Austin | Historic Images & Postcards

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Mopacs

Great pics! I'll have to put together a 30-year before and after image from Mt Bonnell.

Here is a 1985 cell phone magazine ad I scanned in a few years ago. A high-powered business executive showing off his cutting-edge technology, with downtown Austin as a backdrop.

That photo gives me a chuckle every time. And funnily enough, I saw this today:

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by Mopacs

Great pics! I'll have to put together a 30-year before and after image from Mt Bonnell.

Here is a 1985 cell phone magazine ad I scanned in a few years ago. A high-powered business executive showing off his cutting-edge technology, with downtown Austin as a backdrop.

Lol, my father had one of those fancy brick cellphones back in the 80's.

Here is a little before and now from Mt Bonnell.

The first one is from Bryan who's photos I posted above and are the old ones. The second will be the new one, and it is by J-A-X from flickr.

Mt Bonnell 1981


http://www.flickr.com/photos/oz4caster/5722939835/

Mt Bonnell 2010 (29 years later)


http://www.flickr.com/photos/j-a-x/5073820849/

[KevinFromTexas]

Cool. In that last photo that BevoLJ posted above, you can see a red crane up for the Hobby Building.

I checked out a book from the library a few weeks ago that had some construction photos of the base of the One American Center. And another photo showed the cranes for it and one atop 816 Congress just as that building was wrapping up construction. There was also another shot that showed 816 Congress with the completed shell of 1005 Congress minus its crane.

Austin's skyline from 1969. Notice that the Dobie Center, Chase Bank Tower and Bank of America Center are missing. The Capitol building was still the tallest in Austin in this photo. Notice that the UT Tower was the tallest on Campus. Also, The Castilian would have just been completed that year. And check out the Radisson Plaza Hotel way over to the right all by itself.

Austin skyline1969 by Bryan - oz4caster, on Flickr

From 1972 showing the Stephen F. Austin Building under construction. The tallest commercial office building in the city at the time would have been 823 Congress which had been finished a year earlier. You can see it to the left of the Capitol dome. At that time the building would have been the 6th tallest in Austin. Today it is the 30th tallest in Austin. In 1972 only the Capitol, UT Tower, Dobie Center, Westgate Tower and The Castilian would have been taller.

Texas Capitol by Bryan - oz4caster, on Flickr

From 1973 showing the Robert Lee Moore Hall under construction. It was completed the next year.

UT snow by Bryan - oz4caster, on Flickr

[Armybrat]

Just a poor picture of a photo....
I took this pic of my cousin at the I-35 Frontage Road and Elmhurst Drive intersection in the Summer of 1959 - my parent's new home was one block east:



That's the Riverside Drive bridge behind her, with the I-35 bridge over the Colorado River (this was before Town Lake & the Longhorn Dam were built).

[MichaelB]

Cool article ( and nice blog spot) on Cambridge Tower.

http://midtexasmod.blogspot.com/2011...ndmark-of.html

[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.

[BevoLJ]

Here is a wonderful one I had never seen before.

It is c. 1890's of Congress Ave looking out of the State Capitol.


http://blog.wilkinsonranch.com/2011/...ass-negatives/

[Mdlx]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Here is a wonderful one I had never seen before.

It is c. 1890's of Congress Ave looking out of the State Capitol.


http://blog.wilkinsonranch.com/2011/...ass-negatives/

Man, the travis county courthouse looked so cool.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by Mdlx

Man, the travis county courthouse looked so cool.

which one is the travis county courthouse? and am i the only one that wishes we'd kept all those buildings and just kept building more on top of what we already had? austin would already have had a very dense downtown. and its also interesting to look at what austin looked like just 6 years right after that serial killer had done his killing spree if anyone's heard of him.

[BevoLJ]

I the first building on the left on Congress. I found some old photos of it. There is now a parking lot where it used to be.


http://www.texasescapes.com/AustinTe...stin-Texas.htm

http://www.texasescapes.com/AustinTe...stin-Texas.htm

http://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?...t=0&t=fulltext

Here is an amazing one from 1922 of a tornado over the courthouse.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?...t=0&t=fulltext

Also the warehouse looking building across the street was the State Capitol while they were building the current Capitol Building. According to the marker at the time the above photo was taken it would have been the Austin High School. Here is what the historical marker reads:

Built, 1882-1883, to replace the previous Capitol, which had burned in 1881. Until the building was completed, the orphaned Texas government conducted business in the county courthouse and jail across Congress avenue.

The three-story brick building – third Texas Capitol in Austin – was used five years. During this time it witnessed the passage of strong legislation to aid education and to halt fence-cutting, which, in 1883, had exploded into a range war. Governors John Ireland (1883-1887) and Sul Ross (1887-1891) both served in this building.

In 1883, the University of Texas held classes here for its 218 students until campus facilities were completed. On another occasion, cattle baron Charles Goodnight loaded $100,000 in cash in a wheel barrow and had it hauled to the Capitol to force settlement of a land dispute, but officials refused his offer.

After the present Capitol was finished, 1888, this structure was used as home of Austin High School. Studios for music teachers, and for various offices. When it burned, Sept, 30, 1899, curious spectators sat on the fence around the new Capitol to watch volunteer firemen, hampered by low water pressure fight the blaze. The old building was razed soon after and the bricks were used in structures throughout Austin.

[migol24]

jeeeesus! why did that building get torn down!

[BevoLJ]

Who knows? It was demolished in 1964.

It was the courthouse until 1927. Apparently it became infested with rats and bats, and that was when they had to move out and began looking to build the current one that they built in 1931. From 1927 until it was razed in 1964 it was called the Walton Building and housed State offices.

