Perhaps the most lasting impact of the New Deal programs enacted during the 1930s by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the economic woes of the Great Depression is found in its public works projects, built or funded by an alphabet soup of federal agencies including the Public Works Administration (PWA), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Civilian ...
Blog
Commentary, analysis, and quick thoughts on almost everything in town.
A 1957 Midcentury Masterpiece Now for Sale on the Riverside Golf Course
Even as Austin grows with countless residential and commercial developments moving forward on the East Riverside corridor, a 1957 midcentury dwelling now listed at 5606 Penick Drive is a reminder of Southeast Austin’s prestigious past. From 1950 to 1984, what’s now known as the Riverside Golf Course was home to the famed Austin Country Club, the stomping grounds of ...
For Austin, 1978 Was the Year of Sacked Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnake sacking, particularly in its competition form, is easy to understand but difficult to accept. You and your buddy dump a sack of 10 presumably unhappy rattlesnakes on the floor of a small arena, then one contestant holds that sack open while their teammate uses a metal hook creatively known as a "snake pinner" to transfer the reptiles back inside. This is often ...
Discover a Different Rainey Street in This Unearthed 1981 Documentary
The Rainey Street neighborhood, currently downtown Austin's fastest-growing corner, was once a predominantly Mexican-American district of single-family homes. Effectively annexed into the downtown area and cut off from adjacent neighborhoods by the construction of I-35 in the early 1960s, Rainey Street's proximity to downtown and Lady Bird Lake made the district extremely ...
Turning Buford Tower Into a Tiny Hotel Is the Wild Idea Downtown Austin Needs
Though it's not the only mysterious tiny tower in Austin, the historic downtown structure known as Buford Tower is certainly our most visible, standing six floors at the intersection of West Cesar Chavez and Colorado Streets on the shores of Lady Bird Lake. Originally built in 1930 and used as a drill facility for the city's fire department until its decommissioning in 1974, ...
