Austin History Center

Thomas Whitehead Shefelman was an architect and artist, born in 1927 in Seattle, Washington. Shefelman came to Austin in 1951 to attend the University of Texas School of Architecture. He went on to study and receive a Master’s Degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design. During the early years of his career, Shefelman worked for Keuhne Brooks & Barr and Fehr & Granger before opening his own firm, partnering with Alan Taniguchi. In later years he partnered with Jim Nix. Notable projects are the American National Bank (Starr Building), the first Waller Creek Master Plan, and the first Redesign of Congress Avenue. After retiring from architecture he and his wife, Janice, collaborated on a number of children’s books. Thomas Shefelman passed away on December 28, 2016.