The Neighborhood

Just a few miles from downtown Austin, bordered by Westover on the south, 35th street on the north, Shoal Creek on the east and Mopac on the west, lies the old Austin neighborhood of BrykerWoods. The neighborhood has a certain ambiance that really builds a sense of community. The narrow streets, heavy with trees, encourages neighbors to get outside, go for a walk, and interact with other residents. Many of the area’s inhabitants have lived there since the subdivision’s inception and are willing to reminisce with the new families - usually to boast about the price they paid for their homes 40 or 50 years ago.

BrykerWoods is predominantly a mix of young and old families and zoned as a single family neighborhood composed of mostly small homes in good condition, most of which are over 50 years old. As a resource for home ownership and a quality of life for a variety of lifestyles, the neighborhood is a vital part of a major asset to the City of Austin and its central city neighborhoods. BrykerWoods has its own elementary school - BrykerWoods Elementary - and is also part of the Old West Austin Historic District.

Location, location, location

BrykerWoods has traditionally enjoyed its proximity to the University of Texas and downtown, which are major centers of employment, education, entertainment and public activity within Austin. Its central location makes it equally accessible to north and south Austin. The retail and restaurant establishments along the 35th Street corridor are convenient and within walking distance to most of the neighborhood.

In addition, the neighborhood is fortunate to have convenient bus access to the University and downtown. The No. 19 Capital Metro Bus travels through the middle of the neighborhood. The direct ride to the University is only 5 minutes and the ride to downtown is less than 10 minutes.

Community, Environment, and Nature

While there are no large open spaces or areas of undeveloped land within the neighborhood, the natural environment of the neighborhood is one of its greatest assets. The community’s ambiance is produced by the mix of housing ages and styles, most of them modest in size and scale, with lot sizes and setbacks large enough to provide for reasonable privacy but small enough to permit interaction among residents. The yards are unpretentious, but generally well kept. The streets are narrow and well shaded with mature trees.

Bryker Woods is a walking and bicycling neighborhood and enjoys a mutually beneficial or symbiotic relationship with the Shoal Creek greenbelt on the east and the Pemberton Heights neighborhood on the south. Bailey Park is also within walking distance near Seton Hostpital.

BrykerWoods History

Though the neighborhood was named in the 1930s, the origins of the area go back as far as 1886 when the fourteen-lot William Thiele subdivision was platted within a stones throw of Shoal Creek. This one block subdivision still exists today as the block between 34th and 35th streets and Kerbey Lane and Mills Ave. In the early 1900s, other subdivisions began popping up nearby. The first subdivision named Brkyer Woods came in 1936, using the first 3 letters of the developers’ last names, J.C. Bryant and McFall Kerbey.

The majority of Bryker Woods was developed between the 1930s and 1950s. Most of the homes built were bungalows, with some larger homes sprinkled among them. The area has an abundance of pecan, live oak, and elm trees, hence the “Woods” of Bryker Woods. Bridges were an important component to the development of the Bryker Woods neighborhood. Shoal Creek, separating Bryker Woods from the downtown business district and the University, was prone to flooding and notorious for destroying bridges. Thus, the neighborhood was not developed until reliable bridges crossing Shoal Creek were constructed.