• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

TOWERS

Austin city life since 2007.

  • News
    • Condo Projects
    • Neighborhoods
  • Listings
    • Austin Condo Guide
  • Newsletter
Search
You are here: Home / Blog / Here’s Where Austinites Say You’ll Find the ‘Heart’ of Downtown
Search suggestions: condos for sale • rainey street

Here’s Where Austinites Say You’ll Find the ‘Heart’ of Downtown

James Rambin January 11, 2019 Comment

At the end of 2018, we asked Austinites to tell us where they considered to be the “heart” of downtown Austin — a simple-sounding question that ended up generating a pretty wide range of responses.

Still, even though we got some interesting takes, the survey ended up confirming our suspicions about what part of downtown Austinites would probably choose the most — by a landslide, the answer was the intersection of Sixth Street and Congress Avenue, smack dab in the middle of the downtown grid.

Austin, here’s your heart — by popular demand, it’s at Sixth Street and Congress Avenue.

That option received an overwhelming 25 votes, five times as many as the second most popular option, Republic Square, with five votes. Lady Bird Lake took third place with four votes, and we’ll allow it even though that stretches the “downtown” definition a little.

Though we were surprised by the number of votes in its favor, we knew Sixth and Congress would be a popular option — but the far more unexpected result of this survey is the lack of enthusiasm for another location we thought would be popular, the Texas State Capitol and its grounds. The Capitol only received a pathetic three votes, placing it neck-and-neck with options like Second Street and Congress Avenue, the Congress Avenue Bridge, and City Hall.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gino Barasa (@ginobarasa) on Mar 10, 2017 at 5:28am PST

Even beyond the vote totals, it’s obvious many Austinites have a nuanced view on this subject. Here are some of our favorite responses:

The “100% corner” is still 6th and Congress. Republic Square may be more of a “lung,” and potentially the heart of the southwest quadrant of downtown (when cafe opens and the blocks north and south are developed). Brush Square and plaza can be the same for the southeast quadrants. The heart of downtown is on Congress Avenue, south of the Capitol. Sixth Street is one of only two streets that connect completely across downtown and into East and West Austin. The other is Cesar Chavez Street, but Chavez is on the edge of downtown. Second Street has certainly developed, purposefully, as a major pedestrian street in downtown, but is not the vital artery that is Sixth, and dead-ends at the Convention Center and Seaholm. So, to sum up, the heart is on Congress Avenue, particularly between Fourth and Eighth, with the “heart of hearts” at Sixth Street.

Depends on who you are asking. For business, it’s Sixth & Congress. For non-Austin residents, it’s the Capitol. For Gen X it’s Sixth Street. For Millennials, it’s Rainey Street. For Gen Z, it’s the shores of Lady Bird Lake. For average Austinites who live life pretty exclusively in the ‘burbs, it’s Congress Avenue.

Westlake. Because money.

I think people will answer differently based on when they moved here. I still think of Sixth and Congress as the ‘heart’ because when I arrived in ’99 the layout and foot traffic density was much different than now. My guess is that a lot of newer arrivals would place the ‘heart’ a little south and to the west, following the growth. I did notice recently that the Fourth and Congress (Frost Bank Tower) area seems to be a pretty busy cross-section, especially with the metro station / convention center nearby.

I’ve always considered it to be UT Austin. When I grew up here, there was always more to do on campus than downtown.

I think the current heart of downtown is probably Sixth and Congress – it’s where the two main aspects of the city really come together: music and being the state capital. However, I think the future heart of downtown Austin is Republic Square. It’s a great centralized location, where you can just hang out and eventually have a beer. Once everything around it is finished it will be super cool. It is also a reasonable distance to everything – Lady Bird Lake, the new Central Library, Congress Avenue – the perfect place for a heart!

And there you have it — in terms of Austin’s heart and where to find it, the Capitol is out, Sixth and Congress is in, and Republic Square isn’t far behind. That last guy definitely has a point about the beer.

