Welcome to downtown Austin!
The Downtown Austin Blog, or "DAB", is Austin's neighborhood and real estate blog, focusing on life in Austin’s urban core. We discuss topics of interest to residents, retailers, visitors, and stakeholders, including coverage of city politics, transit, downtown Austin real estate (condos, lofts, etc), new urbanism, and sustainability.
This week’s installment of Austin Views features images of Austin’s changing skyline after nightfall. I tried to emphasize familiar viewpoints, such as Congress and Lamar Bridge, while emphasizing the dramatic transformations that the city has undergone in the past decade.
Feel free to post your own images of the night skyline, the city at night, or older shots that show how much the city has changed.
[note: you can include your own images in the comments by copying and pasting this code into the form. <img src="http://www.domain.com/image.jpg" width="400px" />]
Photographs by Benjamin Gustafsson
Photo courtesy of Maggie
It’s 2 A.M. on a Friday night. You’ve been out carousing and suddenly there are six hours between you and your first-dinner. Before you know it, your stomach is demanding an unanticipated pit stop. What do you do?
If you happen to be an amateur, you end up eating that stale slice of pizza in the back of your refrigerator, failing to notice in your hazy desperation that it’s acquired a few extra toppings during it’s repose next to the overdue milk carton.
The Professional, on the other hand, knows about Austin’s small but select group of 24-hour joints and masterfully guides her posse towards a safe and (loosely speaking) nutritional after-party and a hangover-free Saturday morning.
Here to help you become “The Professional” is our guide to Austin’s 24/7 Diners:
3704 Kerbey Lane
An Austin classic—legend has it that Kerbey Lane Café and its twin sister Magnolia Café were born out of the splintering of the trifecta that created The Omelettry, yet another classic breakfast spot. With the most extensive menu you can find at 2 A.M., Kirby Lane has become more like a full-scale restaurant than a diner, offering the standard fare of Tex-Mex and American food as well as some more upscale choices. You can even find a pecan-encrusted trout here, if that’s what you’re looking for.
The original Kerbey Lane, quaintly located at 3704 Kerbey Lane, has a distinctly superior atmosphere compared to its other locations at 12602 Research Blvd, 2700 S. Lamar Blvd. (South Austin) and 2606 Guadalupe, but this is more of a side-note when you’re cruising around in the middle of the night. However, the location near campus does tend to get a bit rowdy at times.
1920 S. Congress and 2304 Lake Austin Blvd.
Magnolia feels very similar to Kerbey Lane. The cushy booths, the wood paneling and the classic breakfast menu. The two restaurants even having competing signature queso recipes—there is an ongoing debate whether “Kerbey Qeuso” or “Mag-Mud” is superior, I go back and forth. Overall, Magnolia’s menu is a bit more basic than Kerbey Lane’s and a bit hardier. Everyone seems to have personal reasons for gravitating towards one or the other.
618 W Sixth St
No one has made the 24-hour experience more central to their image than Katz’s, whose slogan actually is “Katz’s never closes.” This probably has to do with their attempt to recreate a New York ambiance in the heart of Downtown Austin, and everyone knows that New York is “the city that never sleeps.” But Katz’s Deli is more than a clever gimmick; their sandwiches—especially the gigantic Reuben— are among the best in the city. This is also a good place to get your hands on the ever-elusive potato pancake or a bagel with lox.
3101 N IH 35
A cross between the traditional “diner” and a hipster dive, Star Seeds is actually bit of a throwback with its narrow interior, booths, counter seating and checkered floor. Here you will find precisely what you expect: an assortment of American breakfast staples, tacos and burgers. The staff here is known for having “character.” This apparently means different things to different people.
6th and Lamar
The newest addition to Austin’s 24/7 club, 24 Diner is a more polished, upscale experience than its competition. They boast “chef inspired comfort food,” which led me to expect something between a gourmet breakfast and regular diner fare. The reality turned out to be a bit more intriguing, including treats like the unexpectedly tasty “Chicken and Waffles.” If you make it to 24 Diner you will get less grease and your egg-sandwich can be served upon a croissant. A much needed addition to the scene.
