Lions Municipal Golf Course Registry Of Historic Places Registry

Austin, TX -- Lions Municipal Golf Course in north Austin has been added to the National Register of Historic Places given its significance to the nation's civil rights movement.

The federal agency listed the golf course in a list of its most recent entries into the historic register. A group of preservationists calling their organization Save Muny have long called for the golf course to be designated as historic in order to curb commercial development at the site.

Save Muny officials found allies for their cause in the United States Golf Association. The group posted a copy of a letter the USGA wrote to U.S. Department of the Interior officials -- overseers of the National Park Service -- calling for historic designation of the golf course.

"Based on research conducted by the USGA Museum, as well as the work of scholars within the academic community, we believe that the historical significance of this municipal golf course warrants our firm endorsement," USGA officials wrote in the August 2015 correspondence.

Their call for saving the golf course from development is rooted in the facility's figuring in the fight for civil rights for African Americans.

"Specifically, this research suggests that Lions Municipal in 1950 became the first course in the South to desegregate shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Sweatt v. Painter," USGA officials continued. "This was more than three years before the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954."

That history vaults the site as a tangible piece of history, USGA officials wrote. Up to that point, black players were not allowed to join golf clubs because of their race, and the local golf course was among the first to allow for segregation.

"This action to desegregate Lions Municipal gave African American golfers access to the game that was rare in the South," golf officials wrote. "Moreover, it marked an important milestone in opening up the game to players of all races."

In an accompanying video posted on the Save MUNY site, members of the African American community familiar with the golf course's history also called for its preservation. The video's opening begins with a dramatic introduction immediately alerting to the site's historical significance: "In 1950, two African American youths walked onto a golf course in Texas, and in spite of potential violent repercussions changed civil rights history."

Indeed, adds nonagenarian Marvin Douglas on the video: "It's also the first golf course where blacks could play south of the Mason-Dixon line; people should know that. It's a part of our history that needs to be told."

But such a historic designation frustrates plans by the University of Texas System to develop the site into a mixed-use development as long planned, reported the Austin American-Statesman. However, the designation doesn't fully prevent redevelopment of the 141-acre property along Lake Austin Boulevard, the newspaper reported.

UT officials previously urged federal officials to designate just a portion of the golf course for National Register inclusion, specifically the clubhouse and greens keeper's cottage. Although the golf course is operated by the city, it encompasses university-owned land.

The historic designation is a milestone to be sure. But the fight over the future of "Old Muny" may just be getting started. The newspaper interviewed officials both sides of the debate -- those calling for preservation while others eyeing future development at the site -- and the lines appear to be drawn.

“I certainly hope it helps UT to see more value in the site for academic purposes, more than a commercial use," Ken Tiemann, a Save Muny member, told the Statesman. "It was from our standpoint a process of educating university officials and alumni about the value of the history and hoping that will weigh into any decision they make about the property.”

For his part, UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves said they will fully review the decision by federal officials with an eye toward fulfilling the college system's own plans for the site. In his remarks to the Statesman, Fenves evoked the figure of George Brackenridge, a banker and former university regent, as figuring prominently in future plans for the site.

“We are reviewing the decision as we discuss the future of the entire Brackenridge Tract, which includes the golf course and other land that was deeded to the university for the benefit of our students," Fenves told the newspaper. "The university and community must continue to discuss how to honor the important civil rights history at the site while fulfilling our obligations to Colonel Brackenridge, our university and the state of Texas.”

Brackenridge donated the land to the university in 1910, with expressed hopes it would one day become the main campus, the Statesman noted in its report.

According to the City of Austin website, the golf course has a rich history not only as a bulwark against pervasive discrimination of the past but also given its storied past in hosting some of golf's biggest names.

"Lions Municipal Golf Course has served its citizens since 1934 and has long been one of the city's most popular courses," city officials wrote on the municipal website. "Constructed originally by the Lions Club in 1928, Lions has hosted many notable golfers, including Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and, of course, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw."

>>> Image via City of Austin website