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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 29 July 2008 |
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The Texas State Capitol , at 13th Street and Congress Avenue, is over 300ft high, taller than the national capitol in Washington, with a red sunset granite dome that dominates the downtown skyline. The chandeliers, carpets and even the door hinges of this colossal building are emblazoned with lone stars and other Texan motifs, a theme continued in the recent extension, a sleek maze of marble halls (daily 9am-5pm; public tours every 15min; free). Nearby, the antebellum Governor's Mansion , 1010 Colorado St, contains displays on Texan history (free tours Mon-Fri every 20min 10am-noon). Congress Avenue , a stretch of 1950s shops and muted office buildings that slopes south from the capitol down to the river, is worthy of a stroll; at dusk 1.5 million bats - the world's largest urban bat colony - emerge in a large cloud from their hangouts under the bridge. 6th Street , also known as Old Pecan Street, runs west from I-35 to Congress Street, and is the focus of much of the city's nightlife, as well as featuring many renovated buildings, galleries and hip shops. The elegant Romanesque Driskill Hotel , on the corner with Brazos Street, has its own self-guided walking tour, with a glossy leaflet recounting the hotel's many links with government since 1886. Between 5th and 6th streets, just west of Lamar Boulevard, the 600-year-old Treaty Oak is the last of the Council Oaks where treaties were signed with Native Americans; unfortunately, someone chose to poison the tree in 1989, and only one-third of it remains.
The recently opened Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum , at Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and North Congress Avenue should satisfy anyone's curiosity for Texas arcana. Exhibits include the diary of Stephen F. Austin, generally considered the founder of the state, and a Bible that saved the life of Sam Houston Jr, during the Civil War; a bullet is still lodged in its pages (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm; $5). The Elisabet Ney Museum at 304 E 44th St is a German-influenced castle-like building in a leafy, historic residential area. It preserves the last studio, with marquettes and finished marbles, of Austin's most celebrated sculptor (Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; free).
Zilker Park , across the river from Amtrak and southwest of the center, is one of the best of the many fine parks in the city, a perfect retreat on sweaty Austin afternoons. One of its main attractions is the spring-fed (and deliciously cold) Barton Springs Pool , a 1000ft turquoise rectangle shaded by pecan trees (daily 5am-10pm; $2.50 Mon-Fri, $2.75 Sat & Sun). You can paddle in the pebbly creek below the pool free of charge, and you'll also find hiking and biking trails, a miniature railroad winding beside the river (daily 10am-7pm; $2.75), and, to the west, the wildlife garden of the Austin Nature and Science Center (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; free; tel 512/327-8181, ). South of the Barton Springs Pool on Robert E. Lee Road, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden (Wed-Fri 10am-4.30pm, Sat & Sun 1-4.30pm; $3.50; tel 512/445-5582, ) is a tranquil, grassy enclave dotted with more than one hundred works in bronze, terracotta, wood and marble. More outdoor relief can be found farther north on the banks of the Colorado River. Don't miss Mayfield Park , a peaceful idyll complete with water lilies and peacocks. Nearby Mount Bonnell gives great views over the city and surrounding countryside.
The Austin Museum of Art is in the process of relocating from its Laguna Gloria location, at 3809 W 35th St, to a permanent facility downtown, scheduled to open in 2004. In the meantime, many exhibits are on view at a separate downtown location, at 823 Congress Ave (Tues-Sat 10am-6pm, Thurs until 8pm, Sun noon-5pm; $3; tel 512/495-9224, ).
ARRIVAL
Austin spreads about twenty miles north-south and eighteen miles east-west, severed by I-35 (between Dallas and San Antonio) to the east. The Colorado River runs south of downtown. Flights come in at the tasteful Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (tel 512/530-2242). Eight miles southeast of downtown at the intersection of highways 71 and 183, it takes about twenty minutes to get downtown by taxi (Yellow Checker Cabs; tel 512/472-1111; around $25) or by SuperShuttle vans (tel 512/258-3826, ; $11) while the #100 bus runs approximately once an hour to the campus and downtown (Mon-Fri 5am-11pm, Sat 7am-11pm, Sun 8am-10.30pm) for a bargain fare of 50˘.
