Pflugerville Week - Lake Pflugerville

Lake Pflugerville is a 180 acre reservoir built to provide Pflugerville citizens with drinking water. The lake is one of the city's most popular family playgrounds. Lake Pflugerville provides swimming year around and has a 3-mile granite trail along the perimeter of the lake. Located at the intersection of Weiss Lane and Pflugerville Parkway, the lake is open for fishing, swimming, kayak rentals, and kite surfing. In addition, there is a playground, pavilion and beach area and boat launch.

From Pflugerville

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Pflugerville Week - Bohls House

The historical home of the Walter Bohls Family was dedicated as a Texas Landmark on October 22, 2006.

Located at 901 Old Hutto Road, Heritage House is open for visitors the first Sunday of each month, from 1:00 - 4:00 pm.

From Pflugerville

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Pflugerville Week - Bohls House Historical Marker

Gottlieb William Bohls (1878-1961), the oldest of Heinrich and Julie Schroeder Bohls’ ten children, was born on his family’s farm near this site. In 1906, G.W. married Bertha Timmerman (1883-1967), and five years later they purchased a 95-acre farm on the Austin-Hutto road, formerly the site of the Carrington Ranch School. They lived in a small home until this two-story, eight-room house could be completed in 1913. After twelve years, G.W. sold the property to his youngest brother, Otto Walter Bohls, Sr. (1898-1973), and his wife, Laura Emma Anna (Fuchs) (1898-1992). Otto promoted soil conservation practices on the farm and in the area, serving as chair of the Travis County Agricultural Adjustment Administration for 13 years. Contour farming, planting cover crops, building stock tanks, rotating crops and planting new seed varieties reduced wind and water erosion and kept the soil intact during periods of drought. The Bohls family deeded the property to the city of Pflugerville in 1993 to promote and interpret the city’s heritage and culture.

The Queen Anne Free Classic style house features a hipped cross-gabled roof with dormer windows and fishscale shingles. Prominent elements include a wraparound porch, main door sidelights, a longleaf pine interior, and cutaway bays with wooden brackets on the front-facing parlor and side-facing dining room. Original outbuildings included a barn, two homes for farm hands, a smokehouse, an outhouse and a carriage garage. The original rain harvesting system, including a 4,000-gallon brick and concrete underground cistern and a 2,000-gallon galvanized tin cistern above ground, was the home’s only source of drinking water until 1975.

From Pflugerville

Pflugerville Week - Historical Marker

Henry Pfluger (1803-67), who migrated from Germany to Texas in 1849-50, moved his large family here in 1853. Other settlers joined them, and in 1872 a school was begun on Henry Lisso's farm. Immanuel Lutheran Church was founded in 1874. Primarily a farming settlement, Pflugerville had no commercial businesses until 1890, when Louis Bohls built a general store. A post office was opened there in 1893 with Bohls as postmaster. In 1891 two community organizations were formed: the German-American Mutual Assurance Association, to insure townspeople against natural disasters; and "Pflugerville Schuetzen and kegel verain," a shooting and bowling club.

The village began to grow when the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad arrived in 1904, George Pfluger (1834-1910) and his son Albert (1878-1969) platted the townsite, and George donated land for a train depot and a school. Early businesses included drugstores, groceries, a hotel, grist mill, cotton gin, ice factory and Archie Ward started a telephone system. Farmers State Bank, chartered in 1906, became First State Bank in 1933. A newspaper "The Pflugerville Press," was published from 1907 until 1942.

In 1958-62, the Pflugerville High School football team gained national fame by winning 55 consecutive games.

From Pflugerville

Pflugerville Week

Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin and basically right across Interstate 35 from Dixi and me. It has grown quite considerably in the past 10 years, but still has a small town feel to it. This week I'm going to show you some points of interest in Pflugerville.

From Pflugerville

Corner of 6th and Congress

Don't ask me why, but something about this building always makes me stare at it.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Mosaic Wall, Brentwood Elementary School

While working on the Wall of Welcome, Jean Graham and some students from Brentwood Elementary completed this mosaic wall on the west side of the school building.

It says "I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world."

