The Ollie O. Norwood Estate, a 1922 Craftsman-style residence on a hilltop overlooking the south shore of the river in Travis Heights , might be Austin’s most mistreated historic home. Today, after five years of effort from the Norwood Park Foundation nonprofit, the city-owned property finally received a historical marker — and is on the path to restoration. The 1922 Norwood Estate was known as…
After More Than a Century, What’s Changed on Congress Avenue?
Austin’s main street might finally get some attention in 2017. Improvements for Congress Avenue have been in the pipeline since the passing of a city bond package in 2012, but we’re only recently seeing some movement on the issue. The Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative, which is currently conducting surveys for community outreach, should eventually bring some positive change to the avenue,…
Historic Landmark Commission: Not Big Fans of the Avenue, It Turns Out
It’s been a while since we’ve seen any significant updates on The Avenue, Austin’s first car-free residential tower planned at 721 Congress Avenue. But since the project’s site is within the Congress Avenue Historic District, its plan had to cross the desks of the city’s historic landmark commission last week — and it turns out they’ve got a…
New Details Emerge on Project at 7th and Trinity, One of Downtown Austin’s Final Empty Blocks
Update: the Episcopal Church announced on April 24 that it has chosen Cielo Property Group to develop the Block 87 site. The project, according to the church, will include the expected archive space and an adjoining mixed-use project. We also received a statement from Kate Morton, a public relations assistant to Cielo, regarding the specifics…
With Clever Design and Data, Austin Hopes to Solve Its Toilet Problem
Downtown Austin might be getting public restrooms! We’ve heard about this plan for a while, but last week at a public stakeholder meeting the city unveiled additional details of its upcoming pilot program for determining the ideal location for restroom facilities in the urban core. If all goes well, the program will bring two temporary restroom installations to downtown within…
Looking Back at 100 Years of Zilker
Zilker Metropolitan Park turns 100 this year, and quite a few things have changed since 1917 when philanthropist Andrew Jackson Zilker donated the park’s land to the City of Austin. To commemorate the park’s centennial, we’ve picked out some historical photos of Zilker from the last hundred years and tried to match them as closely as possible…