DOTTIE JORDAN PARK HISTORY

Dottie Jordan, an AISD orchestra teacher, lived across the street from the current park location and died in March 1973 of diabetic complications at the age of 32. Interested in preserving open space in the neighborhood, Ms. Jordan first spoke to City Council in 1972 when the park was threatened with a plan to build condominiums. The City of Austin purchased the 11.5 acres of land that comprises the Dottie Jordan Park in November 1973 from developer Walter Carrington for $135,000.

Carrington sold the land to the City after a district court ruled against him and Lumberman's Investment Corp. in a suit brought by several homeowners in the University Hills area. Prior to this, Carrington had received a City zoning permit to build a 40-unit condominium complex on the land. Homeowners protested because the Carrington's salesman had promised that the land would always remain a park.

Little Walnut Creek runs just south of the park, and the park suffered extensive flood damage from the creek on Memorial Day 1981. Round-the-clock neighborhood volunteers kept watch on the park and the homes on Dunbar and Willamette Streets during the flooding. The recreation center was expanded for ADA improvements in 1998 and rededicated once more in February 2003 after a January 2002 arson-fire.

The park site includes a recreation center, a playscape, two lighted tennis courts, a lighted basketball court and a swimming pool. The City's purchase guaranteed that the land remains specifically for public park and recreation use only. (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/