Bouldin Creek Neighborhood

ABOUT THE Bouldin Creek
Neighborhood Association

Founded in 1981, the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association (BCNA) is one of Austin’s oldest and most active neighborhood associations.

Bouldin Creek is home to more than 6,100 residents and includes landmarks like Auditorium Shores, The Long Center for the Performing Arts, and the Lester E. Palmer Community Events Center.

Brief History

The land that is now Bouldin Creek began as part of Ben Milam’s colony, granted to Isaac Decker in 1835. The land changed hands several times before James E. Bouldin Sr. purchased 1,000 acres in 1852. Early maps show sparse development until rapid growth in the 1920s and '30s.

One of the neighborhood’s oldest institutions is the Texas School for the Deaf, established in 1856. The 65-acre campus between South Congress and South First has undergone extensive renovations since the 1990s.

Because the area south of the river was once prone to flooding, it remained affordable and accessible to many families, including Black residents who established historic churches like St. Anne AME (1916) and Goodwill Baptist Church.

Bouldin Creek has also been home to notable figures such as:

John Henry Faulk, First Amendment activist and author
Dr. E.W. Herndon, whose 1894 Victorian home now houses Mattie’s at Green Pastures
Willy Wells, a baseball Hall of Famer

Boundaries

The Bouldin Creek neighborhood and BCNA are bordered by:

North: Lady Bird Lake
West: Union Pacific Railroad Tracks
South: Oltorf Street
East: South Congress Avenue

Neighborhood Schools

Most children in Bouldin Creek attend Becker Elementary, with some also zoned to Travis Heights Elementary. Older students typically attend Lively Middle School and William B Travis High School. The neighborhood is also home to the Texas School for the Deaf, a historic institution serving students from across the state on its expansive South Austin campus.

Neighborhood Plan

In the late 1990s, Bouldin residents, city planners, and stakeholders collaborated to shape a shared vision for the neighborhood’s future.

The result: the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Plan, adopted by City Council in 2002. This evolving document reflects community values and guides long-term land use.

View the Neighborhood Plan

KNOW your Sector

Bouldin Creek Neighborhood is divided into 7 color-coded sectors with a BCNA volunteer representative for each.

Green

Blue

Pink

Orange

Brown

Teal

Yellow

Purple

Stay Connected

The BCNA keeps residents informed and engaged through:

General Association Meetings, typically held at 6:45 PM on the second Tuesday of every third month. View past and pending meeting minutes here.
An active neighborhood email list, open to all who wish to join.
The Bouldin Bulletin, our periodic print and digital newsletter. Electronic editions are available here.

To learn more about our structure, view the BCNA Bylaws.