So next time you’re out there in the twilight hours, make the right decision. And let me know if you know of any other 24-hour eateries.
Photo of volunteers from December's Waller Creek clean up. Yours truly on the far left.
Just received this note from Carolyn Perez with the City of Austin, “In 2008 APD, together with the Watershed Protection and Parks Departments, launched an initiative to clean up the creek and enforce ordinances, including those related to vagrancy.”
Operation Reclaim Waller Creek helps clear urban waterway
The City of Austin will launch next week the next phase of Operation Reclaim Waller Creek, an initiative to improve the safety and environmental conditions along this urban waterway.
Austin Police officers, along with crews from Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation will be focused on cleaning up the ¼-mile stretch of the creek from Cesar Chavez Street to Lady Bird Lake. Previous efforts have cleared areas upstream.
Work will include:
- Cutting overgrowth in and along the creek.
- Removing graffiti.
- Picking up trash and debris.
- Concentrated enforcement of City ordinances.
“This operation will help improve the quality of life for those who work, live and visit the downtown area,” said APD Officer Jason Huskins, Downtown Area District Representative. “We have had issues with illicit activity along this portion of the creek. This cleanup will allow us to have better access to the area and better means to protect our community and the environment.”
Downtown Austin Community Court will assign persons needing to fulfill community service requirements to help with the cleanup.
This month-long operation will help prepare for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, which will alleviate flooding and reduce the amount of debris in the creek. Construction on the project is due to begin later this year in the area targeted by this phase of Operation Reclaim Waller Creek.
The story of Las Manitas displacement from its 26-year-old home on Congress Avenue has become an infamous symbol of Austin’s millennial transformations. Long known as one of Austin’s best diners—an institution where construction workers, local celebrities and regulars rubbed shoulders, and where you had to walk through the bustling kitchen to get to the patio—Las Manitas was for many an embodiment of Austin’s soul, and the city was on the verge of losing it.
Were these the hyperbolic claims of people clinging to an impossibly nostalgic vision of the city? If they had their way, it was argued, the city’s ‘soul’ would anyhow fall to stagnation rather than change.
Back in 2006, Tim Finley, the owner of the building where Las Manitas had been for the better part of three decades, came to an agreement with White Lodging Services Corp., the owners and operators of the Marriot Hotel chain, to convert the lot into a hotel complex which would house approximately a thousand rooms and would be used for the growing demands of tourists coming to Austin for conventions. The $275 million project was projected to create hundreds of jobs and bring millions in annual revenue to the city.
Here was the irony of a city faced with the task of bulldozing an iconic restaurant to make room for a hotel, which in turn was intended for tourists coming to Austin to experience a unique and iconic ambiance. It was a classic Catch-22.
Following a wave of popular anger over the predicament, the City Council elected to offer a generous, low-interest loan of $750, 000 dollars to the owners of Las Manitas to help them relocate. Even as popular opinion and fortune seemed to offer a new chance, the owners demurred, claiming that the loan had too many strings attached. They would rebuild on their own terms.
At the end of August 2008, the doors of Las Manitas closed. A year and a half later, they show no signs of reopening, despite the fact that the restaurant’s owners already own a space down the block at 3rd and Congress Ave.
Curious to find out what had happened, I called Las Manitas number, (still listed on the Save Las Manitas website) to ask about the status of the restaurant. Surprisingly, a man a picked up the phone. “Yes,” he answered, they were still planning to reopen, but they had no idea when. From the evasive tone in his voice, I gathered that the plan had become more of an obligation than the rallying cry that it had been a year before.
Meanwhile, half a year after Las Manitas closed, Deno Yiankes, president and chief operating officer of investments and development for White Lodging Development Corp, reported that the company had decided to put the project on hold citing the economic downturn. The hotel, once expected to become the city’s gaudy consolation prize, now seems like a distant hope.
