Baker Center (Austin, Texas)

The Baker Center, previously the Baker School, Baker Junior High School, and W. R. Robbins High School, is a historic building in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin, Texas. It has been, in sequential order, an elementary school, a middle school, an alternative high school, and an administrative building for Austin ISD. In 2018, the Baker Center was bought by Alamo Drafthouse, and now serves as their corporate headquarters.

It has been used as a filming location for the TV shows Friday Night Lights and Walker, and the movie Lousy Carter.

As of October 27, 2023, the Baker Center is on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in educational and architectural history.

Baker School
When it was built, the Baker School replaced the original Hyde Park School, which was established by Monroe Shipe, after Hyde Park School was unable to accommodate the neighborhood's growing population.

It was identical to the Fulmore Middle School in South Austin, which would later become Lively Middle School.

The Baker School was designed by the architectural firm Endress & Walsh and their associate Roy L. Thomas.

The school was dedicated on November 28, 1911 as a segregated elementary school for white children living in Hyde Park. It is named for DeWitt Clinton Baker, who was the treasurer of the Austin Library Association in 1875.

Additions to Baker School were built in 1924, by city planner and architect Franz Hugo Kuehne, and in 1939 by the firm Kriesle and Brooks.

Baker Junior High School
In the late 1930s, federal aid was lended to the school, which was used to create a large rear addition. As a result of the expansion, the school now served elementary and middle school-aged pupils. The district then renamed the school to reflect this.

Baker Junior High School was renovated in 1958 and 1961 in an effort to modernize the building, as well as to accommodate the growing population of Hyde Park. The school's "Band Building" was established during the renovations.

W. R. Robbins High School
The Baker Junior High School was converted into an Alternative High School in 1980. W. R. Robbins closed in 1995.

Austin ISD building
After the closing of W. R. Robbins, the school became the administrative headquarters for Austin ISD.

During this period, the building was used as a filming location for the TV shows, "Friday Night Lights" and "Walker, Texas Red", as a school in both cases.

In 2016, in the wake of budget cuts, the district put the Baker School on the real estate market. They had previously suggested selling the school in 2011.

Austin ISD asked that any buyers use the building for educational purposes.

In 2017, the school's gymnasium was converted into an art venue named the "Rosette." It has been used primarily as a performance space for Austin Classical Guitar.

Alamo Drafthouse Headquarters
Movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse bought the Baker Center in 2017 for $10.6 million. Alamo Drafthouse said they would use it as their corporate headquarters, but that it would also create affordable housing for public school teachers on the property. They promised it would not be "just a development project".

Concerns were raised over Alamo Drafthouse winning the auction, as other bidders had spent millions more on their bids. ColinaWest Real Estate owner David Kahn sued Austin ISD, alleging that they had violated proper vetting processes by not going with one of the higher bids made. Kahn would later withdraw his lawsuit.

Alamo Drafthouse has yet to build the affordable housing for teachers.

In one of the building's former classrooms are wax figures of Amish men and women seated at desks. These figures originate from a museum in Pennsylvania, which Alamo Drafthouse co-owner Tim League had purchased. Following the purchase, League was unsure of where to store these figures, and decided to keep them in the Baker Center.

In 2020, Alamo Drafthouse sought NRHP status for the Baker Center. It was added to the register in October 2023, which allotted the company a tax credit.

In 2021, the film Lousy Carter conducted most of its filming at the Baker Center. The film was shown inside The Rosette on March 31, 2024.