Bufford Tower

photo by chiffonade

This small six story tower was erected in 1930 to provide the Austin Fire Department with a “high rise” building on which to train. As the city grew in size it became impractical to train in the center of town. In 1974 the fire department built a new fire drill tower on Pleasant Valley Road in southeast Austin. In 1978 Mrs. Effie R. Kitchens, whose late husband built the tower donated $30,000 towards a project to restore the decaying structure and add its distinctive carillon. The structure was named for Captain James L. Buford, an Austin fireman who died in the line of duty on June 17, 1972 while attempting to rescue a 15-year old boy during a Shoal Creek flood. The carillon was called the Kitchen Memorial Chimes.
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History of ATX Servant Girl Annihilator The Burt Murders State Capitol Building Governor’s Mansion Driskill Hotel Buford Tower The Paramount Theater Moonlight Towers The Inn at Pearl Street The Neill-Cochran House Clay Pit Restaurant Speakeasy’s The B-Side Bar and Bitter End Bistro and Brewery Nathan Rhambo