In the meantime, the simple but charming little buildings that had housed a trade store, a school and a beloved restaurant have been demolished. In their place now stands yet another surface-level parking lot.
What is the moral of this story? Should sentimentality have triumphed over progress? Or was it sentimentality that robbed progress of its golden opportunity?
It’s hard to say.
One might at least conclude that a surface-level parking lot in the heart of Downtown Austin is a sign of one thing: paralysis.
And if Austin ever does lose its “soul,” it will be because it got stuck between the past and the future.
Design and rendering by Davis Architects
One of my favorite podcasts is Astronomy Cast, because… well, I’m a geek for science, especially physics and astronomy.
So, I was very excited to learn that Torvald Hessel, executive director, and his colleague Dr. Ron Johns with the Austin Planetarium would be visiting with the DANA board last night to discuss the future of this $60MM planetarium in downtown Austin. Lest you believe this is just a wacky idea, they’ve got some heavies involved including local Cosmonaut, Richard Garriott and Astronaut Rick Linnehan.
Austin is the largest city without a planetarium, or a full-dome theater with projection against the ceiling (not to be confused with an observatory which is a telescope at a remote location). Of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., Austin is the only city without a planetarium of any kind.
Planetariums boost tourism and tax revenue, and are a family oriented destination for city residents and visitors. Studies suggest that planetariums increase interest in sciences as a career – a big concern for our government – and facilitates worker retention, especially in the high tech industry. In other words, “Nerds like to do nerdy things.” says Hessel.
The facility would include:
-planetarium
-science museum
-technology center, a showcase for locally developed technologies.
The venue under consideration would be 115,000sf and located on the Southeast corner of Congress and MLK. This site is currently a surface level parking lot owned by the State of Texas. The planetarium is seeking a long term lease and would include three stories of underground parking that the State could still use.
Can you see a [real] “Museum District” in the making? I can. With the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum ($80MM) to the west and the Blanton Museum of Art ($85MM) to the north, the addition of another exhibiting destination like an Austin Planetarium ($60MM estimate) should generate increased traffic to all three. See economies of agglomeration (or locally by Chris Bradford who introduced me to the concept).
The Austin Planetarium is operated as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3). You can donate and become a sponsor here. 2010 goals for the Austin Planetarium are to acquire land and formalize city and state commitments, enlarge donor pool, and lock-in corporate sponsorships.
So, is the Austin Planetarium just another piece of Austin real estate vaporware? It appears they have a great team, passion, and access to big corporate and university money. The site selection is inspired, and we’re told that no other group is at the table proposing a higher and better use of the parking lot. The earliest we would see ground breaking is in 2011.
-Jude
Echotone Director Nathan Christ at Rio Rita
Photographs by Benjamin Gustafsson
Two weeks ago I wrote a post about Nathan Christ’s documentary, “Echotone—a cultural portrait of the modern American city examined through the lyrics and lens of its creative class.” At the time Echotone was being considered for a premier at either Sundance or SXSW. Unfortunately, due to last minute changes to the film, Echotone missed this years Sundance selection. It is still being considered by SXSW and the Toronto Film Festival. Last Thursday, I sat down with director Nathan Christ at Rio Rita and asked him to expand on some of the films themes.
***
BG: First of all, why the title ‘Echotone’?
NC: Echotone–etymologically it means a tension in ecologies. It’s when two ecologies overlap. And there’s the period in between, like in a Venn diagram, where one side has to dominate – but it has to be a communication and a collaboration and a harmony, or one side takes over completely and the system collapses. And we saw that is exactly what’s happening in Austin right now, with the development downtown and how that’s affecting the venues. It also has to do, on a more symbolic level, with some of the art and commerce questions that come up in the film. Like at what level is selling your music not okay? There’s a lot of overlapping tensions within the film, so Echotone seems to encapsulate all of those. Also there’s the reality that Austin is kind of like an echo chamber right now, in that everyone is talking about the same things in their own colloquial way.
