An old swingset, a palm tree, remnants of a stone structure and a vacant building sit off Interstate 35 in downtown Austin. At first glance, it may not look like much. It can be overshadowed by neighboring construction, the busy highway and the popular Rainey Street District. However, the building once sat in the middle of a bustling Mexican American neighborhood and welcomed one of Austin’s first elementary classes in 1892.
Although the front of the building still reads “Palm School,” the school that served East Austin communities closed in 1976. The building most recently served as Travis County’s Health and Human Services and Veteran Services building, but in 2020 the department moved to a different location. The building, left with some plumbing and maintenance issues, has been vacant ever since, said Selena Munoz, the county’s community and strategic engagement management director.
Helping drive the fate of the building is a recently-formed Travis County steering committee made up of longtime local Mexican American community activists, Palm School alumni, and representatives from partner organizations. They’re helping the county create a community engagement plan aimed at gathering additional public input to reimagine the Palm School. The core of its mission is to create a place that instills the school’s place in the community while staying within an economically feasible goal, Munoz said…