Federal historic recognition is pending for two properties located roughly a mile apart in East Austin after the approval of nominations by the Texas Historical Commission’s State Board of Review earlier this month. The respective sites, both notable landmarks in the history of the region’s Mexican American community, are Parque Zaragoza at 2608 Gonzales Street in the…
history
Here’s How Austin’s Mexican American Cultural Center Plans To Double in Size
The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) at 600 River Street is the gem of downtown Austin’s Rainey Street neighborhood, a stunning work of Mesoamerican-inspired modernism designed by the late Mexican architect Teodoro González de León working alongside Hispanic-owned local studio CasaBella Architects. It’s reflective of the neighborhood’s rapidly-fading history as a working-class Mexican American enclave, and as such will always represent much more than a…
Demolition Applications Could Signal Two New Towers in Downtown Austin
A list of demolition applications under review for consideration at the upcoming January 24 meeting of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission tells the story of two possible new tower developments headed for downtown Austin, if you look closely — actually, the clues are incredibly obvious. Let’s take a peek for ourselves: 307 – 311 East…
After Years of Disrepair, East Austin’s Historic Givens Pool Finds Its Future
The City of Austin’s historical neglect of park facilities east of I-35 compared with the central crown jewels of its system shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone familiar with the historical neglect of nearly everything east of I-35. What’s more obvious lately is the city’s own institutional awareness of that inequality, now cast in a harsher light than ever and…
One Real Estate Company Now Owns More Than 30 Properties on East Sixth
As part of our longstanding beef with the mismanagement of Austin’s numerous historic properties on East Sixth Street, we’ve often complained that one of the reasons this entertainment district’s conga line of seedy shot bars remain so similar to one another in character is that they’re mostly owned by the same handful of people, who for years have had a…
Can Austin Take Back the Drag?
West Campus isn’t downtown Austin, but downtown Austin could learn a thing or two from West Campus. This student-populated neighborhood directly west of the University of Texas is sort of like the city’s own little laboratory for urban design, and though it’s generally outside this blog’s area of coverage, the vertical expansion of this district over the course of the last decade…