Austin, Texas story
The Towers of Littlefield House
Tucked away on the University of Texas campus is a spectacular, red-brown Victorian mansion that looks like it stepped right out of a fairy tale. Built in 1893 for Major George Wa…
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Tucked away on the University of Texas campus is a spectacular, red-brown Victorian mansion that looks like it stepped right out of a fairy tale. Built in 1893 for Major George Washington Littlefield and his wife Alice, the Littlefield House is the oldest building on the main campus. Its architecture is incredibly rich, featuring deep red brick, red sandstone, granite, tile, and an ornate iron wraparound porch.
Above the multicolored slate roofs rise two distinct towers—one round and one square. The grounds even feature a massive deodar cedar tree shipped all the way from the Himalayas at Littlefield's request. While the grand Victorian neighborhood that once surrounded it has vanished, this house stands as the sole survivor of that bygone era.
As you walk past its striking towers, appreciate this beautifully preserved pocket of nineteenth-century elegance.
Updated June 2026