[BevoLJ]

Here is one from even before the courthouse or current capitol had been built. It is of a tightrope walker John Devier crossing Congress Ave in 1867.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

This is the 1870 4th of July Parade down Congress. They march up to the Mrs Rosenfield's ice cream garden. I imagine in the Austin summers back then the ice cream shop was very popular. lol.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress and 7th Street 1877.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Here is Congress Ave between 5th and 6th Streets. Taken in the 1860's.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Here is a picture of the Old State Capitol burning down in 1881.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675.../m1/1/med_res/

This is a picture taken from the 1876 Travis Co. Courthouse. It was taken in 1881 of the new State Capitol under construction.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Here is a picture of Austin in 1882 taken from the School for the Deaf. You can see both the new Capitol and the University of Texas' Main building under construction.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

This is a picture from the UT Main Building looking down University to the Capitol taken in 1895. Notice the Moon Tower, which had probably just recently been installed.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Here is a picture from 1899 of the temporary capitol burning down. It is the building across the street from the old Travis Co. Courthouse on 11th and Congress. There is a marker there, that I quoted a few post up.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

A view from Congress Ave Bridge in 1900.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Here is a picture of some building on the UT Campus in 1903. To the left is the Woman Building and to the right the Chemical Building. Unlike those creepy aggy cult in Craphole Station we didn't wait until 1965 to allow women. The Chemical Labs burned down in 1926, and the Woman's building (which became the Drama School) burned down in 1959.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress Ave being paved with bricks in 1905. I imagine this was the first street in Austin to be paved? I believe this photo is the first section of Congress to be paved too.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress Ave at 10th Street taken in 1905


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress Ave at 4th Street taken in 1905


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress Ave Bridge in 1910. You can see the skeleton of the Scarbrough Building being built!


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress and 5th taken in 1911. You can see the new Scarbrough and Littlefield buildings.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Looking out of the brand new Littlefield Building at 6th and Congress Ave. Taken in 1911.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Here is one also from 1911 taken in the Scarbrough building across the street from the above photo.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress & 6th taken in 1913


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Texas vs Notre Dame on Thanksgiving Day in 1913. Later Thanksgiving was reserved for the Texas vs Texas A&M, but since the aggies have scurried off to another conference we are no longer forced to play them and will be again playing Notre Dame on Thanksgiving every year, starting in a couple years.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

SoCo in 1914.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Camp Mabry in 1915


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Shoal Creek flood over 6th street in 1915. Even back then that is way up there and must have been massive amounts of water.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Armistice Parade up Congress to Capitol. 1918 obviously. lol


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Austin City Hall in 1920. Located at Colorado and 8th.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Here is a view of the newly constructed Barton Springs Pool. Photo taken c. 1920. While the spring had been a popular swimming hole since the 1830's, the land was given to the city by Andrew Jackson Zilker in 1918 and the city built the pool in 1920.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

The Seaholm Power Plant in 1922


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

The Stephen F. Austin Hotel under construction in 1924.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Dedication of the University of Texas' Memorial Stadium on November 27, 1924


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

The new Barton Spring Bathhouses and a picture of people swimming in the pool in 1925.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

East Ave (now I-35) looking south from 12th street in 1930 right after it was paved.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress Ave 1930


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

The new Travis Co Courthouse under construction in 1931.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Austin in 1931.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Congress Ave. c. 2012


http://mashable.com/2012/03/23/sxsw-photos-cnn-ireport/

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

The Stephen F. Austin Hotel under construction in 1924.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930





Austin in 1931.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Cool photos. I wonder what year the additional floors were added to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. (Obviously sometime after 1931.)


(My photo from 2007 on Wikimedia Commons)

[The ATX]

I like the old version much better because that top floor looks interesting.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

I like the old version much better because that top floor looks interesting.

Funny you should say that cause I was thinking how I liked it better after they added the new floors cause it made it taller LOL.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Funny you should say that cause I was thinking how I liked it better after they added the new floors cause it made it taller LOL.

Shallow Hal

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by LoneStarMike

Cool photos. I wonder what year the additional floors were added to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. (Obviously sometime after 1931.)


(My photo from 2007 on Wikimedia Commons)

The historical marker by the hotel says they were added in 1938.

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=25733

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

He's referring to some anti-Aggie comments that I no longer see posted.

Oh. The only comment I made is still there. It was the comment above the picture from 1903 of the 3 women sitting in a pretty field of Bluebonnets in front of the Woman's Building on UT's campus. I didn't think it was that bad or much of an issue. I'll quote it below.

I do find aggies creepy and cult like, as do most all Longhorns. It is a pretty universal view of aggies among Longhorns. So not sure why that opinion from me, someone with a Longhorn avatar with "Bevo" in their username, would surprise an aggie. lol. Perhaps calling College Station "Craphole Station" was going a bit to far, and unnecessary.

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Here is a picture of some building on the UT Campus in 1903. To the left is the Woman Building and to the right the Chemical Building. Unlike those creepy aggy cult in Craphole Station we didn't wait until 1965 to allow women. The Chemical Labs burned down in 1926, and the Woman's building (which became the Drama School) burned down in 1959.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Here is one from even before the courthouse or current capitol had been built. It is of a tightrope walker John Devier crossing Congress Ave in 1867.


http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...res/?width=930

Note the three-story Avenue Hotel on the east side on Congress Ave.

Here's an ad I found for it in the 1897-1898 City Directory.



http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/675...1/11/sizes/xl/

Looks like they had added a fourth floor by then.

The Avenue Hotel was still listed in the 1922 City Directory. In the 1922 directory, the hotel was at 721 Congress Avenue, the hotel bar was at 719 Congress Avenue and the hotel barber shop was at 717 Congress Avenue.

It was torn down sometime before 1935, because the State Theater occupies part of that space now and it was built in 1935.