‘Graffiti Park’ slated for demolition

The demolition of Austin’s popular HOPE Outdoor Gallery—more commonly known as Castle Hill’s “Graffiti Park”—has received the official go-ahead from the city’s Historic Landmark Commission, according to a Tuesday story on KUT-FM’s website. The commission voted unanimously to approve demolition on the site to make way for planned development, but asked that it be thoroughly documented, with records preserved and archived by the Austin History Center.

That the site would eventually be developed was a well-known inevitability. A steep, stair-stepped lot full of concrete walls and wild vegetation, abandoned mid-construction in the 1980s, it’s just west of Downtown and North Lamar Boulevard—one of the most commercially active spots in the central city. It was established, if the that’s the right word, by Andi Scull Cheatham in 2010 as a place for street artists and others to paint, over and over, according to their latest bursts of creativity and quickly became a defining point for the city’s culture, as well as a popular tourist spot (did someone say sixth most popular local Instagram spot of 2017?).

Property owner Vic Ayad took no issue with the blooming DIY art spot and paid property taxes on the land for years. Still, it inevitably became too valuable to continue in that vein, and by 2016, HOPE Outdoor Gallery was—with complete understanding of the situation and no animosity—looking for a new home.

In late November of 2017, it was widely reported that the gallery would move to Carson Creek Ranch in far East Austin, where music festivals Levitation and Euphoria, as well as other events, take place. The new location is expected to open by the end of 2018 and, according to KUT, one of the concrete slabs from the original location will be moved to the new one.

• Austin’s ‘Graffiti Park’ Will Be Demolished [KUT-FM]