Since 1984, the Mexic-Arte Museum has served Austin as the city’s official home for Mexican, Latino, and Latin American art — and it should be the most well-positioned museum in the city to showcase that art, having occupied an extremely visible location at the southeast corner of Congress Avenue and Fifth Street since 1988. But…
city life
700 River Apartment Tower Celebrates Topping Out in the Rainey Street District
The 43-story 700 River apartment tower now under construction at the corner of Rainey and River Streets in downtown’s perpetually exploding Rainey Street District announced its official topping out today, with the structure reaching its maximum height of 500 feet. This is a significant milestone for a neighborhood experiencing the densest concentration of simultaneous tower construction anywhere in Austin, with two other projects of…
Here’s How Nau’s Enfield Drug Could Redevelop in Clarksville
The 2022 closure of Clarksville pharmacy Nau’s Enfield Drug was a dispiriting end for the long history of this iconic “Old Austin” staple, which first opened as a drugstore and small lunch counter serving burgers and milkshakes way back in 1951. But for many nearby residents, the shuttering of the business wasn’t a huge surprise, since it had publicly struggled…
Demolition Planned for East Austin’s Most Mysterious Abandoned Strip Mall
The history of the shopping center at the northeast corner of Ed Bluestein Boulevard and FM 969 — also known as 183 and East MLK Jr. Boulevard — ends before it begins. Known at various points of its non-development as East Pointe, Palm Square, and Journey Plaza, the effort to build a strip mall in…
An Unsung Green Space Plans a Better Skyline View at West Austin Park
West Austin Park, located at 1317 West 10th Street just a few blocks west of downtown, isn’t one of Austin’s better-known outdoor destinations compared with the more cosmopolitan reputation of the nearby Pease Park — but despite looking a little rough around the edges, this three-acre neighborhood park dating back to 1930 has its own pleasant appeal…
Zephyr Condos, Not Montage, Build a Zilker Homage on South Lamar
This week, we’ve learned that the 182-unit condo project by local developers Pearlstone Partners currently under construction atop the site of a former used car lot at 2323 South Lamar Boulevard would not be called Montage after all — which is kinda funny, because I have an insulated tumbler sitting in my kitchen cabinet with that name on…