Austin’s Fannie Davis Town Lake Gazebo Could Seek Historic Landmark Zoning

A recent view of the gazebo and its surroundings on the waterfront. Image: Randy von Liski / Flickr Creative Commons

Constructed on parkland along the south shoreline of downtown’s central waterfront in 1969, the Fannie Davis Town Lake Gazebo is one of Austin’s most important and recognizable works of small-scale architecture. As the first structure built to beautify the shores of the new lake crossing the heart of the city after the completion of the Longhorn Dam in 1960, the gazebo is deeply rooted in Austin’s culture of public park stewardship, and inextricably linked to the establishment of the city’s famous Hike-and-Bike Trail through the area only a few years later in the 1970s.

Parks Director Beverly Sheffield and NAWIC Austin president Lori Nill posing with a model of the gazebo in 1968, with an interesting concept art piece for the future of Town Lake visible behind them. Image: Austin History Center

The gazebo’s creation was funded by the philanthropic efforts of the Austin chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction and designed on behalf of the organization by local architect J. Sterry Nill — who also happened to be the husband of NAWIC chapter president Lori Nill. The structure’s use of native limestone cladding and the eye-catching geometric expression of its zig-zagging octagonal roofline, often described as resembling an inverted morning glory flower, provides an eclectic sensibility that resists category and raises this simple shelter beyond the expectations of traditional public park facilities into a landmark of local modernism.

The gazebo as seen in the 1970s. Image: Austin History Center

The gazebo, renamed in honor of NAWIC founding member Fannie Davis in 1984, entered the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 — but believe it or not, the structure still lacks local historic landmark status. That could change soon, with two members of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission kicking off a push for initiating historic zoning of the site this week. Initially motioned by District 2 commissioner JuanRaymon Rubio and seconded by District 3 commissioner Kevin Koch, the request for landmark status at the gazebo will likely take the form of a resolution on a future agenda, but a draft of a letter to the city’s Historic Preservation Office included with the documents prepared for the commission’s meeting earlier this week explains the rationale for historic zoning at this site:

Click for a larger view. Image: City of Austin

Although the gazebo’s location on city-owned parkland is likely to keep the structure intact even without the protections of historic zoning, the added landmark status will ensure the site is preserved with integrity as the surrounding South Central Waterfront area ponders large-scale redevelopment — although we’re reading between the lines, that’s likely an underlying reason for the recent push towards national and local historic designation at the gazebo. It’s hard to imagine a piece of public park architecture in Austin more suitable for recognition than this, so we’ll look forward to seeing the city slam dunking it into the landmark list as soon as possible. 

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