Voices of the Violet Crown

Voices of the Violet Crown is a community/history project created and sustained by Crestview neighbors Susan and Rob Burneson beginning in 2003.

Elements include a website at http://violetcrownvoices.com; oral history interviews of neighbors ages 6 to 90; articles in history journals and neighborhood newsletters; community and history exhibits at local events; a booklet, “From Abercrombie to the Violet Crown”; three films, “First Night w/ Domino & Friends” (2006), “A Community Mosaic” (2008), and “We Planted 115 Trees” (2011); and other community outreach and history research projects.

In 2009, Susan and Rob received the Mary Faye Barnes Award for Excellence in Community History Projects from the Texas Oral History Association for “A Community Mosaic.” The film premiered at the dedication of the mosaic Wall of Welcome in 2008. It has been screened at other neighborhood events, at the Baylor University Institute for Oral History, and as part of the City of Austin’s Faces of Austin multimedia program and Lights, Camera, Austin film series.

Voices of the Violet Crown has been funded in part by Friends of Brentwood Park, Richard and Sharon Hanson Charitable Fund, Violet Crown Community Works, sales of films and history booklets, and individual donations.