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Mt. Bonnell

Mt. Bonnell is one of the most beautiful spots in the Austin area. It lies along the Colorado River and is a popular tourist attraction. This picture was taken along the road leading up to the park.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Crestview - Restaurants

Day 10 of our series on the Wall of Welcome. Today's image from the wall shows some of the popular restaurants of the era. I believe Threadgill's and Top Notch Burgers are the only one's left.

From Crestview

That's 10 days worth from the Wall of Welcome. I have lot's more photos from here and will post more at another time to continue this series. Tomorrow, I'm changing gears a bit and will have something new for you.

Crestview - Large Lots $595 - Terms

Day 9 in our series on the Wall of Welcome.

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome Tiles - 7

Crestview Shopping Center was developed by A.B. Beddow and Ray Yates. In 1952, it opened with a drug store, food mart, barber shop, dry cleaners, and A.B. Beddow's office. The beauty shop was added in 1955 and there was a doctor's office from 1962-72. Maude Yates, Ray's wife, planted flowers at the shopping center and paid to have a large oak moved when the central grassy mall was paved over for parking.

The Violet Crown Shopping Center, on Lamar at Brentwood St., was developed with similar businesses. Later, LaCoste & Romberg, a company that created world-famous gravity meters, was based there from 1957-1980. Across Brentwood St. was a popular roller skating rink call the Capitol Roll Arena.

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome Tiles - 6

Several restaurants on Lamar, such as the Avalon (at Romeria), Toonerville, and the Chicken Shack (at North Loop) thrived as early as the 1930s and 1940s. Threadgill's began as a gas station and beer joint in 1933, opening with Beer License #1 after prohibition. Singer Janis Joplin got her start there 30 years later. In 1981, Eddie Wilson reopened Threadgill's as a restaurant. In 1952 the Frsico opened on Burnet Road.

Austin's first drive-in theater, Joseph's (later North Austin Drive-in), opened at Justin and Lamar (1940-1960). Neighbors could watch movies from their yards. Other area drive-ins were the Chief, Lamar at Koenig (1946-1973); Burnet Road Drive-in, at Payne (1952-1973); and Longhorn on Anderson Lane.

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome Tiles - 5

Brentwood Park was dedicated in 1952 during a May festival sponsored by the Brentwood Recreation Club. The club held monthly potlucks and raised money for park improvements. In 1954, members planted 48 trees in the park. Many sycamores were transplanted from Onion Creek.

Until the early 1960s, the park offered summer activities for children. The stage outside the school was used for plays, movies, and adult dance lessons. Early on, the pool was drained at night into the arroyo and refilled the next day. In 1955 Brentwood Park was named the city's superior playground.

One parent remembers, "There were no fences and the kids could run anywhere. We didn't know where our kids were, but we knew they were safe."

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome Tiles - 4

The first school in the area was the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which moved to 45th Street in 1917. To serve the growing neighborhood, Brentwood Elementary School was built in in 1950, McCallum High School in 1953, and Lamar Middle School in 1955.

The city's third branch of the Austin Public Library was established in 1956 on Burnet Road near Koenig Lane.

That same year Redeemer Lutheran School and St. Louis Catholic School both opened.

Over the years, other schools located here include Capitol School of Austin, Northwest Montessori House of Children, Oakmont School, Paragon Preparatory Middle School, Petite Ecole Internationale, and Stepping Stone School.

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome Tiles - 3

When residents moved into the new subdivisions in this area, most streets were dirt or gravel, including Anderson Lane and Burnet Road. Air conditioning was not common then, so during summer residents had to choose between keeping windows closed and being hot, or opening windows and letting in dust and noise.

Owners were required to pay to have paved streets or sidewalks in the front of their homes. If someone couldn't afford to pay, that spot was left unpaved.

In 1947, Hancock Creek, which we know today as Arroyo Seco, was made larger to help drain the swampy land around it, making development in that area possible. C.H. Lester helped build the arroyo and graded the streets.

During the 1940s there was a 50 acre airport off Koenig Lane east of Lamar.

