Austin
Travis County, Texas
30 16.035' N 97 44.518' W

Text: Built in 1887, apparently as a hotel, for Tom Smith. Contractor was Austin Mayor Joseph Nalle. The “Hotel Provident” operated under various names until the 1920s. In conjunction with the hotel, the lower floor housed numerous businesses, including a newspaper, a law office, the “Texas Invention Co.”, and, 1900-45, various enterprises of J. Frank and John G. Heierman. The façade, with its erroneous date, was altered after 1900.