Description

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As with his well-received first book on the historic homes of Waco, architectural historian Kenneth Hafertepe brings to life the colorful and varied pasts of an entirely new set of notable residences in this city. Hafertepe extends coverage beyond the typical focus on homes of the more well-to-do classes. Included here are “homes of saloon keepers, horse traders, saddlers, ministers, bookkeepers, candy store owners, and laborers” as well as the residences of lawyers, doctors, and wealthy merchants, among others.
With a blend of meticulous research, beautiful color photographs, and accessible, entertaining writing, Hafertepe presents these historic homes as a lens on the history and sociology of Waco, Texas, showing how immigrants from Western and Central Europe, West Asia, and other places of origin, along with African Americans, Mexican Americans, Anglo-Americans, and others, made places and lives for themselves and their families in this central Texas community. The result, as described by Hafertepe, is “an intricate tapestry, with materials contributed by Black Wacoans as well as white; by immigrants from abroad and people born elsewhere in the United States. . . . These houses tell stories of successes and failures, triumphs and tragedies, dreams that came true and dreams that were denied. These houses speak to the complexity of the human condition and to the ongoing experiments that are Waco, Texas, and the United States of America.”

About the Author

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Kenneth Hafertepe is a professor and chair of the department of museum studies at Baylor University and an award-winning author on American and Texas architecture and material culture. His subjects have included the Smithsonian Castle, the French Legation and Governor’s Mansion in Austin, Ashton Villa in Galveston, the Spanish Governor’s Palace in San Antonio, and the historic buildings of Fredericksburg, San Antonio, and Waco. His book The Material Culture of German Texans won the Ron Tyler Award from the Texas State Historical Association as well as awards from the Victorian Society in America, the Philosophical Society of Texas, and the Conservation Society of San Antonio. Historic Homes of Waco, Texas, also won the Ron Tyler Award from TSHA.