Wooldridge Park

Infobox_nrhp | name = Wooldridge Park

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caption = The gazebo in Wooldridge Park is a popular spot for outdoor concerts and weddings among other engagements.
location = Austin, Texas, USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 30
lat_minutes = 16
lat_seconds = 20
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 97
long_minutes = 44
long_seconds = 44
long_direction = W
built = 1909
added = August 1, 1979
refnum=79003018
governing_body = City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department

Wooldridge Park, also known as Wooldridge Square, is a downtown park in Austin, Texas. It was one of four public squares included in the city master plan drawn up by Edwin Waller in 1839. The square was not built in accordance with the plan, but was undeveloped for many years and was an impromptu trash dump by the turn of the 20th century. In 1909, 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 added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Today its regular engagements include the annual O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships.

Texas Historical Commission Marker Text

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, the park was developed and opened on June 18, 1909, with dedicatory address being made by the Honorable A. P. Wooldridge (1847-1930), who was mayor of Austin from 1909 to 1919, and honored in the naming of the park. 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 Colorado River dam within the city. (1971) [ [http://www.thc.state.tx.us/ Texas Historical Commission] ]

External links