‘Tique of the Week is an Austin-wide search for unique and interesting antiques. With dozens of antique shops around Austin, one-of-a-kind items from the past are not in short supply. Each week we’ll find a new favorite item and feature it as our “‘Tique of the Week.”

This week’s ‘Tique dates back to the late 1800s and has been an Austin landmark since 1985.

The Academy, built in 1889, is located just a couple of miles away from St. Edward’s University at 400 Academy Dr. The house was originally built for Myron D. Mather, who was president of Austin Water, Light and Power Co., Austin’s first utility company.

According to the historical marker on the front lawn, the house is partially built from some of the leftover granite that was used to complete construction of the Texas Capitol in 1888. That pink granite originally came from Granite Mountain in Marble Falls, Texas and has also been used in the construction of other historic places, such as the Galveston Seawall.

The Academy has also been home to Texas Supreme Court Justice Leroy G. Denman, who served as an associate justice from 1894-1899 before his resignation. A fun fact about Denman—one of his college classmates at the University of Virginia from back in the day ended up becoming United States President Woodrow Wilson.

In the 1920s the house became the Austin Military School, and from that point onward it has been known as The Academy.

The Academy was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and in 1985 it was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark. The marker in front of the house features an Official Historical Medallion from the Texas Historical Commission.

With pieces of history literally embedded in its walls, The Academy makes for a pretty rock-solid ‘Tique of the Week.