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Old 06-04-2009, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
2,357 posts, read 7,872,924 times
Reputation: 1013

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Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady View Post
Okay, that was quicker than I thought (thank you, Statesman!).

Austin Skyline, 1970. (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/01/Austin35@Riverside1970b.html - broken link)

Austin Skyline, 2006 (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/01/rbz_Austin_Skyline.html - broken link) (anyone want to tell me where the Capital is in this one?)

Those are both from approximately the same angle coming into town on IH35 from the south.
Well, the older one seems to be an aerial photograph...but minor quibbles.

What's your point though THL? Do you think we should rip out all of the buildings built since 1980? Should everyone who has a differing opinion be quiet? Should anyone recently moved here or considering moving here leave? Do you really think Austin has been ruined? I think it's a really interesting place to live, and so I moved here just like you did 30-40 years ago. I don't see where some new buildings downtown ruin the city's vibe.

Austin will NEVER be the way it was before. It won't be the same tomorrow as it is today. Next Tuesday will be different than last Tuesday. I will not be the same tomorrow and neither will you. Welcome to the laws of our Universe!

I'm really not trying to pick a fight with you - I respect your honesty and statesmanship - but you don't seem to find anything positive to say, and project your opinion as if it's some sort of empirical evidence. I just don't understand your motives. Are you trying to help Austin grow into a responsible adult or forever keep it the little child you remember from another time in your life?
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Old 06-04-2009, 01:37 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,238 posts, read 35,440,091 times
Reputation: 8572
I went to school here in the early 80s, and I loved it. It had absolutely nothing to do with the height of (or lack thereof) the buildings. Tall, short, don't really care. The empty parking lots were always an eyesore (imho) and I can't say I will miss them, although I don't have to worry about parking (well, I guess I didn't then, either...we walked/rode from campus). I just don't get how tall buildings in any way really change 'Austin'. Austin (in my memory) was always about the people and the atmosphere, and building tall buildings doesn't really change that.

Heck, the UT tower obstructed the capital from some views...so did Dobie. IF yo ustand in the rigth place (like right next to it) Whole Foods obstructs a 'historical' view of the capital. I think it is kind of neat that there even ARE protected corridors.

Everyone is welcome to their opinion, and those opinions will be shaped by different histories. But, as a long-term resident, I think it a little frightening that anyone might think that 'long-term resident' implies any greater weight of opinion than another person. But that is a whole 'nuther topic....
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Old 06-04-2009, 02:01 PM
 
10,130 posts, read 19,796,467 times
Reputation: 5815
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20 View Post
Everyone is welcome to their opinion, and those opinions will be shaped by different histories. But, as a long-term resident, I think it a little frightening that anyone might think that 'long-term resident' implies any greater weight of opinion than another person. But that is a whole 'nuther topic....
Heh, you know what is even worse.. in this city, 'long-term resident' can be a job qualification.
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Old 06-04-2009, 03:16 PM
 
2,185 posts, read 6,412,639 times
Reputation: 698
Those are great photos. Like the city has improved, so has quality of photography. I love the Austin skyline as it is today!
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Old 06-04-2009, 06:39 PM
 
7,742 posts, read 15,044,929 times
Reputation: 4295
Quote:
Originally Posted by latikeriii View Post
I'm not against local stores, I prefer them. However, it is very difficult to maintain a local business downtown. Many don't make it, look at 2nd street. Also, contrary to popular belief, a lot of people don't shop at these stores..(South Congress is an exception). Do I like Gap, No. Would more people shop at a Gap than a local store with higher prices...most likely so. In addion, the start-up costs are very high, especially downtown..which leads to the next question: Would Austin do anything like offer incentives, tax breaks, or subsidies to small local businesses only? Who knows. The point about national stores is that they would increase the tax rolls for the city and spur further retail development, local and national.
In the short run you arei right, in the long run it kills downtown. One of the greatest things the city did was make sure only local restaurants are at the airport. Our airport is by far one of the coolest in the entire country because of this.

I would be in favor of having certain favored areas with zoning downtown that only allowed local stores.

Running a business is hard, local stores go out of business because most business owners are bad. Eventually good ones will open that have staying power. Especially if you get a concentrated pocket, they as a group, become a destination.
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Old 06-04-2009, 06:41 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX!!!!
3,757 posts, read 9,027,836 times
Reputation: 1762
Quote:
Originally Posted by Austin97 View Post
.

