Last week, we looked into the potential of a new “pocket park” space bound for the 0.27-acre city-owned tract at 64 Rainey Street, set to bridge the gap between the district’s iconic Mexican American Cultural Center and the main drag of Rainey’s nearby entertainment district — and while the City of Austin is currently conducting an official community engagement process for the site, we thought…
parks
Connecting the Dots at Rainey Street’s Long-Awaited Pocket Park
As part of the upcoming expansion of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in the Rainey Street District of downtown Austin, we’re finally getting a park on the city-owned scrap of land at 64 Rainey Street. The fate of this 0.27-acre parcel became a hot topic of discussion starting roughly a decade ago, as the MACC and developers of the adjacent 70…
Brush Square’s Transformation Is Finally Under Construction in Downtown Austin
The plan by the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department to renovate downtown’s Brush Square into a more accessible public outdoor space has finally kicked off its first phase, with the site currently fenced off and visible construction underway since late last month. That’s a big ol’ sigh of relief you’re hearing from us — to…
Celebrating 21 Years of Downtown Austin’s Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge
On June 16, 2001, Austin celebrated the grand opening of the James D. Pfluger Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge, spanning Lady Bird Lake — well, Town Lake in those days, as longtime locals will berate you in various comment sections — directly east of the Lamar Boulevard bridge. This new car-free thoroughfare offered non-drivers a safer…
Let’s All Say ‘Good Riddance’ to Downtown Austin’s Republic Parking Lot
For longtime fans of the Republic office tower plan, announced all the way back in 2018 atop the full block directly south of Republic Square at 401 West Fourth Street in downtown Austin, seeing the start of substantial site prep on the project over the last few months is something like a dream come true. But even without taking into account that…
What’s the Deal With Republic Square?
If you’re spending any quality time downtown these days, you might have noticed Republic Square is looking a little out of the ordinary — fences now surround the perimeter of the park’s central “great lawn,” which now looks more like a great big field of dirt, with folks in hard hats mucking around in skid steers and whatnot. So what’s…