Post-Industrial Govalle: Brownfield to Greenbelt (8 AM start)
Details
This 7.2-mile walk traces the industrial and activist history of Govalle and Johnston Terrace, two East Austin neighborhoods that fought toxic neighbors for decades before the forces of gentrification took hold.
Austin's 1928 Master Plan, designed to concentrate Black and Latino communities in East Austin, paired that designation with weak industrial zoning — and the region's most unwanted industries followed. By mid-century the neighborhood was ringed with petroleum storage, cement operations, and waste facilities. Beginning in the early 1990s, grassroots organizers — most prominently PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources) — waged a remarkable campaign to force the industrial tenants out.
The first half of our walk passes through a few of these sites in Govalle: the footprint of the East Austin Tank Farm, where six major oil companies stored toxic fuel for decades before PODER organized the community to push them out; and the former BFI/ACCO recycling plant, site of a notorious five-alarm fire in 1996. We'll also witness the area's revitalization, including Boggy Creek Farm, where an 1841 Greek Revival farmhouse — one of the oldest structures in Austin — anchors a working urban farm restored in the 1990s; and Canopy, a former Goodwill warehouse now home to over 70 artists.
The second half loops through Govalle Neighborhood Park and follows East Boggy Creek into Knollwood, a quietly manicured neighborhood tucked between the Colorado River and the Bergstrom Expressway, before reaching Bolm District Park — city-owned land that wears its industrial past openly — rusting machinery, scraped caliche, and river views in equal measure.
Following the walk we'll discuss nearby lunch options with those who care to join.
TRANSIT LOGISTICS:
- 8 AM start, on our summer schedule
- We’ll meet at parking lot in southwest corner of Govalle Neighborhood Park
- Official walk map