Wooldridge Park
historic place
Wooldridge Park, in Austin, Travis County, is a historic public space. Edwin Waller's 1839 plan for Austin designated it as one of four public squares. The square remained undeveloped for about 70 years. In 1909, Mayor A.P. Wooldridge led efforts to create the park, including a bandstand designed by Charles Page. It was dedicated on June 18, 1909. The park became a public forum, hosting speakers like Booker T. Washington in 1911 and Lyndon B. Johnson, who launched his 1941 senate campaign here. The Texas Historical Commission placed markers in 1971 and 2022. Wooldridge Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is the only one of Austin's original public squares to continuously serve as a public park. This site is historically important as a preserved civic space and a venue for public expression.