Service:

HSA specifically serves its membership and generally serves the greater Austin area and Travis County. As a nationally recognized preservation organization founded in 1953, we protect the diverse architectural and cultural heritage of the greater Austin community. HSA is a proactive leader with local, state, and national policy makers and organizations ensuring that preservation is at the forefront of the public policy agenda. Backed by an effective team of board members, staff, volunteers and sponsors, we aim to enable all parts of the community to have an active role in ensuring that Austin's unique past is part of our shared future.

Advocacy

For over 50 years, the Heritage Society of Austin has been Austin’s leading voice for the preservation of historic buildings and places. As a result of our advocacy and financial support, 300 historic properties, including Austin treasures like the Driskill Hotel, Paramount Theater, Governor’s Mansion, Laguna Gloria, and many private residences have been preserved.

The Heritage Society maintains a Watch List of threatened properties and advocates on their behalf. Read more about our advocacy issues or notify us of a historic property at risk or a preservation issue of concern.

Initiatives and Programs:

• Saving the historic Castleman-Bull House and presenting it to the City of Austin to be incorporated as a key element of a future Waller Creek development.
  
• Supporting Pioneer Farms, a living history museum that represents rural life in Central Texas in the our historic neighborhoods on an annual Heritage Homes Tour
  
• Honoring individuals and institutions for their visionary approach to preservation and long time commitment to maintaining Austin's architectural, cultural, and environmental heritage.
  
• Presenting the CIRCA Antiques Show as a key fundraiser to support our initiatives and as a means for interested individuals to preserve the irreplaceable.
  
• Fostering the next generation's appreciation of our heritage through the Heritage Hunt.
• Partnering with the Austin Board of REALTORS to develop a REALTOR preservation training program in Austin
• Initiating Heritage Austin, in cooperation with the City of Austin to create a public based vision for the revitalization of Austin's central core.
  
• Providing grants and loans to individuals or groups to restore buildings of historic significance or architectural importance.
  
• Contributing to the preservation of more than 300 valuable properties like the Driskill Hotel, the Paramount Theater, the Governor's Mansion and the Bremond Block
  
• Introducing Historic Austin, An Illustrated History, by noted author Mike Cox.
  

Administration:

The Heritage Society is a tax exempt organization composed of more than 700 members. The affairs of HSA are managed by the Board of Directors. There is also a non-voting Advisory Board of Directors.

Financial Support:

HSA raises funds from the community to cover costs of programming through:

Annual Special Events: Preservation Awards Celebration and Heritage Homes Tour
Individual and Business Memberships
Grants from foundations
Individual and business contributions
Underwriting from special events