#1: Take a Historic Walking Tour of Downtown Austin

Well, the project is officially underway: no way was I going to back out now, not with all the wonderful support I've gotten so far! I also love the fact that people are expressing interest in experiencing Austin with me--it's much more rewarding to share this with people I love! I got to enjoy my first Great Thing with with one of my favorites, Jamie, who was nice enough to act like a 65-year-old tourist with me as we made our way down Congress Avenue and over to historic Sixth Street on this muggy 90-degree-day.




The tour started us on the south entrance of the State Capitol Building (bigger than the U.S. Capitol, being true to the Texas notion that bigger is better), and moved south on Congress Avenue, which is the main street going through the heart of downtown Austin. We didn't cross the bridge and enter into the eclectic land of South Congress, but there were still plenty of really neat things to see along the way, most notably the architecture of the buildings. Most of them were built in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, and we began to see lots of patterns emerge, such as the arched windows and iron gates.




As we made our way down Sixth Street (which is a TOTALLY different place in the daytime than at night!), we entertained the notion that the architects and previous owners must be turning a bit in their graves to see what their beautiful works of art now house: a store that sells T-shirts that say "F*** Y'all, I'm From Texas"? A bar called TooLoose? Seriously. Of course, the jewel of Sixth Street was the amazing Driskill Hotel, which I've been fortunate enough to stay at. Very old world, like one of those places you'd expect to have a jazzy martini at.






There were lots of other neat sites, especially the St. Mary's Cathedral, which we didn't even know existed, but is beautiful and reminded me of Europe (sigh). We were glad to see, as we finished our tour, that not all great architecture is dead west of New England. I was pretty proud of the buildings that we saw--no matter how many high-rise condos are going up and changing the skyline daily, we still are able to appreciate these smaller, but just as eye-catching, works of art all in a row, almost everywhere you turn in this area. Some anecdotes and stories we enjoyed:

- The sanctuary at St. David's Episcopal Church was funded by gamblers.
- The Austin Opera House was once on the second floor of the M.M. Long Livery Stable. In 1871, a newspaper reporter was overcome by the distinct odor of manure.
- The Walter Tips and Edward Tips Buildings are next door to each other, and Edward, the older brother, built the first one, to be followed 11 years later by his younger brother Walter's building. Walter's building is 10 times cooler. Little siblings always win. FAIL.
- We wondered if the people who were hanging out on Sixth Street at 3:00 in the afternoon actually thought that it was just as cool as hanging out there at 11:00 at night because Hey! It's Sixth Street, man!
- We were photographed by a newspaper reporter and warned by a man crossing the street towards us. Jamie was holding a GIGANTIC Diet Coke and hid it behind me as we were being snapped.

All in all, a very interesting trip! I can't wait for my next event--not sure what that will be yet, but I'll post it on Facebook when I decide. Most of my posts probably won't be this long, but hey, lots to see, lots to talk about! Until next time...