The Texas School for the Deaf, established in 1856, is the neighborhood’s largest institution. With a 65 acre campus, the school stretches from South Congress to South First Street and from Barton Springs Road to Elizabeth Street. The original building was demolished in 1956. The school underwent extensive renovation and expansion during the early 1990s.

The Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse and the Soup Peddler are frequented by neighborhood residents. Other area restaurants and bars include Guero’s Taco Bar & Grill, Jovita’s Restaurant, Threadgill’s Southern Cooking, Trophies Bar & Grill, and Vespaio Italian Bistro.

Five Star Green Home in Bouldin Creek

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Bouldin Creek Demographics from the 2005 Census

Population: 6,170
Housing units: 2,748
Multi-family: 50%
Single-family: 50%
Owner-occupied: 68.8%
Household size: 2.2
White: 46.5%
Hispanic: 40.7%
Black: 9.2%
Asian: 0.8%
Other: 2.7%
Age 17 & Under: 21.8%
Age 18-24: 12.0%
Age 25-64: 59.9%
Age 65 & Up: 6.3%
Total area acres: 763
Percent Residential Acres: 38.7%

Its four stories occupied almost half a block, with three arched entryways on the south, east, and north sides. Carved limestone busts of Driskill and his two sons, Bud and Tobe crowned the hotel on each of these sides. Six million bricks went into the structure, along with limestone features.

The hotel’s 60 rooms included 12 corner rooms with attached baths, an almost unheard-of feature in any hotel of the region at that time.

The hotel included an open design to encourage airflow throughout the building and keep it cool; its primary feature was an open rotunda at the center that extended from the first to the fourth floors and culminated in a domed skylight.

Other embellishments included an electric bell system, marble bureaus and washstands, steam heating, and gas lighting. The gas pipes throughout the building particularly led Driskill to make the hotel as fireproof as possible, with eighteen-inch-thick walls between the rooms and two layers of iron between each floor. The steam boilers, kitchen, and laundry facilities were relegated to the back (north) side of the hotel to prevent their odors from permeating the hotel.

According to legend, Driskill lost the hotel in a game of poker in 1888 to his brother-in-law, Jim “Doc” Day, who became its second owner. The hotel changed hands several times through the turn of the century, and went through boom and bust cycles along with the city of Austin.

Throughout its history, the Driskill has become a centerpiece for Austin’s high society, and especially in its early years, a common meeting place for Texas state congressmen, where many “backroom deals” were said to go down.

Today the Driskill remains one of the premier hotels in Texas, featuring lavish bridal suites, two restaurants, and a grand ballroom. It is also well-known for being one of the most haunted hotels in the United States, featuring as many as half a dozen ghosts throughout the building.