Earlier this month, we made the case for 405 Colorado, Austin’s latest architectural oddball office tower now under construction downtown from developers Brandywine Realty Trust. Having heard lots of opinions from readers over the last couple of years since the reveal of the building’s design in 2016 by the architects at Duda Paine, we thought it was time to open the floodgates and…
Meet Block 16, a Downtown Austin Tower Plan Surprising Enough for 2020
In the blissful before-times of October 2019, as we unwittingly approached the conclusion of what we’re now calling the pre-pandemic era, we learned all about an office tower in the works downtown that would occupy the southern half of Block 16 in Austin’s original city plan . . . Become a patron to get the full story and gain…
Digging Up the Humble Beginnings of Austin-Built Brands Gone National
It would take us years to tally up Austin’s near-countless cultural gifts to Texas, not to mention the rest of the country, but a good place to start might be the national businesses that originally found their roots somewhere around here. A lot of the original locations for these companies weren’t exactly glamorous, but that’s…
Let’s All Get Pumped at Butler Shores, With Public Workout Equipment on Deck
Despite the pandemic currently tearing apart our ability to conduct polite society, in regular times we’ve found a lot of downtown Austin dwellers consider the city itself their gym — the Hike-and-Bike Trail, exercise classes at various city facilities, and outdoor workout equipment at
In Defense of 405 Colorado
405 Colorado, an office tower by Brandywine Realty Trust now noticeably on the rise at the northeast corner of West Fourth and Colorado Streets, has managed to snatch the title of “most divisive downtown architecture” away from the Independent — and that makes sense, because it’s a pretty unusual building in its own right. Expected by 2022,…
The View From Austin’s Duncan Park Gets Better Every Year
If you’ve seen the way the wind’s blowing regarding the construction of very tall buildings and accepted that downtown Austin’s western boundary is no longer actually West Avenue, but rather North Lamar Boulevard, you might also begin to accept that Duncan Neighborhood Park is possibly the downtown region’s most overlooked green space. With Shoal Creek running along its western edge…