Walter Webb
Walter Webb Hall, a building on the UT Austin campus, is a funny little building. The bottom two floors have been renovated and modernized. The upper floors retain the personality of the building’s last incarnation: a dormitory for visiting professors.
This means that those of us who work in Walter Webb share smallish, dorm-room-sized offices, the majority of which have en suite bathrooms that have been converted into closets. The bath tubs have been covered with shelves, but the closets retain their toilets and sinks. We don’t use those bathrooms though, because poor soundproofing in shared offices = awkward AF. Some of the offices also have small balconies, which is pretty rad.
We’re actually moving to a new building soon, but I’ve been working in Walter Webb now for nearly two years, and it’s high time I learn the story of the man for whom the building is named.
Documenting the American West
Walter Prescott Webb was born in 1888 in the East Texas city of Carthage, Texas, 150 miles southeast of Dallas, by the Louisiana border. Webb grew up on his family farm and, after graduating high school, earned his teaching certificate and spent several years teaching at schools across Texas.
In 1904, Walter wrote a letter to an Atlanta literary magazine asking how he could become a writer. A New Yorker named William E. Hinds saw the letter and went on to become a mentor and benefactor to Walter. With Hinds’ support, Webb was able to attend the University of Texas at Austin (known here colloquially as just UT). Webb went on to earn his BA at the age of 27.
After graduating, Webb lived in San Marcos, just south of Austin, where he worked odd jobs as a bookkeeper and an assistant for an optometrist. In 1918, he was invited to join the history faculty at UT.
Webb later earned his MA, centering his thesis on the Texas Rangers, and was awarded his PhD following the 1931 publication of his book The Great Plains. The book was considered groundbreaking and declared in 1939 by the Social Science Research Council as the most outstanding contribution to American history since World War I.
Webb served as the president of the Texas Historical Society from 1939–1946. During his tenure, he launched a project to create an encyclopedia of Texas, resulting in the 1952 publication of the Handbook of Texas. He published 20 books throughout his lifetime, one of which focused on the topic of his masters thesis. The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense, has been criticized for its romanticization of the law enforcement body. Webb has also been criticized for his portrayal of Native Americans and Mexican Americans.
To Webb’s credit, Texas Monthly notes:
He had also come to believe that his picture of the Rangers, particularly their notorious activities in South Texas, had failed sufficiently to consider the Mexican and Mexican American points of view. He intended to make some changes in a new edition, telling his friend Frank Wardlaw, the director of the University of Texas Press, “If a man can’t grow in thirty years, he may as well be dead.”
Sadly, Webb died in a car accident in 1963, before he managed to update the book. Webb is buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. (I’m thinking a visit to this cemetery will be fitting once this 30-day series is complete.)
Webb is widely recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to documenting the history of the American west. He also is known for his criticism of water usage in Texas, which he regarded as the most serious problem of his state. Pointing out the fragility and aridity of the region, he called it a national folly to continue following federal policy that sought to convert the region into arable farmland via irrigation. Webb’s stance on this issue is regarded as prophetic by some contemporary critics of U.S. water policy.
Around Walter Webb Hall
Walter Webb Hall (WWH in UT parlance) is located on Guadalupe, pronounced “Gwad-a-loop” (I know) and referred to as “the Drag.” Directly across from campus, WWH is in the heart of UT’s fraternity and sorority territory and edges west campus. Beware of UT students on scooters and classic Texas drivers going the wrong way down one-way streets because it’s just a block.
We’re in the heart of college student country, and there are lots of bars, non-fancy restaurants, stores, and real estate offices (ooof, those rents are STEEP. It’s no wonder one in four UT students have experienced food insecurity in the past 30 days — a common issue for college students across the country.)
Here are some of my favorite businesses close to WWH.
Harry Ransom Center
Culture on your lunch break! The Ransom Center has temporary and permanent exhibitions, including on vaudeville, Mexican art, and Shakespeare. Its permanent exhibitions include the Gutenberg Bible.
Hole in the Wall
A classic Austin music dive. The first time I went here, we saw a punk band fronted by a woman wearing a necklace assembled from Barbie legs. I am doll parts.
Thai How Are You
Daniel Johnston’s classic Austin “Hi how are you” mural decorates the wall of this Thai restaurant.
NYC-walking distance from Walter Webb Hall, Thai How Are You has decent lunch deals. Note that Austin has a dearth of good Thai food, so adjust expectations accordingly. This is no Sri Pra Phai.
Art Store at the Co-Op
Not the best art store in Austin (oh hi Jerry’s Artarama), but it’s nice to be walking distance from art supplies and books.
Wheatsville Food Co-op
This grocery store is my jam. You pay annual dues to join the co-op — no monthly shifts to complete — and non-members are welcome to shop there. Its baked goods are vegan and really tasty, which is awesome since dairy does this body bad but I really do love oatmeal cream pies and chocolate chip cookies. Also, decent wine selection and excellent dried mango.
Space 24 Twenty
This charming communal outdoor area behind Urban Outfitters is a lovely place to eat lunch (there are food trucks, or you can just bring your own) or work on one of the rare and perfect Goldilocks Austin days. Lucky Lab Coffee is one of the businesses in the space and I recommend their Yoda breakfast taco even though they spell potato a la Dan Quayle. I’d recommend grabbing a beer from Frank’s, which has a charming bar area in Space 24 Twenty, but they seem to be closed?
