Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide was a skateboard park and water park which operated from 1978 to 1981. This was also 1 of the 3 water parks which opened in South Austin in the summer of 1978. The water park was located at the address of 3811 S Congress Ave. A water slide was located down the westward hill facing South Congress Avenue. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37959292/south_austin_water_slides/)
Not too many people know this but Flowmotion Skateboard Park was Austin’s first skateboard park that was open to the public.
Don Willie and John Howard organized and established a business which would be a skateboard park and waterslide called Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide in March 1978. Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide would eventually morph into a water park as well. Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide would officially open on March 30, 1978.
John Howard was part owner of Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide. Don Willie was the general manager of the Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide. They both operated the business during the entirety of its existence. (Ref: Austin American Statesman, Page 10, June 10, 1978)
Flowmotion Skateboard Park was Austin’s first official skateboard park. Flowmotion was the first purpose-built park with double bowls and half-pipes made of concrete. A snake run was included in the original design and layout. (Ref: http://www.austinskateboarding.com/content.php)
Riders at Flowmotion were required to wear safety equipment. Paul Monroe and Mark Wheeless along with K Jones served as safety patrols. Mark Wheeless taught skating techniques to riders. (Ref: Austin American Statesman, Page 11, June 10, 1978)
Aquatractions designed the waterslide in 1978. The big concrete wall was painted a light blue color. Their waterslide was the longest and slowest. Rolling Stone lips were placed on the curves. Flowmotion’s waterslide were 400 feet in length. 1,200 sliders each day rode Flowmotion’s waterslide. John Howard said, "The people that designed our slide have done it before. This one's built pretty good." (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20083354/austin_americanstatesman/)
The waterslide was dug into the hillside rather than propped up on top of the ground as Wet Willie’s Water Slide was. It was a great location for a water slide.
However all of the walls were not high enough and you could get airborne on the turns. You could easily change sides with enough speed. Located at the bottom were two 'holding ponds' which served as the landing area. A splashed was located at the bottom.
According an assessment conducted by the Internal Revenue Service on the date of 3/12/1979, Flowmotion owed an unpaid balance of $206.37 dollars. The unpaid $11,199.58 dollars reportedly dated back to the March 1978 tax period when the business was first being established and organized. Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc. also owned Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide. E. D. Wald was listed as the group manager according a signature from the federal tax lien document. (Ref: Travis County Real Estate, Volume 4100, Page 409)
According an assessment conducted by the Internal Revenue Service on the date of 3/29/1979, Flowmotion owed an unpaid balance of $206.37 dollars. The unpaid $206.37 dollars reportedly dated back to the March 1978 tax period when the business was first being established and organized. (Ref: Travis County Real Estate, Volume 4100, Page 521)
Despite all these tax liens issued against Flowmotion by the IRS, they were allowed to continue operating as a business all the way until 1981.
A new attraction called Ski & Skate was established in 1980. Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide would later change the name of their business to Ski & Skate in 1980. Ski & Skate was located on the same property as Flowmotion which was a skate park. Ski and Skate Family Center was the full name. Ski and Skate was where Penn Field is on South Congress Avenue. Due to the danger involved, all skateboarders and skiers were required to wear safety equipment which included a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads.
A Statesman newspaper article shows rates of Ski & Skate being $2 for 30 minutes or $3 for 1 hour. Patrons chose $2 for 30 minutes as the most common rate. They had a great snake run, double-bowls, half-pipes and freestyle area. It was the full concrete skatepark. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/379181754/)
The park offered grass skiing. The grass skiing was an attempt to get more people to come to their water park. You could get airborne going downhill while on the skis. The slope on Congress Avenue had one jump and several hundred feet of grass that was sometimes difficult to navigate through. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971913/grass_skiing_at_ski_skate/)
Flowmotion was one of the four water parks in Austin that closed during the 1980s. 1981 is the year when things started to decline at Flowmotion as business was dwindling. A couple of lawsuits gave Flowmotion a final blow thus falling into decline.
Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc dissolved on the date of March 16, 1981 as the business became a forfeited franchise tax for nonpayment of taxes. So Flowmotion ceased operations in 1981 even before after the lawsuits were filed. (Ref: https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_tx/0041002000)
A lawsuit was filed against Flowmotion by the 224th Judicial District Court of Bexar County for nonpayment of taxes on May 29, 1981. (Ref: Travis County Real Estate, Volume 185, Page 332)
Tom Rickhoff, Clerk for the 224th Judicial District Court of Bexar County, ordered Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc. dba Flowmotion to pay the sum of $4,222.92 dollars with interest thereon at the rate of 6% per annum from March 31, 1980 to October 2, 1980. Plus attorney fees of $1,250.00. This also included at the rate of 9% per annum and the $48.00 costs of suit. Morris H. Kaliff & Son, a San Antonio insurance agency, acted as the law firm for the Flowmotion business.
The firm of Morris H. Kaliff & Son was a division of Frank B. Hall & Co at the time. San Antonio insurance agency Morris H. Kaliff & Son merged into Frank B. Hall & Co. Now Morris H. Kaliff & Son merged into Frank B. Hall & Co a couple of months prior after the closing of an agreement to merge that law firm. (Ref: San Antonio Express, Page 8, Wednesday, July 9, 1975, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/62063990/)According to the lawsuit, Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc. was doing business as Flowmotion. So Flowmotion was owned by Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc all along for the entirety of its existence.
Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide was abruptly shut down in 1981 in an unexpected manner. The Ski and Skate Family Center was shut down along with everything else that was an attraction for the business. Eventually all structures were removed and demolished. Both waterslides and the splash pad were destroyed as well.
All that remained was grass and the halfpipes in 1985. Ski & Skate Family Center was also demolished in the process.
The property would remain vacant for almost 30 years with no activity except for the halfpipes being removed in 1995. Grass and dirt filled the spots where both halfpipes were one located.
The Davis Apartments were built in the approximate location where the waterslide a splash pad for Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide once were. The Davis Apartments were built in 2007 and would open in 2009. The Davis Apartments purchased some of the land property from Flowmotion, Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc, and a couple of other enterprises in 2007.
Expose Men's Club was also built on the property where Flowmotion was once located. Expose Men's Club was built in 2007 and would open in 2008.
The United States Postal Service purchased the land property from Flowmotion, Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc, and a couple of other enterprises in 2008. A new United States Postal Service branch and post office was built south of where the hill was once located in the year of 2009. Construction for this United States Postal Service branch and post office was completed the same year.
Now what killed Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide was the new wave of water parks in the Austin area and the federal tax liens issued by the IRS for nonpayment of taxes. Federal tax liens did a number on the Flowmotion business.
Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide was located at 3811 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, US 78704. The other address was 3801 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, US 78704.
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