A beloved part of Hyde Park’s history and community, Shipe Pool at Shipe Park is a local treasure. Located at 4400 Avenue G in Hyde Park, it’s open during summer months, roughly from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

History

Open to the public and maintained by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, the pool was originally built in 1934, using $1500 of materials and equipment provided by the City of Austin. Labor was provided through the Civil Works Administration (CWA), one of many relief-era programs available to Austin at the time. It was opened May 15, 1934. It joined a small wading pool that had been added to Shipe Park in 1932 or 1934, and the log cabin structure, erected at the park in 1928.

The park was founded by Monroe Martin Shipe, a resident of Hyde Park responsible for creating one of Austin’s first neighborhoods outside downtown.

After years of use and deferred maintenance, the City of Austin appropriated $6.26 million in the 2014-2015 Budget to rebuild the pool with a slightly new footprint and modern amenities and safety improvements. After two years of construction. the pool reopened in 2020.

Visiting Shipe Pool

Shipe Pool’s admission is free to all.

It has a main recreational pool (4 foot to 9 feet in depth), and a kiddie pool/splash pad. Amenities include picnic tables, a changing area, and an outdoor shower.

It’s important to check with the City of Austin for pool hours, as lifeguard availability can alter its schedule considerably from year to year, or even week to week.

Call 512.974.1245 for more info.

You can also apply to be a lifeguard at City of Austin pools.

Friends of Shipe Park

Friends of Shipe Park is a group of neighborhood volunteers who are dedicated to keeping Shipe Park wonderful and beautiful. Their efforts, started in 2008, help preserve and maintain the park. They are responsible for the creation of the large Shipe Park Mosiac on the pool’s pump house wall.

Learn more about and join the Friends of Shipe Park

Source: Friends of Shipe Park, City of Austin

Detail from the Shipe Pool Mosaic Project, by Friends of Shipe Park.

First crafted in 2011, the mosaic is one of the most striking features of the pool, carried forward during renovations and expanded to cover the entire pump room wall at the north end of the pool.

Source: Friends of Shipe Park