We just moved into our new home in Travis Heights, so AUSTINative has been busy. We’ve taken a few breaks from unpacking to go check out the ‘hood, including walking around Stacy Park. When I was in the 5th grade, my parents moved us back to Austin from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and we moved into the Terrace apartments, at Academy and South Congress, while they started to build a house in the country. This was 1979 or 1980. South Congress was a very different place.
My mom and step-dad chose the Terrace because my grandmother lived there. I would take taxis with her to the Nighthawk restaurant and to the H-E-B at Oltorf because she didn’t like to drive. Otherwise, she would walk to the few other establishments in the area, including the Saint Vincent de Paul thrift shop. The other people you would see walking were, um, ladies of the night. Except I think they were out at all hours. Sometimes we would take a taxi or the bus downtown to The Bank, which was always a treat - I loved the smell of it and the cold air conditioning and weighing myself on the big scale in the lobby.
The Terrace itself was built originally as a motor court, I think. In the late 70s to 80s, it was definitely on the decline. The swimming pool was empty and had begun filling with leaves. As kids, my stepbrother and I didn’t care all that much - it was kind of fun to play around that, although a nice cool pool would’ve made the summer a bit more pleasant. Instead, we stayed up late watching old Clark Gable movies, like Mutiny on the Bounty, on Channel 7, one of only 3 TV stations in Austin at that time.
When school started, I went to Travis Heights elementary school. I remember the school and my teacher, Mrs. Ruiz, but I don’t really remember Stacy Park (except the pool) or the neighborhood around it. Walking around the park and the ‘hood today, I’m amazed at it. I even lived less than a mile away, in Bouldin Creek, for several years beginning in 1999, but never ventured east of South Congress. Zilker, Barton Springs, downtown, and the UT area were my stomping grounds. Travis Heights definitely has its own character and it will be interesting to get to know the new - old - neighborhood.
