The intersection of Fourth and Lavaca Streets in downtown. Photo by James Rambin. We recently asked our readers to tell us which downtown Austin streets, if they were given the keys to the city through some supernatural force, they might like to close to traffic and convert into shared pedestrian plaza spaces -- think of something like the 16th Street Mall in Denver, ...
streetscapes
Pretend You’re the Mayor for a Day and Close a Street in Downtown Austin
As downtown Austin residents and true believers in the power of design to shape the human experience of the urban environment, it's our job to periodically remind y'all that the best way to create fun, safe, and memorable public spaces in cities is to pick a street and take away some (or all!) of the cars. Denver's 16th Street Mall is a mile-long downtown space designed ...
Here’s Where Austinites Say You’ll Find the ‘Heart’ of Downtown
At the end of 2018, we asked Austinites to tell us where they considered to be the "heart" of downtown Austin -- a simple-sounding question that ended up generating a pretty wide range of responses. Still, even though we got some interesting takes, the survey ended up confirming our suspicions about what part of downtown Austinites would probably choose the most -- by a ...
Here’s a Closer Look at Travis County’s New Downtown Courthouse
Back in July, we saw our first rendering of Travis County's new civil and family courts facility planned at 1700 Guadalupe Street atop a city block bound by Guadalupe, San Antonio, 17th, and 18th Streets. Now, thanks to the project's application to Austin's Downtown Density Bonus Program through the city's Design Commission, we've got a better understanding than ...
TEMPO 2D Public Art Program Commissions 12 New Austin Murals
For 33 years, the City of Austin's Art in Public Places program has worked with artists -- some local, others national -- to create eye-catching works of public art around the city. Along with permanent installations like the variety of art pieces planned or already in place at our new Central Library (check out those glowing-eyed owl statues at the bottom of the page), ...