BG: So one of the tensions that you mention, whether it be symbiotic or antagonistic, is the relationship between urban growth and venues and artists. Can you talk more about that?
NC: It’s very difficult to see what it’s coming to. You can only use examples like Lower East Side Manhattan and San Francisco. Those are the examples we use, and we barely touch on it. It’s not like the music is ever going to die or the culture is going to die—in some ways it’s more vibrant than it’s ever been. But it can definitely be pushed away. And there is something to be said for a place like Red River for instance, which right now is going through a renaissance in my opinion, or the East Side. But if the venues go away on Red River—that’s the major thing—if the venues are no longer able to pay their rent, and the bands don’t bring in enough clientele, and with the way alcohol is taxed in Texas, it just makes venues difficult to sustain. If they go away then downtown is just going to change. And I’m not even making a judgment on it here. In the film both sides are shown. So I think this film is going to put up a red flag, at least, and make developers and venue owners themselves put these things into question even further.
BG: We were talking about the renaissance of Red River, and how you felt it might come under threat from development. How do you feel Red River is being threatened by development?
NC: It’s really just about the value of the property and taxes going up. And I’m not an economist; I don’t know the exact way that property taxes work. But I know that when you have high rises being built downtown, it goes up. If the bars and clubs on that same street are still making the same amount of money they were five years before—and you don’t have a lot of super star venues other than Stubbs and The Mohawk– unless they can meet that demand and make more money, they are going to be threatened. And on top of that, I think there is a 14% tax on alcohol, so bars have it hard as it is. So it’s just simple economics.
And there’s also the noise thing. At The Mohawk you can’t play a show after midnight. And there’s a lot of noise ordinances downtown. That being said, there’s been a lot of cooperation. The Red River flats, across the streets, helped The Mohawk build a giant sound wall, and they installed double pained windows. So the noise complaints are more like the hyperbolic sexy aspect of it all, and everyone likes to talk about it. But there’s actually a guy in our film who calls musicians terrorists, and claims musicians are going into his bedroom and terrorizing him. So you have some crazies. If you’re going to move into a music district, you better expect music. So in one way that threatens it, but it’s not as dire as the value of the street rising.
BG: What about artists? It seems like there are still a lot of venues, but are artists having a harder time living this marginal existence?
NC: Well, what I’ve found is this. The mayor’s chief of staff said he moved here roughly 20 years ago, and the population has roughly doubled since that time, but the number of live music venues has stayed constant. So I found that. I also found in a poll that 75% of working musicians make less than $10,000 a year off their music alone. That contrast is pretty staggering when you consider that musicians collectively bring in about a billion dollars into the city’s economy outside of ACL and outside of South by Southwest. And they make next to nothing off their music. So those numbers speak for themselves. I can’t speak for the musicians; some of them don’t even want to make money off their music. But I know that most musicians are lucky to split $40 dollars in a night, and maybe a drink each, if they’re lucky.
Another funny quote in our film, there’s this old guitarist John Inmand (sp?) who says, “I made the same money a night in 2006 as I did in 1966, except in 1966 one paying gig would pay my rent.” So I think the numbers speak for themselves.
BG: So even if we can’t narrow this deficit between what the musician is providing the city and the clubs and what he is earning, is there at least a way to make this relationship sustainable?
NC: It’s really tricky. I noticed that Daniel Perlaky wrote on your blog recently. He runs an independent record company called Indierect, and he is just a real advocate for artists. So you have independent band managers like that acting as a conduit between bands and the commercial world, which is not such a bad thing. People have a real kneejerk reaction against selling out. But he actually finds really interesting and innovative ways for bands to sell their music, you know, to the right commercials and the right places, cause that’s the only way a bands going to make money these days. They’re not going to make money off selling their records. They’ll make a little bit of money selling merchandise. I would be overstepping if I claimed I could tell you the definitive answer to any of this.
