A Pease of the Pie

Pease Park's ambitious renovation underway following million-dollar donation from Whataburger heir

Pease Park's ambitious renovation of Kingsbury Commons is underway.

Courtesy of Pease Park Conservancy

Pease Park's major "spruce" is underway. Two years after receiving a multimillion-dollar grant from the Moody Foundation, Pease Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that oversees the Austin green space, announced it received two more very generous gifts to help complete the project.

On October 16, the conservancy officially broke ground on the renovation of Kingsbury Commons, an area that occupies the lower 10 acres of the 84-acre park. Currently, the area includes a playscape and splash pad, as well as the park's iconic Tudor Cottage, which will also receive a face lift during the project.

At the groundbreaking, the conservancy announced that Whataburger heir Lynne Dobson and her husband, Greg Wooldridge, and attorney Dale Linebarger and his wife, Libby, donated $1 million per couple to help fund the ambitious plan. These gifts, along with the Moody Foundation's $9.7 million grant in 2017, helped the conservancy raise $13 million of its $15 million goal, it said in a release. It also invited the Austin community to help raise the remaining $2 million (hint, hint).

With the project officially underway, Austin-based Ten Eyck Landscape Architects "redesigned the space to dramatically enhance park visitors’ experience, sustain the park’s ecology, and increase park usership and capacity."

In addition to landscape improvement, the plan includes:

Transforming the Tudor Cottage into a community space
Unique nature play area
State-of-the-art water play feature
Innovative treescape
Improved sport courts and play equipment
Bathroom and amenities updates
New stone terrace

The project is expected to be completed in 2021.

“We are creating a world-class public green space, befitting of Austin’s central city park, and we could not be more excited that the day is finally here,” says CEO of Pease Park Conservancy Heath Riddles. "Pease Park truly is the ‘people’s park,’ and we are eager to welcome the Austin community into this exciting and dynamic cultural landscape.”

Kingsbury's renovation is one of the key projects in a years-long master plan to create that "world-class green space." First announced in 2014, the plan includes new trails and trees, landscape work, and improved amenities across the 84 acres, which stretch from West 15th Street to West 31st Street along Lamar Boulevard.

This ambitious plan ensures that Pease Park remains a vital part of residents' lives, much as it has for thousands of years. Beginning 11,000 years ago, Native American tribes camped along the banks of Shoal Creek. More recently, comparatively speaking at least, the troops of both General Custer and Robert E. Lee used the green space during the Civil War.

In 1875, Pease Park was donated to the city and has remained one of Austin's crown jewels ever since.

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MESSAGE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE

Austin theater auctions off chance to write message on iconic marquee

Paramount Theatre/Instagram

The Paramount Theatre is auctioning off the chance to share a holiday message on its marquee.

Austinites craving the limelight might get the chance to see their name in lights — or at least a personalized holiday message — illuminated on one of Austin’s most historic marquees.

As part of the Austin Theatre Alliance’s final 2020 auction to raise funds for the Paramount and Stateside theaters, the nonprofit is offering up an array of unusual and very “Austintatious” items for bid, including the chance to share a customized holiday message on the iconic Paramount Theatre marquee.

The auction item is one of several dozen currently up for bid through ATA’s online holiday auction, which runs through December 11.

With a starting bid of $1,500, the Paramount marquee message is one of the pricier items in the auction, but it may be well worth the glory, as the winning bidder can treat all of Austin to a two-line, 80-character custom holiday message that will be professionally photographed and live on the marquee for a minimum of four hours. (It should be noted that the chosen message is subject to review. After all, this is a nonprofit theater marquee, not the infamously sassy El Arroyo sign.)

Having to cancel or reschedule hundreds of planned shows because of COVID-19 concerns, the Paramount Theatre has had a particularly rough year but recently reopened at 25 percent capacity for limited engagements, like its Holiday Film Series, which is currently underway. Funds raised from the auction enable the ATA, which manages the Paramount and Stateside, to reach Central Texas students through virtual programs, employ venue staff, and help the historic theaters survive the pandemic.

In addition to the Paramount marquee message item, the auction also includes other perfectly weird items befitting a homegrown Austin event, like Matt Lankes photos of Willie Nelson playing chess and the late, great Billy Joe Shaver looking contemplative while perched on a bridge in Waco; and several autographed guitars, including one commemorative acoustic guitar signed by 10 of Austin’s most notable musicians, Ruthie Foster, Carrie Rodriguez, and Tameca Jones among them.

Of course, there is no lack of booze-forward packages, hotel stays, and artist-signed prints also up for grabs. But true lovers of the Paramount Theatre will find the item with the highest opening bid ($5,000) steals the show: a private catered dinner for four on the Paramount stage.

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