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