Central Austin Properties
Ken Altes, REALTOR
Ken Altes, REALTORWith a bend in the Colorado River forming its south and west boundaries, this large Central Austin area west of downtown includes such historic parts of town as Clarksville, Tarrytown, and Deep Eddy Pool. Close to 20,000 people call the 78703 zip code home.
The Old West Austin Historic District is a residential area west of downtown Austin, Texas noted for its collection of historically-significant residential homes. The oldest and best-known, Woodlawn, was built in 1853, and the family of resident Elisha Pease subdivided much of its surrounding land to create the neighborhood of Old Enfield. Today the district includes the neighborhoods of Clarksville, Old Enfield, BrykerWoods, and Pemberton, and stretches from 12th Street to 35th Street, and from Mopac Expressway to Lamar Boulevard. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, citing 1,574 historically significant properties within its borders.
History of the Old West Austin Neighborhood
The Old West Austin Neighborhood can look back to the mid-nineteenth century for examples of its residential character and variety. The 320-acre land grant which eventually became the Enfield area was assigned to D.S. Parrish on April 5, 1841 by the Republic of Texas under the administration of Mirabeau B. Lamar. In 1859 Governor Elisha Pease bought the estate and its accompanying residence at 6 Niles Road for $15,000. In 1916, when Governor Pease’s descendants began subdividing his estate, they named the new neighborhood “Enfield” in honor of the former governor’s Connecticut hometown. Advertisers and realtors of the day said, “Better Babies, Better Homes, Better Move to Enfield.” In similar booster rhetoric, Enfield was described as “the Place Beautiful” with “. . .no dust, yet the summer breezes sweeping up the gorge of Pease Park from the south and east, making this the coolest place in summer. Here one is removed from the noises of the City, yet a ten minute walk or three minute drive brings him to the City’s business district.” Today’s residents point to similar advantages, even if they use different words. Another story can be found along the western border of this his- torically rich neighborhood.
Clarksville, the first Black freedomtown west of the Mississippi River, extends from Tenth Street to the south side of Waterston and from the west side of West Lynn to the MoPac right of way. The origin of the Black settlement dates back to 1865 when Governor Pease granted several of his slaves a portion of land for “good and faithful service.” The residents date their settlement from 1871 when a freedman named Charles Clark purchased two acres of land from General N.J. Shelley, in hopes of starting a community for freed slaves. Over the years Clarksville grew into a nicely sized, quietly cozy, and closely-knit neighborhood. In the last three decades that neighborhood, like the Enfield area to the north and other turn-of-the-century subdivisionsof West Austin, has undergone several changes in its landscape and demography. These changes have been a result of both “outside” interest in the neighborhood and renewed concern by longtime residents. Prior to 1971 the Clarksville community spread several blocks west of the Missouri-Pacific (Mopac) Railroad tracks. Many residents sold their property west of the tracks as white suburbs spread further to the west. However, the most devastating blow to the Clarksville community came in 1971. In that year, construction began on a north-south expressway on either side of the Mopac tracks. Nearly a third of the houses in Clarksville were razed to accomodate the new Loop 1/Mopac Expressway.
The Raymond Plateau, which stretches from Town Lake north to 7th Street and from Lamar Boulevard west to Blanco, was first subdivided in 1885. The Silliman Addition, between Blanco and Lamar on the west and east respectively and from 9th north to 12th Street, was platted in 1895. Duval Heights, in the eastern part of the neighborhood, and Westridge, in Clarksville to the west, came into being in 1909 and 1910. The Enfield subdivision began in 1916. Relatively “young” subdivisions within
the neighborhood such as Terrace Park, Shelley Heights, and Pressler are of 1935 vintage but “old” compared to most of Austin’s areas.
Historic Locations and Buildings in the Old West Austin Neighborhood
In 1876 the International and Great Northern Railroad came to Austin. In 1956 it became the Missouri and Pacific Railroad and its tracks are still in use today by Amtrak Passenger freight trains. In its past, the railroad offered the people of Austin links to cities such as Chicago, Louisville, Washington and New York with all the ‘modern’ improvements of the time such as Pullman Sleeper cars and travel “without a change of cars”. The social centers of Austin often were in the beer gardens. Paul Pressler owned one of the first of the famous beer gardens. In operation prior to 1897, Pressler Beer Garden was located near present day West Sixth and Pressler Streets meet. It was built in connection with the Pressler brewery and boasted a bandstand, shade trees, and stretched all the way to the Colorado River. Near the present day intersection of 5th Street and Lamar Boulevard was the Tips Engine Works. The company was founded in 1899 and moved to this location in 1909. For many years Tips supplied engines, gas meter covers, and structural support beams for downtown buildings such as the Driskill Hotel, and the Austin City Library at 9th and Guadalupe (now the Austin History Center).
[History provided by City of Austin]
Pease Park (officially Pease District Park) is a public park in central Austin, Texas.
Every spring, it plays host to the annual Eeyore's Birthday Party celebration, a favorite event for Austin's hippie subculture dating back to the 1960s.
On a personal note, I lived for a couple of years on Toyath Street in Clarksville. I especially enjoyed walking the hilly and historic terrain there.
Zip Code 78703 in Central West Austin