I do know that the Live Music Task Force last year tried to get the city to sponsor a music department downtown, which would have acted as a resource for musicians to go to. And they wanted to hire managers from New York and L.A. to come to town and basically build up an industry. Because Austin has a great music culture but not a music industry.
BG: Is there anything that the individual music lover can do to help?
NC: Buy the merchandise, buy the CDs, just go out, go to The Mohawk. It’s the best venue in town. Just go out and support it. I’m not saying you’re going to change the world, but just buying a ten-dollar shirt makes a big difference.
BG: Thanks for meeting with us Nathan. We look forward to seeing the big premier whether it be at SXSW, Toronto or San Francisco.
NC: Thank you.
Keepin’ it real. The real money has always been in sanitary napkin dispensers.
Begin forwarded message:
From: 6th Street Austin <info>
Date: February 2, 2010 8:01:41 AM CST
To: jude
Subject: Crime Watch Suspect
CRIME NOTICE FROM APD
We just received the attached photograph of a person of interest taken earlier today in a downtown high-rise office property. The individual is suspected of going floor to floor, breaking into sanitary napkin dispensers and stealing the coins.Please circulate this among your property staff and security. If this person is seen on your property, please call 911 immediately to notify the police and to file a criminal trespass warning against him.
Yours,
Tim League
chairman
6Ixth Street AustinSubscribe to the 6ixth Street Austin Blog
Welcome to the first edition of our Sunday photo gallery featuring views from around Austin. This week will feature shots I’ve taken on and around the Hike and Bike Trail. For those of you who have never seen it before, I hope this will serve as an introduction to one of Austin’s most beautiful and cherished trails.
A view of the trail and the Austin Convention Center from Ceasar Chavez.
-
- Below Lamar Bridge
Photo by Cecily Johnson
On Wednesday I kicked off my list of Austin’s Top Ten Coffee shops. These choices were not easy—every name on this list stands for a place with its own special charm, devoted clientele and unique atmosphere. Honorable mentions like Rio Rita, JP’s Java, The Green Muse, Quacks, Progress Coffee and countless others all have strong arguments in their favor and plenty of people who will vouch for them. They would probably make the Top Ten in just about any other town. But sadly this is Austin.
And it goes without saying that Austin’s Top Five Coffee shops are among the best anywhere.
Welcome to the Top Five:
5. Mozart’s Coffee Roasters
3825 Lake Austin Blvd.
Nestled on the shores of Lady Bird Lake with a spectacular view of the hill country, Mozart’s is the definition of an upscale, European, coffee house. With bottomless cups of gourmet coffee from around the world, a superb bakery, and two-story outdoor deck, Mozart’s is the unrivaled choice for pure class. Come watch the sun set over the lake and see the twinkling lights of Tom Miller Dam.
4. Flipnotics
1601 Barton Springs Rd.
Having a cup of coffee or a beer at Flipnotics can feel a bit like hanging out in a tree house. Settled atop a hillside in the Barton Hills, below a canopy of trees, Flipnotic’s shaded deck and indoor seating offer the safety and comfort of a mountain clubhouse. And like any good clubhouse, Flipnotics specializes in unusual concoctions—if you’re curious, try the “Moonquake Shake,” a delicious banana-coffee milkshake. At night, Flipnotics indoor seating turns into an intimate venue for live music.
3. Flightpath
5011 Duval Street @ 51st
Deep in the heart of Hyde Park, just a few minutes away from the University of Texas, lies one of Austin’s classic study spots. Comfortable, spacious and uncluttered, Flighpath is dedicated to the fine art of ‘getting-it-done.’ They proudly refer to themselves by the unflattering moniker of “home office away from home” and extol their lack of live music, poetry slams and comedy hours. But don’t be deceived; Flightpath is in no way stodgy. This worn-in, artsy, hangout, with a sociable backyard patio, exudes energy and creativity. And when you’re down to the wire, there’s no better place to be.
