The 1886 Victorian Hugh B. Hancock House now at 1717 West Avenue was relocated from East Seventh Street in the Robertson Hill area of East Austin in 1979. The home, built in the Victorian style with classical ornamentation, was constructed in 1886 for a successful African American businessman, the proprietor of the Black Elephant Saloon and the H.B. Hancock Saloon on East 6th Street.

The Hancock House was sold in 1904 to German native Charles Frederick Mann, a local railroad engineer for Southern Pacific, and his wife Sophia, who raised eight children in the home.

It remained in the Mann family until 1959, and in 1978 was moved to its present location and renovated by Dr. & Mrs. Earl Howard for use as a physician’s office. Original pine and oak floors were refinished, specially milled wood ceilings recreated, and outdoor columns and trim cleaned and repainted.