In the shadow of the Independent, the downtown Austin condo tower taller than any other residential structure west of the Mississippi, you’ll find an unlikely relic of an unrecognizable past — the Third Street Railroad Trestle, an overgrown piece of vestigial infrastructure removed from the current context of its urban surroundings by nearly a century. Built over…
parks
Here’s How the Hike-and-Bike Trail Plans to Accommodate Austin’s Eternal Boom
Last year, the Trail Foundation nonprofit tasked with the stewardship of Austin’s beloved Hike-and-Bike Trail kicked off a community engagement process soliciting feedback from locals, part of a comprehensive safety and mobility study outlining how the city’s growth has impacted the trail’s environment and the experience of its hikers and bikers — and how we can confront these challenges with…
Shaping the Future of Austin’s Greatest Park With the Zilker Vision Plan
More than a century after Andrew Jackson Zilker donated approximately 350 acres of land to the City of Austin to create what would eventually become the city’s favorite metropolitan park, we find ourselves in an embarrassing predicament — Zilker Park has never had a master plan! Well, there have of course been plans over the years, but not…
New Parkland at the Former Holly Street Power Plant Takes One Small Step
We’ve followed the civic saga of East Austin’s so-called Holly Shores region for years now, but the master plan for this enormous tract of parkland on the shores of Lady Bird Lake actually dates back all the way to 2009, when City Council first tasked the Parks and Recreation Department with forming a vision for the improvement of the…
The Central Williamson Creek Greenway Could Be South Austin’s Next Big Park
Among Austin’s many cherished waterways, Williamson Creek doesn’t find quite the spotlight it deserves in South Austin — Barton and Bouldin Creeks are the stars south of the river, while Shoal and Waller Creeks get the glory downtown. Running from west to east south of Highway 290 in a region growing nearly as fast as…
See the Stunning Design of an Expanded MACC in the Rainey Street District
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 Hispanic-owned local…