The tallest Christmas tree in Texas, Congress Avenue lights and the Texas Capitol
Monday I went to the Zilker Park Christmas Tree lighting ceremony with my mom, sister, brother in law and my niece. I got some pictures and video. After that we headed downtown and my brother in law and I walked up Congress to the Capitol for some pictures of the lights. This year is the 42nd annual lighting of the Zilker Tree. The "tree" is a 165 foot tall light tower in Zilker Park near downtown that was ordered by the city in 1893 and built in 1895. There were 31 of these original towers called "Moonlight Towers" around downtown and Central Austin. Just 17 of these towers remain standing. It's the oldest urban lighting system in the US, and this one in Zilker Park was a filming location for the movie 'Dazed and Confused'.
No, that's not snow. It was extremely dusty at the Zilker Tree thanks to us only getting half our yearly total of rain this year. Oddly enough, it did just snow a little bit last night in the city.
I've gone under and spun around under those lights many times. And quickly got dizzy, promptly falling flat on my ass.
Gracias, y feliz navidad
Zilker Park needs some sort of revegetating. Every time there's an event with a lot of people there, the people walking around stir up all that dust. I don't know why the parks people haven't fixed that problem. I guess it's a money issue. Anyway, very nice photos, Kevin. Regarding last night, I had enough sleet to cover everything pretty well and about an hours worth of big wet snowflakes in north Austin. It only stuck to the rooftops in my part of town. I hear that Houston's getting flurries this evening. Wonder if we'll get an ice storm this winter like the big one last year. We need something to break the monotony of all the good weather we've been having lately (just kidding; I hate wintery weather).
The parks department actually has put down seeds and waters the soccer fields regularly now. They get the funds from the Austin City Limits Music Fest. People had been complaining at the concert that it was too dusty. The year I went it was horrible. I felt like a 70 year old chain smoker by the end of the day. So they reached some agreement to put some of the usage fees towards cultivating the grass and keeping it watered. This doesn't apply for the whole park though.
Christmas lights and no snow always looks so surreal to me.
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Christmas lights and no snow always looks so surreal to me.
Tuesday night we did have snow. In outlying areas it stuck to the ground, but in town, around the park, you could see it only on cars and rooftops (and not much). Even though it was just a small amount, it made it feel more like Christmas. Around Houston, though, some areas had up to 3 inches yesterday. And yes, northerners, we know that isn't much to you.
You got to love the power cable extending to the top of the Christmas Tree in front of the capital!
I remember the first time I experienced Christmas in Austin and saw this tree; I thought how pathetic................then it hit me, it must be an "Austin thing".
You got to love the power cable extending to the top of the Christmas Tree in front of the capital!
I remember the first time I experienced Christmas in Austin and saw this tree; I thought how pathetic................then it hit me, it must be an "Austin thing".
You get coals in your stocking for that comment. heheh
I saw the tree in front of the capitol the other night and laughed at it. I wish there were a better tree out there, and better decorated. It's the state capitol, after all.
Also, I wish the trees along Congress would be lit up a bit more. I drove down Congress a few nights ago and only a few random trees were lit. It didn't look too nice.
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You get coals in your stocking for that comment. heheh
For the record, I love Austin and I "get it" (i think).
I just think the tree in front of the Capital would be more appropriate on the south side of the Congress St. Bridge as a Holiday welcome to South Austin!
These are some really good night photos. I really like your Capitol. Idaho's Capitol building here in Boise is currently closed and being renovated with underground wings being added to each end. A delegation from Boise visited Austin to take a look at the underground wings and liked what they saw there. Here is a link which mentions the Texas statehouse.
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Great fun set of photos & video clips. The sound of the happy people at the park adds an element that can't be caught on stills. I appreciate how you set up the camcorder good and solid, and then just let it run and capture stuff as it happens. Likewise for the street clips with the sounds of traffic.
Excellent photos of the capitol, too, so crisp and detailed. The red glow from the cupola is a little disturbing, though -- sort of an "Evil Tower" vibe for me. They need to use LEDs that change color, or something.
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Wonderful night shots. Funny how Texans are always competing for the biggest of anything. LOL. The ladies in our office in Fort Worth have some huge hair and I asked them if there was a competition for the biggest hair. My co-worker said that there was no competion because she had already won!
I think that's a DFW thing. I noticed that too when I went up to Dallas with a friend to a lawyer's office a few years ago. I even noticed a recognizably thicker accent than what I'm used to in Austin. Kind of funny actually.
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