Freese and Nichols Sites

In 1934, the Public Works Administration approved a $500,000 grant and loan package for the construction of a sewage disposal plant for the City of Austin. The city purchased 31 acres of land along the Colorado River for the site of the new plant, which was to be a revolutionary facility designed for a relatively new treatment process using activated sludge. The city hired the architecture and engineering consulting firm of Hawley, Freese and Nichols to design the 6 million gallon a day plant. Brown and Root, Inc. received the contract to build the plant in November 1935. In May...