Waller Creek is a stream and an urban watershed in Austin, Texas, United States. Named after Edwin Waller, the first mayor of Austin, it has its headwaters near Highland Mall and runs in a southerly direction, through the Commodore Perry Estate, the University of Texas at Austin and the eastern part of downtown Austin, including the Red River Cultural District, to its end at Lady Bird Lake.
Hemphill Creek merges with Waller Creek just south of Dean Keeton St.
A March 2024 article in Nature suggested that up to 90% of the waterflow in Waller Creek is due to leaky pipes and irrigation runoff [1][2]
Prior to 1929, the route of Waller Creek had a bulge in it, between second and third streets, that extended to present day IH35. This bulge can be seen going around Block 12 in the 1839 Waller Plan[3] and on page 89 of the 1928 Austin city plan.[4]
In 1929 the creek was rerouted to its present route to allow for the creation of what is now known as Palm Park, one block east of the present day Austin Convention Center.[5][6] Palm Park, in turn, was named after the nearby Palm School, which was a city run elementary school that operated from 1887 to 1976 and, in fact, was the largest elementary school in Austin in 1928.[7]
On the evening April 22, 1915, 10.29 inches of rain fell in downtown Austin causing Waller Creek and nearby Shoal Creek to flood, causing 40 deaths and an estimated US$2 million in damages ($60 million 2023 USD).[8][9][10][11] Numerous bridges were washed out as were all of Austin's gravel highways.[12] Some of the washed out bridges wouldn't be replaced for another 15 years[13]
In 1969, to make way for the expansion of the Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, a portion of San Jacinto Boulevard needed to be moved 65 feet to the west, which necessitated the destruction of 39 live oak trees. Upon learning of these plans 50 sign-carrying students from the University of Texas at Austin led a protest, blocking crews from commencing work through the use of tree sitting, among other things. On October 22, 1969, an editorial published in The Daily Texan included a petition slip that could be cut out and signed,[14] which resulted in many more University of Texas students voicing their objections. Campus police were then mobilized, the protestors were forcibly removed, 27 were arrested, and the destruction of the trees commenced. The protest took place at a bend in San Jacinto Boulevard that was sarcastically dubbed “Erwin’s Bend,” after Board of Regents chair Frank Erwin.[15][16]
In 1974 the Austin Symphony Orchestra entered into a 50 year lease for a block of land between 11th and 12th streets, through which Waller Creek flows, that would later become known as Symphony Square. Although this block of land already contained at least one historic house, namely that of Jeremiah J. Hamilton, a slave turned Texas legislator,[17] several other historic buildings were relocated to Symphony Square.[18][19] In 2021, a portion of Symphony Square saw the commencement of a construction project for a 33-story residential tower called The Waller.[20][21][22]
In 1998 City of Austin voters approved of a $25 million bond package to build a mile long stormwater drainage tunnel from Waterloo Park, which is bordered by 12th street on the south, to Lady Bird Lake along the route of Waller Creek. Construction lasted from 2011[23] to 2018[24] and ballooned in cost to $161 million.[25] Alleging missing rebar and the use of poor quality concrete that wouldn't stand up to unusually large floods the City of Austin then sought $22.3 million from the tunnels developer.[23] The tunnel, itself, has a diameter that varies between 22.5 and 26.5 ft[26]
In 2022, construction began on a 74-story, 1,022 ft tall mixed use tower called Waterline, which, upon completion, will be the tallest building in Texas. This building is being built on the banks of Waller Creek, south of Cesar Chavez St[27]
