1111 W. 11th St. (above the Austin Graffiti Park)
After the Civil War, the 5th Military District was formed in Texas and Louisiana as part of Reconstruction. The Texas Military Institute (TMI) was founded for the purpose of training young men to serve in this military district. Originally founded in Bastrop in 1868, TMI later moved to this site. When the school was opened in 1870, the original campus was 32 acres. The castle-like building was modeled after the Virginia Military Institute and West Point and contained lecture rooms. Other buildings on campus included a professors' residency, mess hall, barracks, hospital, and other outlying buildings that served the school. TMI operated for ten years, but dissolved because of the rise of public education in Texas. A few years later, Jacob Bickler moved his Texas German and English Academy to this site (1893–97). In 1890, the porch that wraps the north and east sides of the building was added. The building is currently privately owned. It’s a City of Austin Landmark and Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
