March 22nd marks World Water Day, so we are highlighting projects at Barton Springs Pool, one of our city’s favortie swimming holes!
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Preservation Motivation: Investing in Austin’s Nature Preserves
Since our inception, Austin Parks Foundation (APF) has been focused on protecting and preserving Austin’s public green spaces. With over 2,200 acres of Nature Preserves, Austin is blessed to have these pristine escapes right here in our city. Below are just a few of the preserves the City of Austin’s Parks & Recreation Dept. (PARD) manages that APF has had …
Project Playback: Helping the Georgian Acres Neighborhood Get Their Park
The Georgian Acres neighborhood had the highest amount of children and multi-housing units without a park nearby. For many years, residents of the neighborhood have been advocating for the park they were missing. Georgian Acres Neighborhood Association (GANA) was determined to provide their fellow neighbors with a park they would be proud of. They envisioned a new park that would …
Project Playback: A Decade of Investing in Zilker Botanical Garden
The Zilker Botanical Garden is often called the jewel in the heart of Austin, and it truly is a gem. Since 1955, with the help of the Austin Area Garden Center, Zilker Botanical Garden has been on a mission to educate and spread the love of gardening among Austinites of all ages. The 26-acre park just south of Lady Bird …
Project Playback: A Deep Dive Into Our Investment at Deep Eddy Pool
Deep Eddy Pool and the adjacent Eilers Park are unquestionably an Austinite favorite for cooling off in the summer heat. In the early 1900s, the property orginated as a swimming hole above a limestone bed in the Colorado River. George A. Rowley founded and named the property Deep Eddy Bathing Beach, and it became a hit with locals and out-of-towners …
Project Playback: Renovating Barton Hills Community Park
Barton Hills Community Park opened along with the adjacent elementary school in 1964. Over the course of the next 50 years, only minor improvements were made until the Friends of Barton Hills Community Park stepped up to make a difference for their neighborhood’s park. In December of 2012, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department approved their Park Master Plan to …
Project Playback: Hartford Park
Swing set and playscape for children ages 2 – 5 years old. Hartford Park was once an overgrown traffic triangle in the middle of a neighborhood in central Austin. Thanks to the grassroots efforts of Friends of Hartford Park (FOHP), it has evolved into an urban green space that enhances the surrounding community. Neighbors raised close to $200,000 all on …
Project Playback: Preserving the History of Downs-Mabson Fields
Downs-Mabson Fields, specifically Mabson Field, is currently the ballpark of the Huston-Tillotson University Rams, but was once home to some of baseball’s legendary players. Although Austin has never hosted a Major League Baseball organization, a few of it’s biggest stars, including Hall of Famers, once played right here in central Texas. Austin Parks Foundation is proud to be a part …
Project Playback: New Playscape at Edward Rendon Sr. Metro Park
In 2007, the park along the north east side shore of the river was renamed Edward Rendon Sr. Park at Festival Beach, after a neighborhood activist who was known for his efforts to clean up the park and reduce the noise pollution on the lake. Now Austinites know Edward Rendon as a great place to enjoy the Anne and Roy …
Project Playback: Upgrades at Gracywoods
Gracywoods Neighborhood Park, located in northwest Austin, was in desperate need of repair. The nearby community is growing, and the park couldn’t meet demand. The playscape was old and broken, and the safety surfacing had large holes, making the park unsafe for children. Fall 2017 marked a turning point for Gracywoods. With the support of The Gracywoods Neighborhood association, Bill …