History of Ski & Skate in Austin, Texas explored. An Austin attraction nearly forgotten but well remembered.

History of Ski & Skate in Austin, Texas explored. An Austin attraction nearly forgotten but well remembered.

Ski & Skate was established and laid out on a hill where Austin’s first skate park, Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide was once located. Ski & Skate operated for braid period of which was only a year from 1980 to 1981.


A new attraction called Ski & Skate was established in Austin, Texas during 1980. Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide would later change the name of their business to Ski & Skate in 1980. (Although the name Flowmotion could be seen on signs facing Congress Avenue.) 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 & 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. These requirements were placed on rules signs across the hills.

A Statesman newspaper article from 1980 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-bowl, half-pipe 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 down hill while on the skis. The slope on Congress has one jump and several hundred feet of grass. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971913/grass_skiing_at_ski_skate/)

However people kept getting hurt and breaking their ankles. This led to liability issues and safety concerns which had led Flowmotion to undoubtedly shut down the Ski & Skate attraction in 1981.

Ski & Skate was never really successful as an attraction since most costumers preferred using the waterslide and skate park. Not many people were using the Ski & Skate attraction set up by the owners, staff, and attendants of Flowmotion. Only 4 to 6 customers at a time would use the hills to ski down on.

To make matters worse, their parent company, Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc, had not been paying taxes since nearly the beginning. Flowmotion and Ski & Skate would be shut down by the federal government (IRS) for unpaid federal tax liens. These unpaid federal tax liens led the State of Texas to label Flowmotion as forfeited.

According to the lawsuit filed on March 31, 1980, Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc. was doing business as Flowmotion. Ski & Skate was owned by Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc entirely. Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc owned Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide, Ski & Skate, and Flowmotion. from 1978 to 1981 Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc did business under the name Flowmotion Skateboard Park & Waterslide from 1978 to 1981. (Ref: Travis County Real Estate, Volume 185, Page 330)

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/)

This lawsuit alleged that more than $16,672.50 dollars worth of taxes had not been paid for more than 3 consecutive fiscal years dating all the way back to 1978. 

So what killed Ski & Skate was lack of success as an attraction, unpaid federal tax liens, and liability issues. Unpaid federal tax liens, liability issues, and safety concerns are what did Ski & Skate in to be shut down by Flowmotion, State of Texas, and the IRS.


The grassy hills of Ski & Skate were abandoned by 1982 as the skatepark had already been shut down. All structures were removed and demolished. All that remained was grass in 1985.

Ski & Skate was one many Austin entertainment attractions that closed during the 80s. The new wave of entertainment attractions and tourist destinations in the Austin area is what also killed Ski & Skate. Customers were getting tired of Ski & Skate by then and wanted to experience something new.  

The grass hills of Ski & Skate sat vacant for more than 2 decades over a period of 26 years from 1981 to 2007. During much of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s is when this massive amount of land would sit vacant for that period of time.

The Davis Apartments purchased some of the land property from Flowmotion, Bluebonnet Aquaboggan Inc, and a couple of other enterprises in 2007. Owners of Davis Apartments planned to build a set of 4-story condominium buildings at the bottom of the hill facing South Congress Avenue. The Davis Apartments were built in 2007 and would open in 2009.

A new United States Postal Service branch was built south of where the hill was once located in the year of 2009. Today a United States Postal Service branch and Davis Apartments have taken the place of Ski & Skate.


Ski & Skate was located at 3811 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, US 78704. The other addresses for Ski & Skate were 3801 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, US 78704 and 3809 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, US 78704.