Category Archives: Norwood House

Historic Norwood House
The Norwood House is the fenced white structure on city parkland located at the northwest corner of the intersection of I-35 and Riverside Drive (See Map) . The 9-acre property was once a showcase Arts & Crafts estate, featuring a high-style 1922 bungalow home – surrounded by gardens with a greenhouse, gazebo and walkways – beautifully sited overlooking the Colorado River and downtown. To the east of the house, on lower ground, were arbored bathhouses, a spring-fed swimming pool, and a pecan orchard. Today the former estate is known as Norwood Park, and the house – though recently stabilized – is no longer usable. The other historic features are long since gone, with the lower grounds currently used as a leash free dog park. The former pool is filled in with dirt.

The Norwood Posse was an advocacy group based in SRCC and directed by local resident, Wolf Sittler. The Posse continued efforts that started in the 1990s, after the City acquired the property and in response to the City’s willingness to allow it to deteriorate. Thanks in part to pressure from the Posse and SRCC members, the Parks and Recreation Department commissioned a Feasibility Study and produced the “Preferred Alternative for Norwood Park”. It was adopted by the PARD Board in December of 2011 and included the Posse’s main objective: to restore & repurpose the historic Norwood House.

The posse has since morphed into a new organization, the Norwood Park Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. In 2013 NPF negotiated a multi-year public/private partnership agreement with the City of Austin to restore the house and operate it as a rental venue & community space. Members of the former Posse will keep us apprised of NPF’s progress in posts below.
Liaison: Wolf Sittler 447-2150