Running a business is hard, local stores go out of business because most business owners are bad. Eventually good ones will open that have staying power. Especially if you get a concentrated pocket, they as a group, become a destination.
Yes! (See South Congress Street)
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Old 06-04-2009, 08:15 PM
 
434 posts, read 1,076,564 times
Reputation: 155
Quote:
Originally Posted by CptnRn View Post
Austinite sounds kind of silly don't you think? Like some kind of insect.... Termite, parasite, troglobite...

where as Austonian is more like Texan. A good strong sounding name.

How about "Australian?" Sounds like a continent (far bigger than Texas).
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Old 06-04-2009, 08:32 PM
 
434 posts, read 1,076,564 times
Reputation: 155
Quote:
Originally Posted by centralaustinite View Post
On the whole, I am fairly neutral on the high rise condos. But I HATE the name Austonian. HATE IT!! It makes me want to punch something. (Sorry about that Cptn)

Spring, Monarch, those names are fine but I really really gag on the Austonian. The name alone would keep me from ever living there. (I have heard that they will only finish out every third floor and leave the rest till the economy improves.)

But otherwise, greater density is better for the environment and it is good to have more people downtown than in my neighborhood. I really feel for the good people in central East Austin though, gentrification is rough when you are on the receiving end.
The developers probably see the word "Austin" too "girlish" for the highest "macho" residential tower in Texas.

Since it just doesn't make sense to call the building "Austinite", and there are no viable alternatives based on "Austin" ("Austinian"? "Austinia" doesn't sound right; "Austina"/"Austino"? sounds link Spanish ... you don't want that.

"Austonian" has a bit of imperial feel and probably derives from "Austro-Hungarian Empire"
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Old 06-04-2009, 08:39 PM
 
434 posts, read 1,076,564 times
Reputation: 155
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady View Post
Okay, that was quicker than I thought (thank you, Statesman!).

Austin Skyline, 1970. (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/01/Austin35@Riverside1970b.html - broken link)

Austin Skyline, 2006 (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/01/rbz_Austin_Skyline.html - broken link) (anyone want to tell me where the Capital is in this one?)

Those are both from approximately the same angle coming into town on IH35 from the south.
I like the architecture of the Texas Capital building. But it's way too expensive to follow the architectural style around the Capital. Glass and steel (or aluminum) structures are cheaper and easier to assemble.

Look at the ugly buildings right in the immediate neighborhood of Texas Capital ... The Texas Workforce Commission building, The Supreme Court building etc. All were built with minimal cost in mind.
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Old 06-05-2009, 08:22 AM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,330 posts, read 17,986,506 times
Reputation: 5531
Quote:
I would love a SoCo like district downtown. If the people had a choice, downtown would have been like SoCo.
Has anyone shopped at Tara Toys in SoCo lately? Uhh, no, because it, like a lot of the other original cool and funky places that inhabited the seedy low rent strip that S. Congress was in the late 1980's and early 1990's (before any latte sipper ever dubbed it "SoCo" while pecking on a laptop) - got priced out and had to move elsewhere. Tara Toys is now way up at Anderson Lane.

What remains is the second generation of "cool", mixed with some of the originals. It is what it is, and it's ok I guess. It's still a nice stroll past the shops, and a good destination to eat at Guero's, or procure a 2800 calorie cupcake from an airstream trailer in a dirt parking lot.

"First Thursday" was a one time thing for me several years ago as it served mainly to cause my kids to hear the f-word and other fine language uttered by drunk shirtless dudes and their retro clad femmes, all smoking, cussing and being "cool" I guess. I rather preferred the hookers and bums of the early 1990s to that crowd. The drum circle was nice though.

Point being, those of us who were around in the 1980s and early 1990s remember S. Congress as something different. An authentic, gritty blend of real life and low rent shops trying to scrape by. Today I must say I find it to be mostly a collection of people and places trying to be cool and hip on purpose. A manufactured salute to the organic and natural place it once was.

In the same way, I think Austin clings to the past and promotes it, but has changed and outgrown some aspects of it. I'm not one of those who has a problem with the changes. The highrises are fine with me. And if I'm hungry and downtown, I really don't care if I grab a bite at a Thundercloud or a Subway, I just want a good sandwich.

Steve
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