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Desegregation activist inspires new name for Barton Springs Bathhouse

The structure will now be called the Joan Means Khabele Bathhouse at Barton Springs Pool.

Photo courtesy of KVUE

The Barton Springs Bathhouse, which sits right next to Barton Springs Pool, is undergoing some major renovations. And along with the physical changes, the building is also getting a new name.

Last week, the Austin City Council officially declared the structure will now be called the Joan Means Khabele Bathhouse at Barton Springs Pool.

Previously, the building was named after William Barton, who "was [an] owner of enslaved people, and he has had a problematic history with the indigenous people of the area," according to Parks and Recreation board chair Pedro Villalobos.

Villalobos created the Barton Springs Bathhouse Working Group to create new name suggestions for the building once the renovations are officially finished.

The current bathhouse was created in 1947, and the city plans to make structural repairs to the building that include upgrading the rotunda and changing rooms.

“I thought that it was going to be an appropriate time to look at whether there was a[n] appropriate name that we could name the bathhouse after,” Villalobos said. “In honor of something historic and meaningful that took place at Barton Springs.”

Who was Joan Means Khabele?

From its opening day up until 1962, Barton Springs Pool remained segregated.

Before the pool was desegregated, teenager Joan Means Khabele became the first Black person to jump in the water in 1960 as a form of protest.

Khabele essentially kickstarted a series of "swim-ins" to protest the racial separation. Two years later, the pool was open for everyone.

The Parks and Recreation Department submitted an application to change the name to Joan Means Khabele Bathhouse. Once the application was submitted, the community had 90 days to submit comments and more name nominations. The 90-day period ended on January 18, 2024. After that, the recommendation was considered and eventually approved by the city council.

Previous renaming suggestions

Previous names under consideration were those of people who occupied the land before it became Barton Springs Pool.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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cheer up, austin

Here's how Austin is feeling in new national study on happiness

Photo by Ryan Duffy on Unsplash

Austinites aren't very happy people, according to WalletHub.

Austin is continuing a lukewarm streak of being labeled one of the nation's mildly happy cities for the second year in a row.

The Capital of Texas is only the second happiest city in the state, but appeared 59th of 182 on personal finance website WalletHub's new national list of the "Happiest Cities in America (2025)."

WalletHub annually ranks the most populous U.S. cities based on 29 metrics, categorized by each city's emotional and physical well-being; income and employment; and community and environment.

The top three happiest cities on the list are all located in California: Fremont (No. 1), San Jose (No. 2), and Irvine (No. 3), followed by Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at No. 4; and Overland Park, Kansas, at No. 5.

Austin's reputation as a somewhat happy city is well established: It was named the No. 65 happiest city in America in a separate 2024 report by SmartAsset (that only analyzed 90 U.S. cities).

Austin's happiness really shines when it comes to its residents' financial and employment stability, as the city ranked No. 22 nationwide in that category.

The U.S. Census Bureau says Austin households make a median income of $91,461 annually, but research says money doesn't guarantee happiness. Individuals stop seeing correlated improvements in happiness once they hit about $75,000 a year.

Financial stability can lead to more flexibility when it comes to a person's lifestyle choices, but it's not the only factor that contributes to someone's happiness, the report says.

"Therefore, when deciding where to live to maximize your happiness, you’ll want to pick a city that offers more than just a decent average income," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "The ideal city provides conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather, and caring neighbors.”

Austin came in at No. 44 for its "emotional and physical well-being," and at No. 142 for its "community and environment" ranking.

There's so much more to Austin's happiness that can't be defined by a collection of rankings. Besides large-scale events like SXSW, ACL, and Formula 1, there's plenty of hometown entertainment to be found throughout the city.

Plus, Austin's vibrant restaurant scene is constantly innovating to bring diverse cuisines to residents, from a new Mediterranean food trailer to buzzy food festivals featuring bites from talented chefs.

Other happy cities in Texas
Plano was dubbed the No. 1 happiest Texas city, and ranked No. 20 overall. But in general, Texas cities aren't very happy.

Austinites can at least find some solace in not being as miserable as Brownsville, a South Texas town that took the title as the unhappiest city in Texas. Brownsville ranked dead last in the statewide comparison and No. 170 nationwide.

Here's how other Texas cities fared in the report:

No. 81 – Irving
No. 101 – Garland
No. 113 – Grand Prairie
No. 124 – Dallas
No. 125 – Fort Worth
No. 128 – Arlington
No. 151 – Houston
No. 152 – Laredo
No. 155 – Lubbock
No. 156 – Amarillo
No. 158 – El Paso
No. 164 – San Antonio
No. 167 – Corpus Christi

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