"The family that builds together, bonds together” might have been the slogan of Eugene Bremond, an early Austin banker who established a mini-real-estate monopoly for his own kin in the downtown area. In the mid-1860s, he started investing in land on what was Block 80 of the original city plan. In 1874, he moved into a Greek revival home made by master builder Abner Cook. By the time Bremond was through, he had created a family compound, purchasing and enlarging homes for himself, two sisters, a daughter, a son, and a brother-in-law. Some of these private buildings were destroyed, but those that remain on what is now known as the Bremond Block are exquisite examples of elaborate late-19th-century homes. Note: None of the houses are open to the public and they’re on a one-way street with difficult parking. Architecture buffs who find themselves in this area, however, will enjoy seeing how the other half lived in the gilded era.