Wooldridge Park
Encyclopedia
Wooldridge Park, also known as Wooldridge Square, is a park in Austin, Texas
, United States
. It is one of the four original public squares incorporated into Downtown Austin
through the 1839 city master plan drawn up by Edwin Waller
. This area was designated as a public square on original 1839 plat of City of Austin, but lay vacant for 70 years.
In an era of civic pride in 1909, however, Austin Mayor A. P. Wooldridge sponsored the cleaning of the square and the construction of a classical revival
style gazebo
for public engagements, and it officially opened the same year. The park was dedicated on June 18, 1909 to considerable aplomb with dedicatory address being made by the Mayor. Mayor Wooldridge was instrumental in organizing the city's first public school system, in bringing the Austin & Northwestern Railroad here, and in building the first dam on the Colorado River
within the city limits.
Wooldridge Park is unique as the only public square in Austin to have retained its original function since its establishment more than one hundred thirty years ago. When the first city plans were drawn in 1840, four such squares were included. The other three underwent various uses over time, hosting parking lots, a fire station, a church, a museum, and businesses. Wooldridge Park alone has remained an essential element of Austin's outdoor social, musical, and political life.
Wooldridge Park consists of a city block, a natural basin whose sides are sloped inward to form an amphitheater. In its center is a bandstand. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is one of the four original public squares incorporated into Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, 11th Street and sometimes Martin Luther King, Jr...
through the 1839 city master plan drawn up by Edwin Waller
Edwin Waller
Judge Edwin Waller was an entrepreneur, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the first mayor of Austin, Texas, and the designer of its downtown grid plan....
. This area was designated as a public square on original 1839 plat of City of Austin, but lay vacant for 70 years.
In an era of civic pride in 1909, however, Austin Mayor A. P. Wooldridge sponsored the cleaning of the square and the construction of a classical revival
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
style gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
for public engagements, and it officially opened the same year. The park was dedicated on June 18, 1909 to considerable aplomb with dedicatory address being made by the Mayor. Mayor Wooldridge was instrumental in organizing the city's first public school system, in bringing the Austin & Northwestern Railroad here, and in building the first dam on the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
within the city limits.
Wooldridge Park is unique as the only public square in Austin to have retained its original function since its establishment more than one hundred thirty years ago. When the first city plans were drawn in 1840, four such squares were included. The other three underwent various uses over time, hosting parking lots, a fire station, a church, a museum, and businesses. Wooldridge Park alone has remained an essential element of Austin's outdoor social, musical, and political life.
Wooldridge Park consists of a city block, a natural basin whose sides are sloped inward to form an amphitheater. In its center is a bandstand. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979.