Alexander Joske was the son of Julius Joske, who established a store on Main Plaza known as J. Joske in 1867. Alexander and his brothers joined his father in the business and a new store, J. Joske and Sons, opened in 1873.  The store relocated again two years later as Joske Brothers, and it' ...more

Local businessman Alfred Witte donated $65,000 at his death to be used for the creation of a museum of art, science, and natural history in Brackenridge Park.  The donation was made in honor of his parents and the building was to be called the Witte Memorial Museum. The Witte Museum opened i ...more

The area was originally settled by Dr. Anthony Michael Dignowity, a physician and reportedly the first Czech immigrant to Texas, who built his family home on a hill at the east of town in 1854 and called it Harmony House.  The estate extended for an entire city block on a rise above the city ...more

Edward Friedrich (1860-1951) lived nearby in the Dignowity Hill neighborhood.  His 1906 Queen Anne style home is still standing at 805 Nolan St.  He was the son of Wenzel Friedrich, noted furniture maker and designer of the famed horn furniture in the late nineteenth century.  (Nat ...more

Ella Austin responded to a lack of social services on the Eastside in 1897 by taking children into her home.  She established the Ella Austin Orphans Home at 1920 Burnet St., and the building now houses the Ella Austin Health Center.