2. Epoch Coffee
221 W North Loop Blvd
Just down the road from Flightpath, lies Epoch, the heir to Mojos, a legendary coffeehouse that once lined a corner on the northern fringes of The Drag. With puffy chairs and couches, an odd assortment of tables, lamps from the happy 1960s, dark mahogany wood, and a seemingly perpetual game of chess in a far corner, Epoch instantly commands a distinct vibe. Their co-ed bathrooms are referred to as ‘heaven’ and ‘hell,’ and are decorated with the appropriate murals and customer graffiti. In ‘hell’ one finds the words of Jean-Paul Sartre scribbled on the wall with a sharpie: “hell is other people.” This can be true. On some evenings—especially Sundays and throughout the finals season— Epoch can turn into a riotous affair with scarce seating and crammed patios full of caffeinated smokers. Learn it, love it, live it.
Yes, Epoch is a love-it-or-hate-it experience, and there’s nothing quite like it.
1. Spider House
2908 Fruth St.
Like Epoch, everyone has a strong opinion about Spider House. Just off Guadalupe Street, a few blocks north of the campus, Spider house is a place that enjoys a variety of adjectives: glamorous, pretentious, eclectic, colorful—happening.
Yes, ‘happening’ is probably the most appropriate.
One person on the Yelp Message Board put it like this: “Things happen here, which I am leaving intentionally vague.” Another writes, “I’ve long heard that there were quirky, nay, interesting happenings [there].”
So what exactly is happening at Spider House? First of all, the outside patio looks a little bit like a cross between a junkyard and an eclectic, garden museum. A fountain constructed out of bronze cherub and a bathtub is only the tip of the iceberg. You can also find a handful of gargoyles inside and outside. Aside from its splendid décor, Spider House can be counted on for free movie screenings, DJs and an assortment of you-name-it cultural events.
But what really makes Spider House a ‘happening’ place is how blatantly scene it is. Or is it “seen”? Either way, this is definitely a place where people go to be looked-at and eavesdropped, to ogle and to overhear. It’s also a place for chance table-joiners and bombastic Christmas lights. Be there or be square—seriously.
***
And that wraps up Austin’s best coffee houses.
“But Ben!” you say, “You’ve hardly said anything about actual coffee this whole time!” That’s true. This list is not based on the individual house-blends or the overall selection at any of these places. If you’re on this list, it’s because you are unique and wonderful place to spend an afternoon. A good cup of coffee is a given. That being said I do want to let you in on the absolute best cup of coffee in the whole city:
Anderson’s Fresh Roasted Coffee
1601 West 38th Street
Not a sit-down experience like the other names on this list, Anderson’s is a boutique located in the quaint little plaza on 38th Street. Everyday Mr. Anderson himself, the protégé of Alfred Peet of Peet’s Coffee, offers a $1 cup of coffee from one of his glorious, international blends. This coffee not only tastes better than others, it actually gives you a better buzz. (This is probably not scientifically verifiable, but it’s been my experience.)
Ok, that’s it! Please, let us know what you think. Vote in our poll. And definitely speak up about all the wonderful places I’ve neglected.
Town Market has opened below the Legacy apartments on Rainey Street. It’s a unique space. Leasing a live/work unit on the ground floor of this downtown Austin apartment tower, Town Market is a two story affair with wine, coffee, sandwiches on the ground floor and dry goods on the second floor. The Town Market concept comes from the same people who brought you Cissi’s on South Congress.
The store is 50 paces from the Hike and Bike trail, so I expect they will do well during breakfast and the early evening hours. The Rainey Street District has one of the highest residential concentrations in Austin, and Town Market is a welcome addition to the downtown Austin neighborhood.
Hours: Monday – Saturday 8am-8pm, Sunday 8am-6pm
Google Map: 43 Rainey Street, Austin, TX 78701
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