Muny historic designation gets Austin council support

Members unanimously support listing on the National Register.

The Austin City Council has joined the chorus of community members calling for the Lions Municipal Golf Course to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The council’s unanimous show of support Thursday came after Council Member Sheri Gallo described the “changes in hearts and minds” the course has represented since the 1950s, when two black golfers walked onto the West Austin course to play a round of golf. City officials then agreed to let them play, leading many to describe the course, nicknamed “Muny,” as the first integrated golf course in the South.

Gallo also made a case for the course’s future. “We are sending a very strong statement that we would like this property to remain as open green space,” said Gallo, whose District 10 includes the course.

The city leases the 141-acre course from the University of Texas System, which has crafted plans to develop the course and the rest of the Brackenridge Tract into housing, shops and hotels. Several years ago, the university voted against renewing the city’s lease on the golf course, which expires in May 2019. A mixed-use development could garner the university system $5.5 million per year, as opposed to the few hundred thousand dollars in yearly rent it receives from the city of Austin.

The university has opposed the effort by Save Muny, an organization of golfers and Tarrytown residents, to have the course listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a decision that ultimately will be determined by the National Park Service.

University-commissioned architects have stated there is little evidence to support the course’s historic significance and point to modifications in the course layout over time. The university has suggested, instead, listing a portion of the course on the National Register.

At Thursday’s council meeting, Council Member Don Zimmerman asked wheth-

er the university was OK with the council taking action to support the historic listing.

Mayor Steve Adler and other members said they had spoken with UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves. The university is “well aware that this was coming,” Council Member Ora Houston said.

The course already is recognized by the Texas Historical Commission, with a state historical marker placed at its entrance in late 2009.

The United States Golf Association and the Texas Historical Commission’s advisory board have thrown their support behind the National Register nomination.