Grand old home near UT heads for new era

Landmark house for sale in Central Austin is former home of new deputy secretary of state.

By Charles Ealy
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, March 08, 2009

For more than 80 years, the house at 3312 Duval St. has played host to prominent Austinites, including two noted professors at the University of Texas.

It began in 1928 as the home of Stanley Finch, a civil engineer who became part of the original graduate faculty at the university, and his wife, Emily.

And for the past four years, it has been home to James Steinberg, the former dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and his wife, Sherburne Abbott.

Now, the house is ready to move on to a new era. Steinberg recently left his university job and moved to Washington with his wife and two daughters to serve as the deputy secretary of state for President Barack Obama. So the Central Austin estate is back on the market, this time for $1.5 million.

Suzanne Pringle of AvenueOne Properties has been showing the home and its guesthouse for about two weeks. Although the house is for sale, it also can be leased for $4,300 a month.

Pringle says that the Steinberg family fell in love with Austin during their stay here, and "it's not a matter of if but a matter of when" they return from D.C. So the Steinbergs have left open the possibility of leasing the home rather than selling it.

Read the rest of the story here at http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/statesmanhomes/03/08/0308finch.html

Search Homes Now