Laguna Gloria (Driscoll-Sevier)

Architect/Builder: Harvey L. Page
Year: 1916
Style: Italianate
Areas of Significance: Art, Architecture
City: Austin

The grounds of the Austin Museum of Art-Laguna Gloria have delighted visitors for many years. Stephen F. Austin once owned the property, which he described as being “on the Colorado at the foot of the mountains.” In 1832, Austin wrote that he intended to build a home for himself here, but this never came to pass.

Clara Driscoll and her husband Hal Sevier, the owner of the newspaper The Statesman, purchased the property in 1914. It reminded them of Lake Como in Italy where they had honeymooned a few years earlier. In 1916 the couple built a home for themselves, designed by San Antonio architect Harvey L. Page. They named it Laguna Gloria in part after one of her family’s ranches in Duval County, “La Gloria.” The site’s proximity to water is most likely the reason they referred to it as a lagoon. Click here to read more about Clara Driscoll.

© 2005 AMOA. Photographs posted with permission.