No matter how many downtown Austin condo and apartment towers rise in the Rainey Street District -- and the answer is "a lot" -- the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) at 600 River Street will always be the most important building in this neighborhood. Designed by the late Mexican architect Teodoro González de León with help from ...
parks
Shape the Future of a Downtown Public Space at Cypress and Shoal Creek
As part of its larger plan to improve trail connectivity and recreational spaces along Shoal Creek in downtown Austin and beyond, the Shoal Creek Conservancy along with the City of Austin and Downtown Austin Alliance hopes to create a new public destination in the heart of the area sometimes known as the Seaholm District, roughly centered around where West Third Street becomes ...
Downtown Austin’s Iconic Central Fire Station Considers a Careful Upgrade
Dating back to 1938, the New Deal-financed Austin Central Fire Station No. 1 sitting at 401 East Fifth Street on the northwest corner of Brush Square is an unlikely gem of downtown architecture, one of the few really striking examples of the Art Deco subset known as Moderne or Streamline Moderne in the city's stock of public buildings -- unfortunately, great vintage design ...
Here’s the Public Workout Equipment We’re Getting at Butler Shores
A few months back, we alerted the more athletically-minded among our readers to the future of breaking a sweat at Butler Shores, with a few design options on the table for public exercise equipment to be installed adjacent to the Hike-and-Bike Trail by our friends at the Trail Foundation. The existing workout equipment at Butler Shores. Now that the Foundation has solicited ...
Here’s How Austin’s Fixing Up Fiesta Gardens, Lakeside Lagoon and All
The City of Austin's Parks and Recreation Department kicked off a virtual community engagement process for the rehabilitation of longtime city-owned East Austin event venue Fiesta Gardens earlier this week, a project overseen by preservation-minded local architects Clayton Korte to bring a variety of improvements to the 54-year-old facility that's often rented for weddings, ...
This Year’s Drive-Through Trail of Lights is a Secret Austin History Lesson
As Austin prepares to celebrate a very different holiday season this year in the shadow of the ongoing pandemic, the much-loved Trail of Lights at Zilker Park is providing its own version of social distance by transitioning to a drive-through event, meaning we'll be idling, not walking, past its giant lighted displays and other seasonal decorations. Due to COVID-19 prevention ...