According to newspaper accounts and other records, Violet Crown Shopping Center, at Brentwood and North Lamar in the Brentwood neighborhood of Austin, was one of the earliest shopping centers in Austin when it opened in 1951. It was not the first, even though a plaque at the center says that it was. Here’s a brief history of a few other ones:
- Tarrytown Shopping Center, at Exposition and Windsor in West Austin, was built in 1939. Tarrytown Pharmacy opened there in 1941. The center was developed by siblings Carrie Margaret Graham Crusemann and Niles Graham, grandchildren of prominent Texan Elisha M. Pease.
- Burnet Heights (now Northwest) center, originally with Big Bear Grocery on the north end, was developed by Lindon Leslie (Dude) McCandless, son of a blacksmith. The center, which opened in July 1949, is on the northeast corner of Burnet Road and Koenig Lane. Much more about Dude here.
- Allandale center, developed by W. Murray Graham, opened in September 1949. HEB opened in 1950. The center is on the southwest corner of Burnet and Koenig. Graham, a first cousin of Carrie Margaret Crusemann and Niles Graham (see Tarrytown, above), also helped develop Enfield, Tarrytown, and other West Austin neighborhoods.
- The west side of Crestview Shopping Center, on Woodrow Avenue, was open by August 1, 1950, when A. B. Beddow established an insurance and real estate office there. The Crestview Food Mart was next door and later moved to the addition built on the west side. (Photo of west side below.) A separate building to the east was added soon after. Beddow and Ray Yates developed the Crestview neighborhood beginning in 1947.
- Delwood, east of today’s IH-35, was developed by James Bascom Giles, also Texas Land Commissioner (1939-1955). The center opened in October 1951. Giles also developed at least eight subdivisions near the center, including Delwood and Giles.
- Twin Oaks, in South Austin, was developed by Odas Jung and fully open by June 1954.
Crestview Shopping Center (west side, first phase)