UPDATE: Thanks to a tip from an intrepid reader, we’ve now got our hands on a selection of the 1919 East Riverside Drive project’s site plan, submitted to the city via engineering firm Stantec. Take a gander for yourself: Though this image doesn’t give us as much information as a rendering, it shows that the proposed…
Austin Can’t Build Its Way Out of Traffic
If you live in Austin, chances are you drive a car to get most places you need to go. And chances are at least some of the time, you sit in traffic and get pretty frustrated about that. And chances are, you don’t necessarily want more of our city’s precious natural beauty to be paved…
Central Austin Development Roundup: New Views and New Towers
Like almost every week, it was a good week for towers in downtown Austin. This time around, we got a look at an all-new development in the Rainey Street District, plus progress updates for a few other projects — not to mention some extremely fresh new renderings. As they say in the old country, “bada…
Austinites Weren’t Always So Sure About Downtown’s Iconic Frost Bank Tower
At 515 feet, the Frost Bank Tower at 401 Congress Avenue was downtown Austin’s tallest building after its grand opening in 2004, but found itself quickly surpassed by the 360 Condominiums in 2008, which stood higher by a mere 47 feet. Still, four years of being the tallest in town ain’t bad, right? As Austin’s growth continues seemingly unabated,…
In Downtown Austin’s Northwest Corner, a Neighborhood Cries Out for a Name
What do you call the part of downtown Austin northwest of the Capitol? No, I don’t mean Judge’s Hill, a neighborhood located further to the west than this area according to its self-defined boundaries — we’re talking about the region roughly bound by West 12th Street to the south, Rio Grande Street to the west, MLK Jr….
Five Snapshots of Downtown Austin’s Ever-Changing Sixth Street
East Pecan Street, now called Sixth Street, has remained a prominent corridor in downtown Austin since the city’s incorporation in 1840. Its historic, Victorian-style buildings have mostly remained the same, but the street’s social function has continually evolved. Almost 20 years ago, January 30, 1999 was a notable night in the history of both Sixth…