in Austin, Texas, was designed by architect Roy L. Thomas with inspiration from the film Lost Horizon that had been released the previous year. Through its episodic composition, the Art Moderne residence emulates the fictional Shangri-La depicted in the movie. Recently, a family of five retained local firm Dick Clark + Associates to almost double the size of the house (to 6,479 square feet) and make it suitable for a more modern lifestyle, while retaining most of the original structure and its most memorable details.

Many of Thomas’ spaces, including the entry hall, living room, and semi-circular solarium dining room on the main level were restored. The kitchen, however, was fully updated with substantial alterations that make it both more suited to modern living and open to the backyard. The new construction includes a garage, mudroom, and guest bedroom on the first floor, as well as three new bedrooms and associated service areas on the second level.

The most striking addition is so convincing that it seems original: a curved parapet with paired porthole windows atop the original entryway. It reasserts the front door’s hierarchical dominance, which the much-expanded massing could easily have obscured. Steel windows in the original house—a key feature of its classic modern pedigree—were faithfully restored, and in order to maintain the high level of authenticity (in both material and proportion), the addition’s steel windows were sourced from a contemporaneous home in the neighborhood that was being demolished.

Inside, the house’s most enduring feature is also its most explicit reference to the mythical descriptions of Shangri-La—a circular mahogany door between kitchen and living room. The architects restored the feature (which slides upwards), including the original operation switch. The new Bohn House continues to be an Austin architectural icon, proving the possible compatibility of thoughtful design with historic fabric.

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