Republic Square Park and the surrounding area. Image: Downtown Austin Alliance

Header image: A “pocket patio” designed by landscape architecture firm dwg. located at Royal Blue Grocery near the intersection of Sixth Street and Congress Avenue in downtown Austin — the place most Austinites consider to be the ‘heart’ of the city. Image: dwg. / Adam Barbe

Related

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 78701, city life, streetscapes, urbanism, walkability

About James Rambin

James is an Austin native, but tries not to brag about it. Email him anything at james@towers.net.

48 SE East Avenue #2508
Austin, TX
Photo of 48 SE East Avenue #2508, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 8722079)
$865,000
33
  • Lot Size
    66 sqft

  • Home Size
    803 sqft

  • Beds
    1 Bed

  • Baths
    1 Bath

View Virtual Tour
Previous Post: « Here’s a Look at the Condo Project Replacing Castle Hill’s Graffiti Park
Next Post: On Rainey Street’s Doorstep, the Cambria Hotel is Back From the Dead »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  •  Schedule a showing

Featured Buildings

  • 360 Condos
  • Austin City Lofts
  • The Independent
  • The Shore Condos
  • 70 Rainey

FEATURED Listings

5924 S Congress Avenue #12
Austin, TX
Photo of 5924 S Congress Avenue #12, Austin, TX 78745 (MLS # 8592590)
$599,000
37
  • Lot Size

  • Home Size
    1,608 sqft

  • Beds
    3 Beds

  • Baths
    4 Baths

View Virtual Tour
70 Rainey Street #1408
Austin, TX
Photo of 70  Rainey Street #1408, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 2400059)
$1,995,000
39
  • Lot Size

  • Home Size
    1,434 sqft

  • Beds
    2 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

View Virtual Tour
360 Nueces Street #1216
Austin, TX
Photo of 360  Nueces Street #1216, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 6124051)
$875,000
36
  • Lot Size
    131 sqft

  • Home Size
    1,117 sqft

  • Beds
    2 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

View Virtual Tour
1700 Ullrich Avenue
Austin, TX
Photo of 1700  Ullrich Avenue, Austin, TX 78756 (MLS # 6581028)
$695,170
27
  • Lot Size
    6,709 sqft

  • Home Size
    1,066 sqft

  • Beds
    3 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

3205 Holton Street
Austin, TX
Photo of 3205  Holton Street, Austin, TX 78702 (MLS # 2917084)
$1,850,000
34
  • Lot Size
    7,062 sqft

  • Home Size
    2,571 sqft

  • Beds
    4 Beds

  • Baths
    4 Baths

48 East Avenue #1608
Austin, TX
Photo of 48  East Avenue #1608, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 9928914)
$825,000
10
  • Lot Size
    17,904 sqft

  • Home Size
    803 sqft

  • Beds
    1 Bed

  • Baths
    1 Bath

austin condo report

Footer

LEGAL NOTICE

TREC Information About Brokerage Services (pdf)

Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection Notice


TOWERS realty

Austin Condos For Sale

Agents

Downtown Buildings

Luxury Towers

  • Four Seasons Residences
  • W Hotel & Residences
  • The Austonian
  • 5 Fifty Five at Hilton

Most Popular

  • The Shore
  • 360 Condos
  • Seaholm Condos
  • Spring Condos
  • Milago Condos

New Construction

  • The Independent
  • 70 Rainey
  • Austin Proper
  • Fifth & West

Loft Style

  • Austin City Lofts
  • Brazos Place
  • The Sabine
  • Plaza Lofts
  • Avenue Lofts
  • Brazos Lofts
  • Brown Building

Resources

  • Austin Condo Guide
  • Condos For Sale
  • Condo Buyer FAQ
  • Property Search

Featured

Archives

Austin city life since 2007 · Newsletter · About · Contact Us · DMCA · Privacy Policy · SLAPP · Copyright © 2007-2022 TOWERS.net · All Rights Reserved
 

Loading Comments...