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome Tiles - 2

In the early 1950s many returning GIs bought the homes and large lots in this area, and soon the neighborhood was full of young children. To sustain these families, many churches were built. By 1954, eleven churches had been established here, often beginning in vacant stores or private homes. Some have celebrated fiftieth anniversaries. Woodrow Avenue is often nicknamed "Church Row."

Brentwood: Faith Lutheran, First Assembly Church of God, First Cumberland Presbyterian, First Unitarian Universalist, Grace Church of the Nazarene, Hope Chapel, Koenig Lane Christian Church, Church of Christ, and Northwest baptist.

Crestview: Austin Korean Presbyterian, Crestview United Methodist, Crestview Baptist, Austin Bible Church, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, and St. Louis Catholic.

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome Tiles - 1

Brentwood and Crestview are between Burnet Road and Lamar Blvd. Brentwood runs from 45th St. to Justin, and Crestview from Justin to Anderson Lane. Although part of Brentwood was developed earlier, in the mid-1950s most of this land was open, with few trees and some dairy and cotton farms. Lamar was originally called Georgetown Road or Dallas Highway, and Threadgill's was out beyond the city limits.

The rest of Brentwood and Crestview began to be developed after World War II. A.B. Beddow and Ray Yates developed Crestview, which included the Frank Rickcreek farm. In Brentwood, Clarence McCullough and Dr. Joe Koenig advertised lots in Violet Crown Heights as having "a beautiful view of the Violet Crown Hills."

From Crestview

Wall of Welcome

The 120 foot long Wall of Welcome at 7100 Woodrow Avenue in the Crestview/Brentwood neighborhoods was completed and dedicated in March of 2008. The Crestview neighborhood was built by developer A. B. Beddow on the site of an old dairy farm. Jean Graham envisioned the wall and fundraising begain in 2003. Hundreds of neighbors worked together to make the wall a reality. For a panoramic view of the wall, please look here. A PDF file of the tiles on the wall can be found here. My photo's don't do it justice.

From Crestview

South Congress Avenue

I've always loved this part of Austin and the view it provides of the Capital Building and downtown.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Heart of Texas Music

Ray and Shane Hennings are the guys behind Heart of Texas Music. The store has been in operation now for close to 50 years. Ray even gave Stevie Ray Vaughn an old used guitar at one time way back when.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Bank of Fraud

Spotted this a couple of days ago while on Congress Ave. It was parked in front of the Bank of America as you can see in the picture. Evidently someone has an issue with them.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Pink Gorilla

I really have no idea what this statue is all about. But there it sits, day after day, staring over the intersection of Lamar and 183. I don't know for sure how long it's been there, but it's been there as long as Dixi or I can remember.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

The Broken Spoke

The sign on the front door of the Broken Spoke proclaims "Through this door pass the best country music dancers in the world". While I don't know how true that claim is, I do know that the Spoke is something that needs to be experienced. Dixi and I really enjoy going to see a show here from time to time. The last act we saw was Chris Wall, and he never fails to disappoint.

Don't expect anything fancy. Lines can be long at times, but never enough to truly annoy us. The floors are crooked with age and the dance floor is usually full. The food is pretty good too.

Your best bet if you want to check the place out is to call ahead to see who's going to be playing. The website doesn't really get updated on a regular basis.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Fountains at the Arboretum

Here's another image from the Arboretum area. It's a nice size pond and nature area plus picnic tables all around. Great place to spend a lazy afternoon.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

Pennybacker Bridge

This is the Pennybacker Bridge located on Loop 360 over Lake Austin. The bridge was named for a bridge designer for the Texas Highway Department by the name of Percy Pennybacker. A unique feature of the bridge is that no part of it actually touches the water below.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

The View from 2222

This was taken at the scenic overlook area on RM 2222 looking south above the river. This is just a few minutes away from Loop 360 and the Pennybacker Bridge.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

The Place for Chicken $h*! Bingo

This is Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon. Chicken $h*! Bingo on Sundays. $2 Lone Star's. Live music. And if you're not a beer drinker, bring your booze and buy the Coke and ice there. A true Austin experience! And check out the video here.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo