Pemberton Heights is a one of the most historic and wealthiest neighborhoods in Austin, Texas. It’s a part of the Old West Austin Historic District located between Northwood Road on the north, Lamar Boulevard and Shoal Creek on the east, 24th Street and Windsor Road on the south, and MoPac Expressway on the west.
In the late 1800s, the area was a farm owned by Attorney General John Woods Harris. The Fisher family inherited the farm and established the Austin Land Company to subdivide and develop the community which was then outside Austin city limits. In 1927, the company established better transportation to the city by building a bridge across Shoal Creek. Between 1927 and the early 1940s, Pemberton Heights was developed into 12 sections. Most of the homes in the neighborhood date from this time period.
The neighborhood includes many natural features. Pemberton Heights includes the western edge of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt along with a number of other “triangle parks” formed by three-way intersections including Harris Triangle Park and Wooldridge Triangle Park. In 2016 the Pemberton Heights Neighborhood Association and the City of Austin formed a partnership in an effort to formally create a park in the half-acre green space found at the intersection of Hartford Rd, Jefferson St, and Ethridge Ave. A fence, playscapes, and landscaping was added.
Pemberton Heights has been the home of many notable residents including Governor Greg Abbott, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines, and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. In its June 1998 issue, Town & Country Magazine named Pemberton Heights as one of the 25 Platinum Addresses in the United States