The demolition of the longtime McDonald’s location at 1209 Barton Springs Road last week really had some of us going for a minute. You’ll find a number of locals on Reddit and Nextdoor mourning the passage of this building as the end of an era, which is probably the least sympathetic variety of Austin nostalgia…
Preservation Austin’s 2023 Homes Tour Celebrates 30 Years of Citywide Design
Preservation Austin’s Homes Tour celebrates its 30th anniversary this April, and to mark the occasion the 2023 edition of this flagship fundraising event for Austin’s own historic stewardship nonprofit offers an inside look at historic homes all over town — with 11 properties total, the tour will be a two-day event, with viewings of six homes in Central and…
St. Elmo Residential Project Seeks Serious Height in South Austin
The ongoing transformation of the industrial district surrounding St. Elmo Road east of Congress Avenue in South Austin is currently one of the city’s most promising case studies for large-scale urban redevelopment with character. https://www.youtube . . . Become a patron to get the full story and gain access to TOWERS’ archive. (Sign-in)
Triangle State Office Complex Prepares for Phase 2, and a Lot More Parking
The 1980s-era John H. Winters state office complex housing the Texas Health and Human Services Commission at the southeast corner of North Lamar Boulevard and West 51st Street in the Central Austin district popularly known as the Triangle received a pretty nice upgrade from the Texas Facilities Commission in 2021 . . . Become a patron to get the full…
Hancock Center Is Officially Austin’s #1 Target for Brodie Oaksification
If you’ve tuned in over the last few weeks, you’ll see we’ve been mulling the topic of Brodie Oaksification around here — the crackpot fantasy of instantly transforming another one of Austin’s sprawled-out shopping centers into a new mixed-use development just like what’s
Baker School Building Seeks National Historic Status in Hyde Park
A former public school building in the heart of Austin’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood is now seeking inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, with an application for the Baker School site at 3908 Avenue B on the agenda of the Texas Historical Commission’s next State Board of Review meeting on May 13. Dating back to 1911…