When Austin was originally established, it was called “Waterloo” before it was renamed after Stephen F. Austin, the “Father of Texas,” in 1839. If it’s ever renamed again, we think “Moody” is probably a good contender, considering nearly everything in the city is already named after the Moody family.
You’ve got the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas, the Moody Rooftop at the Contemporary Austin, Moody Hall and the Mary Moody Northen Theater at St. Edward’s, the Moody Pavilions at Laguna Gloria, Moody Bank. And that doesn’t even begin to include the confusing collection of Moody venues: ACL Live at the Moody Theater, the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park and the Moody Center.
This name doesn’t stop at the edges of Austin either. There are Moody buildings dotted all over Texas, from Lubbock to Dallas down to the main Moody hub, Galveston. According to Texas historian and UT Professor Emeritus Walter L. Buenger, it all started with cotton.
A Little Moody History
“Back before the Civil War [the Moody family] was in the cotton business,” Buenger says, adding, “That’s sort of an underappreciated story. Many of the biggest foundations and biggest fortunes in Texas are rooted back – not necessarily in growing cotton – but serving as cotton factors and bankers for big plantations. And that’s how the Moody family made a lot of money.”…