🏢 Austin Public Library — Austin, Texas

Austin History Center

The Austin History Center is the local-history archive of the Austin Public Library, preserving the photographs, maps, records, and personal stories of Austin and Travis County. In late 2025 its archives and Reading Room moved into the former John Henry Faulk Central Library building downtown.

📖 About Austin History Center

The Austin History Center serves as the local history collection of the Austin Public Library, documenting the governments, businesses, neighborhoods, institutions, and residents of Austin and Travis County. For decades it was housed in the 1933 former Austin Public Library at 810 Guadalupe, a Renaissance Revival building designed by architect J. Roy White for the firm of Hugo Kuehne, which served as the city's main library until 1979. In December 2025 the Center's archives and Reading Room relocated next door into the John Henry Faulk building, reopening to researchers there. Its holdings include thousands of documents, photographs, maps, artifacts, and oral and personal histories. Staff assist the public with genealogy, neighborhood history, and research into local events. Unlike a circulating branch, it is a non-lending archive where materials are consulted on site.

⭐ What makes this branch special

• The local-history archive for Austin and Travis County, part of Austin Public Library
• Housed in the former John Henry Faulk Central Library building downtown (moved Dec 2025)
• Thousands of photographs, maps, documents, artifacts, and personal histories
• A research and Reading Room center rather than a book-lending branch

📱 Free with an Austin Public Library Card

Any Texas resident can get an APL card free and unlock:

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions