Looking for a place to cool off? An East Austin pool has been an oasis and community resource for well over half a century — and is now offering future generations relaxation and respite following a city-led glow up.
Dating back over a century ago, Givens District Park has been a historic space and an integral part of East Austin and its Black community. Back in 1957, the city acquired the 40-acre district before developing a pool at the site in 1958.
Since 1962, the park has been named in honor of Dr. Everett H. Givens, a World War I veteran and one of the city’s first Black dentists. A renowned civic leader, he helped champion equal rights and opportunities for Black Austinites, pushing for improved playground equipment, streets, parks, bus services and other infrastructure in East Austin as well as organized for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall’s campaign to tear down Texas’ “white primary laws” that prohibited Black Texans from voting in Democratic primaries…