If you follow the (metaphorical) twists and turns of the so-called Main Street of Texas on the downtown stretch of Congress Avenue, you might also know the frustratingly extended story of three adjacent storefronts at 907, 909, and 911 Congress Avenue. The 907 and 909 buildings, both dating back to the 1880s,
congress avenue
At Eighth and Congress, Demolition’s Underway for the Hyatt Centric Tower
After a brief pause in local construction due to pandemic-related concerns, work is spinning back up at sites around Austin — and one of them is really, really visible, smack in the middle of downtown at the corner of Eighth Street and Congress Avenue. Internal demolition and construction work at the future site of the 31-story, 246-room…
Congress Avenue’s Pocket Patio Transformation, Mapped
The annual PARK(ing) Day event creates public space in downtown Austin by converting, for a day, many of Congress Avenue’s street parking spaces into temporary parklets. It’s a fun time, but perhaps more importantly, the event serves as a reminder of how much space we’ve sacrificed to parking in the public realm of our most famous street…
The Scarbrough Building’s ‘Keep Austin Weird’ Sculpture Has Some Haters
Remember that pocket patio and “Keep Austin Weird” sculpture planned in front of the Scarbrough Building at the corner of Congress Avenue and Sixth Street? I ripped on the sculpture a little last time for being kinda corny, but now I feel bad about it. Turns out a significant portion of Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission really doesn’t like it….
Sidewalk Cafe, ‘Weird’ Statue Planned for Scarbrough Building on Congress
Plans for improvements on the ground floor of downtown Austin’s historic Scarbrough Building appear to be moving forward, based on new documents out of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission. Remember, everything built in the Congress Avenue Historic District has to hit the commission’s desk at some point, and this project’s up for discussion at tonight’s meeting, giving…
Getting to Know the Avenue, Downtown’s Upcoming Experiment in Car-Free Living
With so many tower projects in the works for downtown Austin, picking a favorite is a lot like picking a favorite child — you’ve probably got one, but it’s not polite to talk about in front of the other buildings. Still, the Avenue apartment tower planned at 721 Congress Avenue is high on my list, for a…