Mueller's Park Signs Now Tell The Story Of How The Airport Became A Neighborhood

"Mueller is a much better place because of Girard's commitment, passion and insight – particularly related to sustainability features and preservation of historic structures." Jim Walker, chair of the Cherrywood Neighborhood Association, said that when Mueller announced that Lake Park would become "Girard Kinney Park at Mueller."

Most people around the pond still call it Lake Park, which makes sense after nearly two decades. The new name matters more than a plaque usually does, though. Mueller's last open space, Roger Lavon Taylor, Sr. Plaza at the old control tower, opened in spring 2025. Mueller's other named parks have since received permanent bronze signs in English and Spanish that summarize what their namesakes contributed. Now that the parks are all named, you can read them as a sequence, and the two newest names belong to the people who helped argue a closed airport into a neighborhood.

The Man Behind The Pond

Girard Kinney is a Cherrywood architect. His work around Austin includes Symphony Square, Zach Scott Theatre's Whisenhunt building, the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge and his leadership at Scenic Austin. His role at Mueller started earlier than any of the buildings here:

• He worked with Citizens for Airport Relocation, or CARE, which pushed for a new airport somewhere else and also proposed how to redevelop the 700-plus acres it would leave behind.
• From 1984 to 1994, he was the neighborhood representative on the City's Airport Advisory Board.
• In 1996, he chaired the RMMA Process and Goals Task Force. That group's work informed the six primary goals that still guide Mueller nearly 30 years later.
• Mueller's redevelopment team later hired him for feasibility studies on reusing the historic Robert Browning Hangar and on what it would take to open the control tower to the public.

The park with his name opened in April 2007. It's best known for its European-designed playscape, the shaded serpentine trail around the pond, the big open lawn and the amphitheater. Mueller lists the park at 30 acres, including a 6.5-acre lake, a picnic peninsula, a loop trail and public art. So the largest green space in the neighborhood now carries the name of the man whose task force helped shape the goals it was built to meet.

The Tower End Of The Story

Kinney studied whether the public could someday get inside the control tower. Roger Lavon Taylor, Sr. is honored at the tower itself. Mueller describes him as an African American community leader who was central to preserving the tower and to the redevelopment efforts of the existing neighborhood.

His plaza covers one acre around the tower, on Berkman Drive between McCurdy and Sorin. An elevated serpentine walk leads to an overlook bridge, and seating comes in three forms: benches, concrete ledges and stairs. Tribeza's coverage of the opening also mentions native Blackland Prairie plantings, a gravel plaza, open lawn and shaded seating for eating. The plaza is the public space. The tower is something to look at from it.

A paved paseo runs from the plaza to the gardens at John Gaines Park. The park has 132 community garden plots, covered work space, compost bins, a tool shed, a playscape, open lawn, and lap and wading pools. Its namesake was Austin's first African American police officer. He was shot in 1913 while summoning help during a disturbance, and he is also memorialized at 401 E. 6th Street. On that one stretch along the paseo, the signs go from a 1913 officer to a modern preservation advocate.

The Signs, In The Order The Parks Opened

The other names go back further into Austin's history. Listed by opening date, they show how the neighborhood grew outward:

Some features in the table tie back to the names on the signs. Paggi Square has a ledge-rock spring, and its namesake built a business on ice. Taniguchi Park honors the man behind Zilker's Japanese Garden, and its rain gardens are fed by a cistern and dry creek system. Taniguchi was a Japanese immigrant who was imprisoned with his family in South Texas during World War II. Mueller's sign tells that part of his story too.

The three greenways have no namesakes, but they finish the system. The Northwest Greenway has 15 solar-powered Sunflower sculptures and an accessible playscape. The Southwest Greenway along Tom Miller Street has restored Blackland prairie. The Southeast Greenway, east of Berkman and south of Zach Scott, has a skate park, a pump track, a wet pond for birdwatching and more than a mile of trails. Mueller's plan calls for 144 acres of public parks and open space in total.

Where The Rest Of Fall Happens

This season's calendar mostly takes place in these named parks, which makes it easy to read the signs while you're out.

1. Sunday mornings at Branch Park. Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller runs every Sunday, rain or shine, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2006 Philomena St. That address is Branch Park, at the north end of the Aldrich Street district. Aldrich Street notes that Austin Chronicle readers have voted it Austin's favorite farmers market for 13 years running.
2. Saturday, October 31, on Aldrich Street. Ghosts & Goodies is free from 4 to 7 p.m. Participating businesses hand out treats, and trick-or-treaters can enter giveaways.
3. Friday, November 6, at Girard Kinney Park. KUTX Rock the Park closes its free, family-friendly fall season at the amphitheater, 4550 Mueller Boulevard. A Parent's Project plays at 6:30 p.m. and Almost Heaven at 7:15 p.m. KUTX's kids' show Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child co-curates the series, and Dell Children's Medical Center presents it.
4. Saturday, November 7, just off-site. The Annual Meeting & Mueller Harvest Giveback runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Salvation Army Area Command Center, 4700 Manor Road. The listing mentions a community brunch, service opportunities and family fall activities.

If you're starting a walk from Aldrich Street, there are two newer places to stop for coffee. Merit Coffee planned a February 14 opening event for its fourth Austin cafe at 1900 Aldrich St., Suite 100, according to Community Impact. Across the street, ThoroughBread's bakery, cafe, deli and grocery, ThoroughFare, opened March 17 at 1905 Aldrich St., Suite 110, Community Impact reported.

The Naming Isn't Finished

The parks have all their names, but other parts of Mueller are still getting new ones. As of August 10, 2026, the Alamo Drafthouse Mueller theater is officially the Matthew McConaughey Cinema. CBS Austin reported on the dedication, which included a ceremony at Barrel O' Fun inside the theater and a commemorative plaque.

Creative Action has also announced plans for a 25,000-square-foot Community Arts Collaborative at 4611 Tilley St. It's meant to house six nonprofit organizations and is targeted to open in fall 2027, Community Impact reported.

For the parks, the bronze signs are already up. The easiest place to start reading them is the overlook bridge at Taylor Plaza, which faces the tower Kinney once studied opening to the public.

At Justyn LeFebvre, we make sure details like the garden plots at John Gaines or the amphitheater at Girard Kinney show up in how a Mueller home is presented. If you're curious what your place near these parks is worth this fall, start with Get Your Instant Home Valuation.