- Schools: Travis Heights Elementary School, Fulmore Middle School, Travis High School
- Year Homes Built: 1880s, 1910s-1920s
- Style of Homes: Grand Old Mansions, Stone Bungalows
- Average List Price: $697,027 (May 2014)
- Nearby Restaurants: Vespaio, South Congress Cafe, Homeslice Pizza, Hopdoddy, Perla’s, Magnolia Cafe
- Nearby Attractions & Amenities: South Congress Shopping, Blunn Creek Nature Preserve, Stacy Park
Travis Heights is among Austin’s most fabled residential areas. Located just south of Lady Bird Lake between I-35 and the wildly popular South Congress Avenue shopping district, Travis Heights’ central location cannot be beat. Yet its central city convenience isn’t the only thing that neighborhood residents enjoy; they also benefit from the plentiful big trees and green spaces that were included in the area’s original development plans from a century ago.
Founded as the first residential development south of the river, the neighborhood now known as Travis Heights dates back to the 1880s, when it was referred to as Fairview Park. Its construction began when the first permanent, free bridge connecting Congress Avenue to South Austin was built, and today, several of the original Fairview Park homes are still standing in the neighborhood’s northwest corner.
The development of Travis Heights, which began in 1913, was made possible after the city extended the streetcar system south of the river. General William Harwood Stacy (the namesake of the neighborhood’s popular Stacy Park) led the development project, which created streets that curved along the many bluffs in the area and included houses and lots of various sizes and styles. This can still be seen in the neighborhood’s original homes, which range from grand old mansions to smaller stone bungalows. Eventually, Travis Heights became so popular that it overshadowed the old Fairview Park to the point that the entire area extending south to Live Oak Avenue adopted this new name.
There are many reasons why Travis Heights is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Austin. Despite being literally on the edge of downtown with some of the city’s major traffic arteries just a short distance away, it still maintains a quiet residential feel with its tree-lined streets, wooded lots and Blunn Creek, which runs through its heart. In the summertime, neighbors frequently gather at either Big Stacy or Little Stacy Pool, located on opposite ends of Stacy Park. The aforementioned South Congress strip is one of Austin’s top places to see and features blocks of shops, galleries, restaurants and bars, as well as the venerable Hotel San Jose, Austin Motel and some bed and breakfasts for visitors.
School-age residents of Travis Heights attend Travis Heights Elementary School, Fulmore Middle School, and Travis High School, all located either within or a short distance from the neighborhood.
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