Exploring Wet Willie's Water Slide. One of Austin’s forgotten water parks.

Wet Willie's Water Slide is one of Austin’s forgotten water parks and waterslides that only old timers know about or those from Generation X might remember. This water park had double slides. 

The land where Wet Willie’s Water Slide was once located was owned by Roberto Flores and David J Moriaty. David J Moriaty leased the land to Wet Willie’s Water Slide in 1978. Ref: Travis County Real Estate Records, Volume 6599, Page 1498)

Wet Willie's Water Slide was one of the three water parks and waterslides which opened in South Austin in the summer of 1978. The waterslide was on a hillside with a large parking lot out front and was located at the address of 1001 W Ben White Blvd. The water park was also known as Wet n Wild, Wet and Wild, and Wet Willie's Splish Splash. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37959292/south_austin_water_slides/)

Austin American Statesman reported that Wet Willie’s is a franchise but partially owned by Dr. Don Deeds of Georgetown and John Howard of Austin. John Howard was part owner of Wet Willie’s with 2 other people. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20083354/austin_americanstatesman/)

Wet Willie's Water Slide was designed and constructed using ground level concrete by Galen B. Pellham of Springfield, Missouri in 1978. Geography of the area was conducive to a ground level water slide. Despite being located on a hill, the water park did fairly well sales-wise. The walls were painted gray. It was a double water slide. (Ref: https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/aushc/00112/ahc-00112.html)


 

Many remember that Wet Willie's Water Slide was dangerous! Wet Willie's Water Slide was not free of any tragic incidents. There were a series of tragic incidents and accidents that occurred at this water park. More than 3 deaths occurred. People reported having several injuries after riding both of their water slides. Several people received multiple bruises and scars riding both sides. Some reported having broken bones in several places of their body. This happened multiple times for some people.

One example of an accident happening at this water park back is in 1978 when someone got severely injured trying to jump the wall of their lane in one of the turns. This shut down the waterslide for 2 months.

Another example is when someone jumped the curve of the slide, went over the edge and died. That person got airborne at a very high altitude and could not be saved. Both waterslides were shut down just 2 days later.


Wet Willie's Water Slide would not stay open for very long. Wet Willie's Water Slide only operated for a few years.

In 1979, someone jumped the curve of the slide and got airborne at a very high altitude. The person went over the edge and died. The whole waterpark closed not too long after that incident. The death of this person is what really killed Wet Willie's Water Slide. That and new wave of water parks in the area. It was sad for Wet Willie's Water Slide.

Wet Willie's Water Slide shut down in late 1982. The waterslides were left up for a couple of years. They remained there, just not open for many years. However the waterslides were used for a short period of time before construction of St. David's South Austin Medical Center and before St. David's South Austin Medical Center (then South Austin Hospital) bought that whole tract of land. People used the waterslides to skate and bike on. Soon both waterslides were covered with graffiti.

Dr. Don Deeds and John Howard sold their land to St. David’s Foundation in 1983 for a hospital. St. David's South Austin Medical Center (then South Austin Hospital/S.A. MEDICAL CENTER INC) bought that whole tract of land. The water slides were removed.

Both water slides were bulldozed during an expansion of the hospital. All that remained in 1984 was an empty field of dirt and grass. Dirt and grass were hauled by a dump truck. Grass and dirt were placed over where the concrete slab of the waterslide was. All remnants of Wet Willie's Water Slide were removed by 1985.

St. David's South Austin Medical Center is now located where Wet Willie's Water Slide once was.

Wet Willie's Water Slide was located at 1001 West Ben White Boulevard, Austin, Texas, US 78745.