Weekly Luncheon & Program

Cecille Marcato will talk to us about the rich history of the Neill-Cochran House Museum, the first location of Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired when it was called the Asylum for the Blind.

The Neill-Cochran House is considered to be one of Austin’s three most important historic residences. This beautiful Greek Revival style home at 2310 San Gabriel was built for Washington Hill by Abner Cook 156 years ago when the city of Austin was 2 miles away and inhabited by 1,000 residence. Come hear why Mr. Hill and his family never occupied the home and who did!

Cecille Marcato has been at the NCHM since 2005 as founding director.  Educated at Southwestern University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Iowa, and the New York School of Interior Design, she moved to Austin from New York where she worked on Wall Street and at HBO.  At the NCHM, she initiated an annual speaker series, children’s programs, docent recruitment and training, and the Abner Cook Award; she juggles the collections, in-house exhibits, a new interpretive plan, grants, and preservation.