Bauer House

Bauer House, the official home of the Chancellor of The University of Texas System, is located in the Tarrytown neighborhood of Austin, Texas. Bauer House is named for former UT System Regent W. H. Bauer and his wife, Louise. The stately home is the site of many official UT System functions enjoyed by public and higher education leaders, donors and supporters, and members of the broader community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the UT System.

The interior of the home is furnished and decorated with items from many priceless antique and art collections of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center and the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art. R. B. Cousins, Jr. built the original Georgian/Federal style home for his family in 1936. In later years, the home was sold to Thalbert Thomas and then to J. M. and Gloria Miesch. Mrs. Miesch, widow, later married Earl E. Shouse, and the couple generously conveyed the property to the UT System Board of Regents in 1968.

Bauer house line illustration of the outdoor facade

 

The home was evaluated for modernization as well as building codes required for its use as a public facility. Due to excessive cost projections for renovations, the Regents decided to demolish the original home and build a more suitable structure in its likeness. The new home included a library addition, a larger kitchen and family quarters on the second floor. Since Chancellor Charles A. LeMaistre and his family moved into the Bauer House in 1971, it has been the home for all the UT System chancellors and their families.

The Charmaine and Frank Denius Pavilion opened in the fall of 2005. Built with a generous gift from the Cain Foundation, the Denius Pavilion is used for Chancellor and UT System hosted events, university meetings, workshops, training seminars and dinners, and has expanded the entertaining capacity at the Bauer House.