After 75 years in business, Austin’s Peter Pan Mini Golf is hoping to celebrate many more, with a grassroots campaign to zone the site historic beginning to take shape at the city’s Historic Preservation Office.
The one-of-a-kind golf course made headlines after news broke that a change in landowners could call the renewal of its lease into question. The news sparked an outpouring of community support, with a petition to protect the course from redevelopment amassing over 22,000 signatures since coming online last month.
“My mom had her first date at Peter Pan Mini Golf, and I’m willing to bet most of you guys have played a course or two,” said Austinite Jesse Denier, who organized the petition alongside partner Natalie Becker, at the Aug. 31 City Council meeting. “I’m here to ask that City Council work with the Historic Landmark Commission and with the owners of Peter Pan Mini Golf to get historic landmark status so it can be safe and preserved for generations.”
For decades, the land underneath Peter Pan Mini Golf and the now-shuttered McDonald’s next door have been part of a trust managed by the state’s Juvenile Justice Department. Now, the state’s Sunset Advisory Commission has shaken up the arrangement, passing legislation mandating the trust be handed over to a yet-unnamed third party.
With its current lease up next March, Peter Pan owners Margaret Dismukes Massad and Julio Massad hope that a historic zoning could afford them some leverage in negotiating with the new trustee. The two are currently working to compile a formal application, noting the site’s age, cultural significance, and landscape features as grounds for designation.
“In 1948, three Dismukes brothers opened a miniature golf course … originally called Varsity Links,” said Dismukes Massad at last week’s Historic Landmark Commission meeting. “One of those brothers was my father Glenn … the talented artist behind all the original sculptures, including Peter Pan and the T. rex, which have stood watch over Barton Springs Road for so many years.”
The recent landmarking of legacy businesses like the Broken Spoke, which also sits atop leased land, could chart a path forward for the case. Still, city staff says there are a number of legal kinks to be ironed out.
“There is a complicated little piece of land underneath all of those sculptures and golf course,” said Historic Preservation Officer Kalan Contreras. “Our Law Department has determined that the state, as a trustee, is not technically the legal property owner, which gives the commission zoning jurisdiction … however, as the Legislature recently passed a bill requiring a new trustee, we’ve been advised to connect with them as they go through the transfer process.”
In the meantime, Austinites are rallying around the institution, hoping their shared memories are enough to save a slice of the city’s eccentric past from the encroaching pressure of redevelopment.
“We’ve hosted generations of tourists from around the world, countless first dates and birthday parties, corporate celebrations, bachelor parties, and quite a few marriage proposals. People return often to celebrate their kids’ and grandkids’ birthdays in the same place they once did,” said Dismukes Massad. “The secret of our success is simple: We resist change and keep it old-school … people love to step back and remember a time when life was simpler and Austin was perhaps a bit more weird.”
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
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Historic Landmark Commission: The city’s Historic Landmark Commission promotes historic preservation of buildings and structures. The commission also reviews applications and permits for historic zoning and historic grants.
historic preservation: Official actions of a municipality such as the City of Austin taken to preserve structures with their jurisdiction. Preservation is often accompanied by a property tax exemption.
