308 N Pinckney St
Madison, WI 53703, USA

Albert & Lavinia Austin House, 308 North Pinckney St Madison, Dane County, WI

This two-and-one-half-story frame Queen Anne residence was built in 1901 for Albert E. Austin and his family. Austin moved to Madison from rural Hazel Green, Wisconsin in 1901 to enter the employ of F.A. Gill`s shoe store. He later purchased the business from Gill. In 1915, Austin joined O.S. Jacobson in the Auto Sales Company and was associated with Jacobson until Austin`s retirement in 1920. Austin died in 1925. Austin`s widow converted her home into a two-unit residence in 1929. She lived in the house until 1940. In the late 1940`s an additional unit was built on the third floor. From about 1955 until the building was vacated in 1979 it housed apartments and an office on the second floor. During these years, it was owned by a succession of investors. The house is a vernacular example of the Queen Anne style, a style that is represented in Madison by many finer examples, including several in the Mansion Hill historic district, of which this property is a part. The house is not in itself of particular historical significance, but it does not contribute to the character of the Mansion Hill historic district, since it was built during the district`s period of significance, and since it retains much of its historic appearance, although in a much deteriorated state.