Jones Center on Congress Avenue

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The Jones Center on Congress Avenue is one of The Contemporary Austin’s two museum sites in Texas. It used to be called AMOA-Arthouse at the Jones Center.

The center’s story starts in 1911, when the Texas Fine Arts Association (TFAA) was founded to maintain Elisabet Ney’s studio and collection (today the Elisabet Ney Museum). The group helped create the University of Texas art department, pushed for a state arts commission, and helped start major Texas museums. In 1927 TFAA began a touring program to bring art to communities across the state.

In 1943 Clara Driscoll gave the Laguna Gloria estate to TFAA, and it operated as an art museum there until 1961, when Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Inc. took over. By the end of 1998, TFAA kept its state headquarters in the carriage house at Laguna Gloria and held three annual exhibitions in the main building.

In 1995, TFAA bought the property at 700 Congress Avenue in Austin. In November 1998, the organization opened its new headquarters, the Jones Center for Contemporary Art. In November 2002, the name changed from Texas Fine Arts Association to Arthouse. In 2010, the architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis completed major expansions and renovations to Arthouse at the Jones Center. They added 177 LED-lit glass blocks on the south and east walls for a glowing look.

In 2011 Arthouse at the Jones Center merged with the Austin Museum of Art. In 2013, the Austin Museum of Art was renamed The Contemporary Austin, and the Jones Center became The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center on Congress Avenue.