[BevoLJ]

Here is an old map of Austin. I'll put what the Flickr uploader had to say under it. There is also a HUGE version of it on his flickr page (5888 x 5108) if you want to check it out. It is pretty cool.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullcreek/6838691205/

Austin_1973_25

Map of Austin, Texas as it was in 1973, the year before I moved to Austin. This is a stitch of 12 USGS 7.5 minute topo maps, reduced to 25% of the original size. I'm really thrilled that USGS is going back and digitizing all their old topo maps and making them available for free online (www.usgs.gov).

When I first moved to town, I had this map (in paper, at full scale) pinned up on a wall in the apartment where I was living -- took up pretty much the whole damn wall.

Couple of interesting things -- Loop 360 only goes from 290 to Bee Cave Road. MoPac Expressway doesn't exist yet (parts are shown as "under construction"). No Barton Creek Mall; Highland Mall had just been built. Bergstrom was still an air force base and had only one north-south runway. The apartment where I lived (near Parmer and N. Lamar) was way out in the country.

The base map was built in 1966. The purple areas on the map show new development from 1966 to 1973.