Austin has a good public transportation system. The Capital METRO bus runs downtown, crosstown and through the campus for a flat fare of 50˘ (express services charge a dollar), with additional shuttle routes for students - distinguishable by the longhorn emblem beside the route number (Mon-Fri 5.30am-12.30am, times vary widely on Sat & Sun). Schedules are available from the Customer Service Center at 801 Congress Ave (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm), or you can call the METRO information line on 512/474-1200. The Dillo, also run by METRO, is a free downtown trolley system, running along five routes, including three out to the UT campus, every ten to forty minutes between 6.30am and 8.30pm on weekdays; limited schedule on weekends. Bicycles can be rented from Bicycle Sport Shop, 1426 Toomey Rd (Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm; tel 512/477-3472). Walking is an easy and pleasant way of getting around; organized walking tours leave from the south entrance of the capitol (March-Nov Sat 2pm, Sun 9am; tel 512/478-0098).
The visitor center is at 201 E Second St (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm, Sat & Sun 9am-5pm; tel 512/478-0098 or 1-800/926-2282, ) and there's a State Tourist Information Center (daily 9am-5pm; tel 512/305-8400) in the foyer of the state capitol (free), with changing exhibits of Texacana and a video presentation. The post office is at 510 Guadalupe St (Mon-Fri 7am-6.30pm, Sat 8am-3pm; tel 512/494-2210; zip code 78701).
EATING
Radical Austin has many more vegetarian and wholefood restaurants than is usual in Texas; even chicken-fried steak can be found prepared healthily. There are plenty of good budget restaurants near the university, especially along Guadalupe Street - look for the crowds. Many of the music venues also serve up decent food.
El Sol y La Luna 1224 S Congress Ave tel 512/444-7770. A fun, family-run Mexican joint on the funky strip of shops and clubs just south of downtown. Serves great breakfasts.
Jovita's 1619 S 1st St tel 512/447-7825. Reliable Tex-Mex food, with occasional sets by top local country musicians (among them Don Walser) on the porch.
Las Manitas 211 Congress Ave tel 512/472-9357. Authentic, great-value Mexican food and decor right downtown. Offers breakfast and lunch only - get there early to beat the politicians to a space.
Magnolia Café 2000 S Congress Ave and 2304 Lake Austin Blvd tel 512/478-8645. A local favorite for breakfast. Open 24hr.
Mezzaluna 310 Colorado St tel 512/472-6770. A moderate to expensive traditional Italian restaurant in the warehouse district between 6th St and the river.
Salt Lick 18300 Farm Road-1826 tel 512/858-4959. The standard answer for anyone wondering where the city's best BBQ is. Fabulous ribs soaked in a near-perfect BBQ sauce.
Scholz Garden 1607 San Jacinto Blvd tel 512/474-1958. Big portions of German sausage and Tex-Mex food at an Austin legend that also puts on good live music.
Stubb's BBQ 801 Red River St tel 512/480-8341. Great Texan-style brisket, sausage and ribs, plus bands of national repute playing the indoor and outdoor stages.
Threadgill's 6416 N Lamar Blvd tel 512/451-5440. An Austin institution since Kenneth Threadgill was given the first license to sell beer in the city after Prohibition. Real home cooking at bargain prices, with free seconds of vegetables like black-eyed peas and okra. Lively atmosphere, with occasional live fiddle music, folk or country-and-western bands. There's also a new downtown branch at 301 W Riverside Drive tel 512/472-9304. Not to be missed.
West Lynn Café 1110 W Lynn tel 512/482-0950. Stylish vegetarian food from around the world at one of the city's most popular restaurants.
ENTERTAINMENT
The only problem you'll have with Austin nightlife is being spoiled for choice. On 6th Street in particular, virtually every building houses a club or a bar, and many of these have become rather over-commercialized. It's much better to venture just off 6th where you'll find some of the best clubs, or take a cab to some of the further-flung joints. Three first-rate local newspapers, the Daily Texan , the UT paper (Thurs; ), the "XLent" supplement to the Austin American-Statesman (Thurs; ), and the Austin Chronicle (Fri; ) carry listings.
There's usually something to catch on campus. Big drama and dance names appear in the Performing Arts Center , 23rd Street and Robert Dedman Drive (tel 512/471-1444, ), and you can see independent movies at the Dobie Theater, 2021 Guadalupe and 21st streets. The Velveeta Room , 521 E 6th St ($5 cover; tel 512/469-9116, ), showcases comedy open mic on Thursday nights. On the same block is Esther's Pool , 525 E 6th St (around $15; tel 512/320-0553, ), home of Esther's Follies , Austin's hippest and funniest cabaret, which combines spoofs of local and national politicians with Texas-style singing and dancing.
