Austin History Center
🏢 Austin Public Library · Austin, Texas
Austin History Center
Home to over a million historic photographs, the O. Henry papers, and 400+ oral histories, the Austin History Center is the local history and archives division of Austin Public Library — now housed in the $14.5 million-renovated John Henry Faulk building at 800 Guadalupe Street since its grand reopening in December 2025.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 12pm–5pm |
| Thursday | 12pm–5pm |
| Friday | 12pm–5pm |
| Saturday | 12pm–5pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 800 Guadalupe Street, Austin, TX 78701
Phone: (512) 974-7480
Website: library.austintexas.gov
Plus Code: 862477C3+GJ (Austin, TX)
📱 Scan for directions
Point your phone camera at the code to open turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps.
👋 Use the Library Online
📖 About Austin History Center
The Austin History Center traces its roots to 1933, when Austin's first purpose-built public library opened at 810 Guadalupe Street in a Renaissance Revival building designed by architects Hugo Kuehne and J. Roy White — a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1993. When the John Henry Faulk Central Library opened next door in 1979, the original building became dedicated to the city's historical archives, and the Austin History Center Association was formally organized that same year to support the mission. In December 2025, after a $14.5 million renovation funded by the city's 2018 bond program, the center relocated its reading room, exhibits, and climate-controlled archives into the six-story Faulk building at 800 Guadalupe, gaining 60,000 square feet of expanded archival storage. The building honors John Henry Faulk (1913–1990), the Austin-born radio host and folklorist who won a landmark $3.5 million libel judgment in 1962 against McCarthyite blacklisters — a verdict that helped end the Hollywood blacklist. Today the center's mission is to 'procure, preserve, present and provide the historical records that make up Austin's unique story,' serving researchers, residents, and educators through its reading room, digitization projects, and outreach programs.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Over one million historic photographs documenting Austin's people, neighborhoods, and landmarks from the mid-19th century to the present
- The O. Henry Collection — nationally significant papers, letters, and photographs of William Sydney Porter, Austin's own O. Henry, including the only known recording of his voice
- More than 1,200 manuscript collections spanning 8,000+ linear feet: city and county government records, business archives, personal papers, neighborhood histories, and architectural drawings from 150+ firms
- Austin Music Network Archives — video and audio recordings of live performances at Austin clubs and venues from 1994 onward, preserving a key chapter of the city's music legacy
- Community Archives Program, winner of a Society of American Archivists Diversity Award, focused on preserving the histories of African American, Mexican American & Latine, and Asian Pacific American communities in Travis County
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Austin History Center cardholders and researchers can access collections and statewide databases online through Austin Public Library:
📚 Services
- On-site Reading Room for in-person archival research (Wednesday–Saturday, noon–5pm; call slip system for staff retrieval)
- Remote reference service by email at austin.historycenter@austintexas.gov
- Reproduction requests for photographs, documents, and maps
- Kurzweil and screen-reader assistive technology in the Reading Room
- Meeting room rentals in the Faulk building
- Property history and house-history research assistance
- Interlibrary loan through the Austin Public Library system
🎸 Programs
- Community Archives Program — ongoing collecting of African American, Mexican American & Latine, and Asian Pacific American community histories through oral interviews and donated materials
- Public exhibitions — inaugural Faulk-era exhibit 'Unboxing the Archives: Our Records, Our Stories' showcasing highlights from the collection (through May 2026)
- Outreach lectures and neighborhood history presentations by staff archivists
- Austin History Center Association Angelina Eberly Luncheon — annual fundraising event celebrating Austin's history
- Digitization and oral history recording projects open to community participants
📍 Nearby Libraries in Austin
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Austin History Center's relationship to Austin Public Library?
The Austin History Center is the local history and archives division of Austin Public Library. Unlike a circulating branch, it operates as a research archive: materials must be used on-site in the Reading Room and cannot be checked out. It is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5pm (the Faulk building schedule since the December 2025 reopening). General library services — borrowing books, using digital resources, and accessing TexShare databases — are available at any APL branch with a library card.
Who was John Henry Faulk, and why is the center's building named after him?
John Henry Faulk (1913–1990) was an Austin-born radio host, humorist, and folklorist who earned a master's degree in American folklore from the University of Texas. In the 1950s he was blacklisted from his CBS radio show by McCarthyite organization AWARE, Inc. Rather than capitulate, he sued — and in 1962 a jury awarded him $3.5 million, then the largest libel judgment in US history, a verdict widely credited with helping bring the Hollywood blacklist to an end. Faulk returned to Austin, where he continued storytelling and social advocacy until his death in 1990. The Central Library at 800 Guadalupe was renamed in his honor in 1996.
What makes the Austin History Center's photograph collection significant?
The center holds over one million images — daguerreotypes, glass plates, nitrate negatives, and digital files — documenting Austin's landscape, people, and architecture from the mid-19th century to today. The collection includes the O. Henry photographic archive (papers and portraits of William Sydney Porter), early images of the Texas Capitol under construction, neighborhood change documentation from communities of color, and architectural photographs from 150+ firms spanning a century of Austin's built environment. Many images are freely searchable through the Portal to Texas History and the AHC Digital Collections portal.
Can I do genealogy research at the Austin History Center?
Yes. The center holds Austin city directories from the 1870s through the 1920s, Travis County government records, newspaper archives, oral histories, and the Austin Files (vertical files by subject, biography, and house/address). Staff can assist with property histories and family research during Reading Room hours (Wednesday–Saturday, noon–5pm). Remote research questions can be submitted by email to austin.historycenter@austintexas.gov. Cardholders can also access TexShare databases remotely, including Ancestry Library Edition available through the APL system.
✎ Notice something out of date? Suggest a correction and we’ll verify and update it.