The Norwood House Restoration Project

Photos 2008 Old Photos Articles Donate News Restoration Blog

Architect: Heimsath Architects  www.heimsath.com 
Consulting Civil Engineers:  Urban Design Group, Austin, TX    http://www.udg.com

New Web site under construction for the Norwood Park Foundation

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In 1922, Ollie O. Norwood built his home on a scenic 3 acre
tract overlooking what is now Lady Bird Lake. The Norwood Estate included 
a state of the art greenhouse, a fountain, a gazebo/teahouse, and the 
first geothermal fed swimming pool in Austin. Norwood later went on to 
build the first fully air conditioned "skyscraper" in Texas....the well known 
Norwood Tower in downtown Austin.....a full 15 floors!

 



The Fountain



The Green House and 
Rose Garden



The Gazebo

In its time, the Norwood Estate was an elegant bungalow style home surrounded by lush gardens. The house survived a number 
of attempts to commercialize the site until the City of Austin purchased the entire parcel in the mid eighties. 
Since then a number of restoration efforts were initiated….none of them successful. 
The most recent was begun in 1989 by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas. Despite all their efforts, 
the project never really got off the ground except for moving the house back to its original location.

The Restoration

SRCC (the local neighborhood association) is committed to the restoration of this home. 
In April, 2008, SRCC members volunteered to form the Norwood Posse. We are developing a plan that 
minimizes cost to the city and returns the house to its original appearance. 
Once this is completed, the house will be a valuable addition to the public park system, 
available for the general public to use in a variety of ways. 

PARTNERS
City of Austin Parks and Rec. Dept
Austin Parks Foundation
Sierra Contracting Corporation
Jenkins Environmental Consulting

CONTACT

Wolf Sittler 
restorenorwood@yahoo.com
( 512) 447 2150 

Join the conversation on this blog:
http://restorenorwood.posterous.com/

DONORS

Claudette Lowe, Realtor
 Matt Lynaugh
www.mattlynaugh.com
Fair Bean Coffee
Clear Channel Outdoors
The Continental Club
Plus private individuals