Although Austin's folk revival in the 1960s attracted enough attention to propel Janis Joplin on her way from Port Arthur, Texas, to stardom in California, the city first achieved prominence in its own right as the center of " outlaw country " music in the 1970s. Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings , disillusioned with Nashville, spearheaded a movement which reworked sentimental country-and-western with an incisive injection of rock'n'roll. The audiences in Austin, far removed from the hard-drinking honky-tonk crowds of West Texas, provided an environment which encouraged and rewarded risk-taking and experimentation. These days the predominant " Austin sound " is a melange of country, folk, blues, psychedelic and "alternative" influences, very much reliant on acoustics and guitars, though that's not to say the scene is anything but eclectic (with swing particularly popular at the moment); this, after all, is the city that spawned the Butthole Surfers.
The tradition of black Texas bluesmen such as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Willie Johnson, as well as the rocking bar blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan, still lives on; Antone's Blues Club on Guadalupe Street is the place to hear live blues , while folk music, traditional or with a punk twist, is also thriving, with the annual Kerrville Folk Festival at Rod Kennedy's Quiet Valley Ranch in KERRVILLE , a hundred miles west of Austin on I-10 (tel 830/257-3600). The ten-day South by Southwest Festival , held in the third week of March, features the best bands from Texas and around the world, along with tons of movies; passes are $475 (in advance) for all film, music and interactive events; a music-only pass is $325; call 512/467-7979 or visit for information).
Antone's 213 W 5th St tel 512/474-5314. Hot, sweaty and crowded; the best blues club in the city, with big-name national and local acts nightly.
The Backyard 13101 W Hwy 71 tel 512/263-4146. Out-of-the-way club that plays host to engaging folk- and country-tinged acts.
Black Cat 309 E 6th St (no phone). Small, dark space promoting local rock and roots bands through residencies. A nicely uncommercial contrast to much of 6th St.
The Broken Spoke 3201 S Lamar Blvd tel 512/442-6189. Neighborhood restaurant (good chicken-fried steak) and stomping country-music hall, with all the trappings but well away from the center. The barn-like dance floor regularly attracts the best acts on the Texas circuit. Two-stepping begins at 9pm.
Cactus Café , Texas Union, 24th and Guadalupe sts tel 512/475-6515. At UT's student union, one of Austin's favorite venues putting on consistently good country, rock and folk music; a regular showcase for new acts.
Club de Ville 900 Red River St tel 512/457-0900. Excellent cocktails and a superb patio setting in this stylish bar just a few minutes from the 6th St morass.
Continental Club 1315 S Congress Ave tel 512/441-2444. The premier place to hear hard-edged country sung the Austin way. Attracts top-notch artists.
Emo's 603 Red River St tel 512/477-EMOS. Launchpad for Austin's best alternative bands, with a friendly, tattooed and pierced crowd. Cover varies, patrons under 21 pay extra.
La Zona Rosa 612 W 4th St tel 512/472-2293. Great venue for rootsy bands and also serves decent Southwestern food.
Symphony Square Red River Rd and 11th St tel 512/476-6064. Rough-hewn outdoor amphitheater, below street level on the river, hosting good jazz and classical concerts in summer.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Having its own oil well (the drilling rig Santa Rita No. 1 on San Jacinto Blvd) has made the University of Texas one of the world's richest universities. Its unparalleled collection of manuscripts by contemporary authors is available to scholars amid tight security in the Harry Ransom Center ; stories abound of the sums lavished to acquire work from relative unknowns who might someday achieve fame. The Center, in the southwest corner of the campus, also houses an art gallery (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-noon; free), with a Gutenberg Bible as well as contemporary Latin American and American paintings. Student-guided tours of the main campus building and its tower are offered frequently; call 512/475-6633 for details.
The stretch of Guadalupe Street running along campus north from Martin Luther King Boulevard to 24th Street is known as " the Drag ." A focus of student activity, and lined with cafés, vintage clothes shops and bookstores, it was the location for much of Richard Linklater's 1991 movie, Slacker .
The LBJ Library and Museum (daily 9am-5pm; free; tel 512-916-5137, ), on the northeast edge of campus at 2313 Red River St, traces the career of the brash and egotistical Lyndon Baines Johnson from his origins in the Hill Country to the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House. The curious circumstances surrounding his first senatorial election in 1948 (his primary victory was confirmed only after some "overlooked" votes - all written in the same hand - were found three days after his opponent had apparently won the Democratic nomination) go unmentioned. John Kennedy is said to have made Johnson his vice president to avoid his establishing a rival power base; but in the aftermath of Kennedy's assassination, Johnson's administration (1963-69) was able to push through a far more radical program than Kennedy ever attempted. Johnson's nemesis, Vietnam, is presented here as an awful mess left by Kennedy for him to clear up, at the cost of great personal anguish. There's a replica of the Johnson Oval Office in the White House, as well as gifts presented to the president, including a 1910 Model T from Henry Ford. |
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Austin 
