Reviews
I see people on here griping about this "unused space" and why can't they turn it into a park. Seriously? There are approximately 2,900 graves at the cemetery along with a large portion of unused land in Central Austin. In recent years, unclaimed deceased residents of the Austin State School have been buried at the ASH cemetery. All but 700 of the deceased have been identified and noted in burial records. Just because you don't see headstones doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of people buried there. YOU being able to use this as a park is not reason enough to bulldoze the property as some moron suggested and turn it into a park. People's relatives are buried there. Have some class and accept the fact that it is a cemetery that has been here far longer than any of you have.
I feel a lot of affection for cemeteries. The one my family used to live by was lush, full of life and death, and a great place to wander around, get lost, or visit a loved one. Most importantly, it was public. Austin State Hospital Cemetery is a vast, treeless moonscape fortified by locked, angry-looking gates. This neighborhood needs some public green space, and I feel this is a waste of space. Let's tear down these gates, add trees and bushes, and most importantly: open this space to the public.
Maybe the saddest, certainly the loneliest cemetery in town. So much vacant space, no signs of gentrification whatsoever. You may have to die while employed or entrusted to the care of the state hospital, but once you do, the roominess is well worth the commitment. It does not seem as though there is an alumni program, but who knows, ask around. I'd give it five stars but don't want everyone flocking there and ruining the quaint, old Austin vibe. These are the people who made it weird in the first place.
For all you wast-of-spacers out there ... I have a Texas-historian friend that feels sure the cemetery was bigger .. that part of it was paved over by 51st street. I guess you're glad they used that space at least.
I think there is no better view into the minds of what people really think about others than when they make comments on how the bodies of the disenfranchised dead- the completely defenseless- should be treated. Wanting to take a cemetery that has perhaps hundreds of bodies and steamroll it and turn it into park so you can walk your little furbaby because there "isn't enough park space". Let the dead rest. Why not travel the 1,000 feetwhich isn't even the furthest you'd have to travel from this cemetary to walk them? Personally, you disgust me.
I have to agree with fellow Austinites who complain this closed off huge expanse of land is a waste of space, and a wasted opportunity for a much needed public park in the area. Austin has too few parks available within walking distance for its residents. Data shows that cities like New York yes, the concrete jungle offers more square footage of green space per resident than Austin! A pity, really. The dead don't need parks and fresh air; only the living do! This space is absurd.
It's everything you would hope for from a graveyard. Situated between a coffee shop and some vintage stores, Austin State Hospital Cemetery offers a variety of tombstones and native grasses. There are no bands scheduled to play there yet, and there's no drink service because of the lack of any type of bar or building or dance floor. But I'm optimistic that will change.
Huge waste of space, basically no graves in it. They need to steamroll this place, or rip down the fences and open the grounds to the public.
Don’t dead. Open inside.
Creepy sparsely populated cemetary.
