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All the United States Texas Austin HOPE Outdoor Gallery
HOPE Outdoor Gallery is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

HOPE Outdoor Gallery

This failed condo development was reborn as a street art hub.

Austin, Texas

Added By
wulymammoth
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CAPTION
  Andie Mistler
HOPE Outdoor Gallery   HOPE Campaign on Facebook
The walls were painted over so that new pieces have a place to go.   HOPE Campaign on Facebook
HOPE Outdoor Gallery   HOPE Campaign on Facebook
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
  chasepopt / Atlas Obscura User
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
One of the ever evolving pieces of art   Thewanderingmeatball / Atlas Obscura User
Love   Thewanderingmeatball / Atlas Obscura User
  andressrr91 / Atlas Obscura User
Lick it!   andressrr91 / Atlas Obscura User
  Laflaneure / Atlas Obscura User
  Laflaneure / Atlas Obscura User
11/5/17; if it doesn’t move, it’s fair game   karebear2004 / Atlas Obscura User
11/5/17   karebear2004 / Atlas Obscura User
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  shaw95 / Atlas Obscura User
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  notoriousFIG / Atlas Obscura User
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  Andie Mistler
  megandeer / Atlas Obscura User
  chasepopt / Atlas Obscura User
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Tucked away in downtown Austin, Texas, this abandoned construction project was meant to become a condominium. That fate is still creeping up on it, but in the meantime, the bare walls and foundation have been repurposed for a more imaginative project: an colorful public art gallery in a state of constant morph.

In the mid-1980s, a failed building attempt left the Baylor Street hillside studded with copious slabs of blank cement. Soon, graffiti artists from all over the city began spraying and tagging there, nicknaming it "The Foundation."

This drew the attention of HOPE, a nonprofit production group that connects creative people with various social causes. With the permission of the property-owners, HOPE removed decades of weeds and debris, and rechristened the space. In 2011, they opened to the public for spraying and mural-painting. 

On any given day, hundreds of people now clamber around the slabs, gazing at other people's work or making their own. The gallery has hosted concerts, music video shoots, and countless selfies. For years, the property owners paid taxes on the land in order to support this free art space.

But all good things must come to an end. In 2017, the hill that the gallery sits on was sold to a developer. HOPE is opening a new space about 10 miles to the southeast, and the original slabs will be demolished by spring of 2019, taking innumerable layers of paint with them.

Update January 2019: Graffiti Park is being moved to near Carson Creek Ranch by the airport, set to open in 2020. 

Related Tags

Graffiti Abandoned Parks Art

Community Contributors

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wulymammoth

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Rachel, Andie, drsmith42, jrfox84...

  • Rachel
  • Andie
  • drsmith42
  • jrfox84
  • Cara Giaimo
  • Melissa
  • piercedprincessm
  • qazwart
  • codex24
  • EricGrundhauser
  • shaw95
  • notoriousFIG
  • megzeazez
  • jadeferise
  • Laflaneure
  • karebear2004
  • Thewanderingmeatball
  • gingercinnamon
  • andressrr91
  • chasepopt
  • SemiruralYeti
  • megandeer

Published

January 21, 2014

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Sources
  • http://www.seesawaustin.com/2013/03/the-future-of-h-o-p-e-outdoor-art-gallery/
  • http://austinist.com/2013/05/15/graffiti_park.php
  • http://www.petertsaiphotography.com/blog/2011/09/05/austin-castle-hill-graffiti/
  • http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2011-08-12/end-of-the-road-for-baylor-street-art-wall/
  • http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2014-06-20/hog-wild/
  • http://spratx.com/
  • http://www.texashighways.com/eat/item/4434-a-capital-castle
  • http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local/austin-graffiti-park-demolition-approved-relocation-the-works/uaTGxx4a62ucPDgm3bAj1M/
  • https://austin.curbed.com/2019/1/2/18165716/graffiti-park-close-when-hope-outdoor-gallery
HOPE Outdoor Gallery
1100 Baylor
Austin, Texas, 78703
United States
30.276548, -97.753069
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