What is Austin Lacking? (Houston, Live Oak: living in, shops, Walmart)

[twange]

I told my wife about this thread(what's lacking in Austin) and her response was:

Public Art. specifically sculpture. There is some and there are many murals, but there could be much, much more. Especially here where there are so many artists. The Umlauf is cool as well, but I'm talking about in and around town, large and small pieces - figurative and abstract. More of that would be a welcome addition.

[jobert]

I concur on the public art. The adopted symbol of Dallas is the Pegasus. about 100 Pegasus sculptures were distributed around conspicuous areas of Dallas, and local school children, churches, community organizations were allowed to paint them in any manner they chose, which tended to fit the community in which they were located (the Pegasus in Cedar Springs was painted rainbow - go figure) The reflection of these communities through this process was very unifying in a strange way.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by NC_newcomer

The manager/wine guy at the Trader Joe's near me in NC said that the reason that Joe's has not moved into Texas is that they use "Two Buck Chuck" (now Three Buck Chuck) as a hook to draw people to the store. Wine regulations/taxes in Texas are such that they couldn't sell Chuck deeply discounted, so a big part of their business plan vanishes.

I like CM a lot, but will miss TJ's interesting and eclectic selection of reasonably priced food.

More on TJ's in a minute...

I miss the large(20-24 court) public tennis facilities. Having been spoiled in Atlanta(largest local tennis league in the universe...over 80,000 members) with so many 'parks' that were tennis centers, it is nice to see the new Austin Tennis Center out east near 290 and Johnny Morris Rd. Starting with 12 courts, the plan is to expand to 30 total...making the center a 'central' tournament venue. Austin has a few smaller (~8 court) tennis centers but hopefully we can take advantage of one larger facility rather than sending folks all over town during tournaments. I just hope it's not too far 'out' for folks...only 10-15 minutes from town but more like 19 miles for me. I lived only 2 miles from the busiest tennis center in north ATL. I'm not whining...just answering the question.

Now, back to TJ's. They had to deal with the 'good ole boy' alcohol distribution laws in Georgia, as well. All alcoholic beverages must be purchased through 'distributors' and must be made available to any retailer.(Some exclusions for local wineries and brew houses, IIRC) It was strange to see TwoBuckChuck in Kroger and Publix...not to mention that Whole Check brought in some 'special purchase' wine to sell @ $2.99 to compete with TJ's. Ain't competition grand?!

[twange]

Originally Posted by jobert

I concur on the public art. The adopted symbol of Dallas is the Pegasus. about 100 Pegasus sculptures were distributed around conspicuous areas of Dallas, and local school children, churches, community organizations were allowed to paint them in any manner they chose, which tended to fit the community in which they were located (the Pegasus in Cedar Springs was painted rainbow - go figure) The reflection of these communities through this process was very unifying in a strange way.

That's a beautiful idea. Here, on New Year's Eve, they set out a bunch of colored chalk on the S 1st pedestrian bridges and let people go to town on the walls. I love looking at all of the non-permanent "graffiti" while I'm running. Stuff ranges from the political to the ____ loves ____ variety. Fun!

We were at a party the other evening and my wife was stating her case to a newly graduated urban planner...and he was ALL EARS!

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by twange

I told my wife about this thread(what's lacking in Austin) and her response was:

Public Art. specifically sculpture. There is some and there are many murals, but there could be much, much more. Especially here where there are so many artists. The Umlauf is cool as well, but I'm talking about in and around town, large and small pieces - figurative and abstract. More of that would be a welcome addition.

Okay, this I could get on board with. There are some great sculptures in some private yards (that's part of the whole "keep Austin weird" thing) and there's the Hutto hippos, of course (akin to the Dallas Pegasus mentioned upthread, though when I was living in Dallas, the Pegasus was not the symbol of Dallas but of an oil company - wonder how much oil money went into it becoming the "adopted symbol of Dallas?") - sculptures of hippos decorated individually and distributed around Hutto.

But I love sculpture and would like to see more of it. Recognizable, though, please - not random chunks of metal thrown together and called "art".

[twange]

Here is the "free stamp" public sculpture in Cleveland that was commissioned to be hung high up in the entrance of a then new (late 80s)downtown office building. It was rejected by the company(the building's tenant at the time was BP) and so was "dumped" into another location outside, where it sits to this day!

*Notice the person underneath using it for shelter

I love all of the yard art in Austin. If I had a yard, I'm sure we would have some stuff in it. I've got a few sculptor friends who would be more than happy to fill it up with their work

[jobert]

I fully agree with Rick. There are thing Austin is lacking that is obvious:
1. more public transit
2. finished bridges
3. professional sports

The smaller items
1. tennis courts ( I effectively stopped playing when I moved here because of that)
2. Bagel shops in S. Austin
3. Public works of art such as fountains/sculpture. Anyone who has been to KC or Chi-town can attest
4. a legitimate farmers market, and not a few college kids selling $8 bundles of aparagus in a park the size of a shoebox
5. Christmas lights downtown on Congress. the LED's up right now might as well not be there at all.

my two cents

[TexasHorseLady]

jobert, have you been to all of the Farmer's Markets in the Austin area? (That list doesn't include all of the ones that I know of, either.) Far from "a few college kids selling $8 bundles of asparagus in a park the size of a shoebox", huh?

FWIW, while I think Austin can always use additions to make it more Austin, I do NOT think that Austin needs things to make it like "somewhere else". Anyone with that attitude needs to go to the place they prefer.

[Dunhill]

LESS FLIP FLOPS AND AND A WHOLE LOT LESS PICK UPS!

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by AK123

Sounds like Houston with the exception of the last one

Ack! Nooooooooooo! I lived in Houston for 2 years, and they were the longest 2 years of my life. My IL's are still there, so I still have to visit frequently. The ocean, museums, and pro sports that Houston has are great, but they are totally offset by a downtown that is literally empty after 5 pm, the huge roaches, the torential rains (and subsequent flooding), the endless freeways that are always clogged, the fact that the grocery store is only a mile away but it takes 30 minutes to get there, and you have to drive because there are no sidewalks and trying to walk across a freeway is a death wish, the sweltering heat, etc., etc.