City Parks & Recreation Department Merge
Parks Director Beverly Sheffield & City Planner C.O. Smith
Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, AS-64-44210
1964
The official creation of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department signals a shift in Austin's thinking about the importance of parks for the city. C.O. Smith is hired as city landscaper to oversee parkland development.
That was a major stroke. I guess, if there's anything that [we accomplished it was] separating away from Public Works and getting us a parks department... We got a Planner and then we could come in and present a plan.
— Roberta Crenshaw, Interview by Anthony Orum
