Education
University of Texas at Austin.
founder golfer philanthropist pioneer
University of Texas at Austin.
Roberta Crenshaw campaigned for over 60 years to preserve parkland in Austin, Texas and supported Austin-area cultural institutions. Park She was a motivating force for Austin"s Town Lake greenbelt. She deserves substantial cr for today"s parkland and serene trails around Town Lake.
She served on the Austin Parks Board from 1952 to 1970.
She helped form the Austin Parks and Recreation Department in 1974 after advocating that the Parks Division of the Public Works Department be moved to the then Recreation Department. She donated more than 30 acres (120,000 m2) to the Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park in east Austin.
She bought and donated to the city the land for Reed Park in west Austin. (The park was the site of her memorial service) She advocated the establishment of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt.
She served as Trustee of the National Recreation and Park Association.
Cultural She helped restore Austin"s Paramount Theatre on Congress Avenue. She helped establish the Laguna Gloria Art Museum. She served on the boards of the Austin Symphony, Laguna Gloria, and the Paramount.
In 1991, her leadership raised the private funds to build a museum for the Umlauf Sculpture Garden in Zilker Park.
She was one of the founders of the Austin History Center and leader of the Austin Heritage Society. Professor Sinclair Black holds the Crenshaw Centennial Professorship in Urban Design and Environmental Planning.
Roberta Purvis was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 17, 1914. On May 5, 2004 the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department began construction of improvements to a section of the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail under the MoPac Bridge (built in 1973) on the north side of the trail"s pedestrian bridge crossing the lake.
Crenshaw was "very instrumental" in getting the Texas Department of Transportation to pay for and install the pedestrian bridge.
The bridge was later designated the Roberta Crenshaw Pedestrian Walkway by a July 18, 2004 vote of the Austin City Council and dedicated on April 18, 2005. A plaque at the north entrance to the bridge notes her contributions to Austin"s parks and culture. She was awarded the Austin Community Keepsake Award for her volunteerism work to improve the quality of life for Central Texas residents.
She was a charter member of the Women"s Symphony League.