My husband found it amusing that I wanted to write a farewell to the Graffiti Park in my next blog post. "You've only been there once," he reminded me. Yeah, it's true. I've lived in Austin for five years now and last year was my first and only visit to the Graffiti Park on Castle Hill. To be honest, I kept hearing about this park and had no idea where it was. Even crazier - I was driving by this location for over a year, and working less than five blocks away the entire time I've lived in the area, without a clue how close I was to the park. One day in July last year, my husband and I took a trip there with our 16 month old son, to check it out for the first time. It was spread out, chaotic, dusty, littered in some places with empty spray cans...I think I was expecting an environment that was a little more controlled. But really, it's a free-for-all sprawling canvas of half-demolished walls and underbrush and overgrowth, without an empty space in sight! People basically come armed with spray paint and paint whatever they like over whatever they want! No rules, really. It's amazing, other than the trash littered here and there by past visitors. It was a steamy afternoon for a touchy climb to the top in a park with no trail or a sidewalk, just a dirt/gravel path. And maybe I didn't get the full experience since I didn't bring a can of spray paint: all I brought was my camera. But I recorded some pretty hip art.
A month ago I found out this park is under plans to be demolished. For those of you not familiar with Graffiti Park, its true name is the HOPE Outdoor Gallery. It's at 1012 Baylor Street and was started in March 2011, just after a SXSW event. The rumor is that the site of the park is a failed housing development from the 1980s.
More than 300 documented artists have left their mark here. It's the only "paint park" in the United States, averaging 500 visitors a day since 2013. Photos are being taken to memorialize the park so that a full record of its existence can be preserved and archived at the Austin History Center, because on Monday, January 30, 2018, Austin's Historic Landmark Commission voted 8-0 to demolish it. Despite the fact that Graffiti Park has become a cultural icon and tourist hotspot (and a pretty unique and awesome artistic outlet), it is not considered "historic."
The plan is to relocate this park to 9507 Sherman Road, near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. One of the concrete slabs from the current location will be transported to the new location, which boasts 6 acres/48,750 square feet of artistic space, open to aspiring artists some time in late 2018. You only have until June of this year to enjoy the current site. It will likely be replaced with a multi-family unit development. I'm a little sad about that, so this blog is my farewell to a pretty far-out piece of Austin. The new location is in an area I don't frequent unless I'm traveling by plane. Maybe I'll make it out there once in the next five years. Ha! To view more images from this awesome, iconic location, link to my gallery:
https://www.amandajgreenphotography.com/gallery/aj9g9r0amho984w2u77hs5yar2otxn