What can I do today? Donate! Or...volunteer to help with our upcoming Homes Tour.
Please join one of our Task Forces. I'm sure your special skills or interests can find an outlet in one of our groups. We need you!
Fundraising
A top priority of our project. Without fundraising we can’t pay our architectural historian for research and completion of our application, produce educational and promotional materials, keep neighbors informed by mailouts and circulate our petition effectively.
Homes Tour (on hold pending more volunteers)
We need volunteers for everything from finding sponsors (maybe you could be a sponsor), being a docent in the homes, stamping hands for admission, publicity and more.
Petition
Along with fundraising, this is the top priority of our project. To apply for a Local Historic District we must provide sign-on by at least 51 percent of our property owners (by acreage). Currently, there is no model petition provided by the city. So we need to create our own, as well as seek the sign-on of our neighboring property owners.
This team would also be responsible for notifying every property owner to get their sign-on.
Design Standards
This very important aspect of our project requires a sensitive eye toward local styles to create standards that are restrictive enough to protect our historic character yet permissive enough to reflect our neighborhood’s personality. Rest assured, we will never regulate paint colors and additions are certainly acceptable. You would never be forced to take your home back to a historic period. Because preservation is the ultimate in sustainability, the City of Austin is working with preservation groups to create compatible energy standards. We absolutely want our residents to take advantage of green building methods wherever possible. Solar panels and rainwater harvesting are still options in historic districts. There are so many options! Get involved and let's start describing what we can accept.
If you have a design, architectural or historical background, you are particularly needed here. However, anyone can contribute and we encourage the participation of everyone in the neighborhood. The Heritage Society of Austin is putting together a template to get neighborhoods started, but every neighborhood is unique so we'll need your help.
Survey and Historical Research
We have completed our survey of the proposed district and researched ownership histories for 25 percent of our contributing properties (required for our Local Historic District application). Your volunteer help saved us thousands of dollars. Thank you! All the histories gathered will eventually be archived at the Austin History Center.
Currently, the city is considering revising the Ordinance to eliminate the need for deed research and, possibly, resident history. Because we've already done the resident histories (we haven't done deed research), we can still use the information to inform our historical narrative about Travis Heights and Fairview Park.
Marketing & Public Relations
Creating a strategy for getting the word out to our neighbors and those surrounding the district who might be supportive and want to donate will be an integral part of the project. We would like to promote our district throughout the city and elsewhere so visitors and residents alike know our historical value, as well as how it enhances our local economy.
Keeping the public informed about our activities will inspire interest in the project. This might include writing articles for the SRCC newsletter and other local publications, as well as radio, TV and internet outreach. We could also use photographers and artists to capture the essence of our beautiful, historic community in ways we can use to promote our project or raise money.
Block Captains
We need help distributing information. Because our district includes more than 1,100 homes, we must act like many small neighborhoods to insure reaching everyone. You know your neighbors better than I do, and they will be more open to talking to someone they recognize and live near.
The following streets need Block Captions. We will need several for those longer streets like Travis Heights, Kenwood and several others. A "block" is whatever area you are willing to take on. Just let us know.
Alta Vista, Annie, Bickler, Brackenridge, Edgecliff Terrace, Elizabeth, Fairmount, Gibson, Harwood, Hillside, Kenwood, Leland, Live Oak, Mariposa, Monroe, Newning, Nickerson, Pecan Grove, Ravine, Reagan Terrace, Riverside, Rosedale, Sunset, Terrace, The Circle, Travis Heights, Woodland
Walking Tour
We are also creating a printed/PDF Walking Tour of Fairview Park and Travis Heights and need your input with interesting sites and stories. All of your stories and photos are extremely valuable to our history and we would love to have them to include in our research and, ultimately, donate to the Austin History Center.
Please contact me at Melanie@HistoricTravisHeights.org for more information.