African American Cultural and Heritage Facility, including the Dedrick-Hamilton House.
Mural, “Reflections,” by Reginald C. Adams
Another mural view
Officers of the Emancipation Park Association, 1909 (Austin History Center)
African-American band at Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900, held in "East Woods" on East 24th St. (Austin History Center)
It may have been Thomas Dedrick, a former slave, who built the little yellow house in the Robertson Hill neighborhood on 11th Street in 1180. In 1893, city records show his son, William, living there, and the house remained in the family through five generations. In 2006, plans were developed by the city of Austin to create an African American cultural Heritage District, with the restored yellow house, still in its original location, as an anchor to the larger complex.
Today the completed center is home to Austin's Office of Arts and Cultural resources, the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Dedrick Hamilton House Visitors Center. The facility hosts arts, business, cultural, and entertainment programs.