“At mid-morning one day last week, driving west of Congress on Sixth Street was like suddenly moving into a dream world,” wrote Austin American-Statesman columnist Inez C. Jeffery on November 4, 1973. “The morning sun was shining on the gold wall of the new American Bank building, and the reflection became a path of gold on the street. As one drove into the area, the shimmer ...
architecture
Mixed-Use Expansion Planned at State Employee Retirement System Offices
The Employee Retirement System of Texas occupies one of the more creatively-designed buildings in the Texas Capitol Complex at 200 East 18th Street, but the agency seems to have outgrown its home, with plans for a major expansion underway. The main building, a five-story 1979 structure shaped like a Chinese wood puzzle, will remain as the agency's main office. However, ...
With Your Input, Austin Energy’s Downtown Substation Won’t Suck
Remember Austin Energy's plans for a new downtown substation at 55 East Avenue? The project's still a couple of years out from breaking ground -- dig the timeline below, champ -- but the city's utility provider is already hard at work on preliminary concepts for the station, and held the first of several community engagement meetings last night. If this type of ...
Engineering the Independent, Austin’s Next Tallest Tower
Since it's visible from almost everywhere in and around downtown, you probably won't be surprised to learn that Austin's next tallest tower, The Independent, is topped out and in a late stage of construction at 301 West Avenue in the emerging Seaholm District. Roughly 80% of the 58-story residential building's 370 units are spoken for, and the project should deliver in ...
VIDEO: Aerial Views From Downtown Austin to West Campus
We received the video below from a fan of the site who was lucky enough to take a helicopter ride low over downtown Austin and the West Campus area earlier this month. We don't often see downtown from this perspective, and it's a great way to see progress on some of the towers currently underway -- the Independent, now topped out, looks particularly impressive from up ...