South Austin Charm: Going, Going…gone? By Nancy Drew At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

When I first moved to Austin in the early part of 2001, I was fortunate enough to find myself a place South of Town Lake, just up the hill from the Continental Club on South Congress, and I’ve been a South Austinite ever since. When Austin embraced the “Keep Austin Weird” slogan, they definitely had my side of town in mind, but I worry, as I drive slowly down Travis Heights Blvd, taking care because of the speed bumps, what effects the current surge in construction, both residential and commercial in my beloved neighborhood, will have on the future of the weirder side of Austin.

In the early spring of 2001, when I resided in what is now referred to by hipsters as “SoCo,” the merchants along South Congress Avenue dreamed up a monthly event they called “First Thursday” in order to bring in new business to the assortment of funky Austin emporiums that occupied the blocks bordered roughly by the Texas School for the Deaf, and Annie Street. Attended mostly by neighborhood residents at first, I quickly became a fan, and enjoyed my monthly stroll down the street with a group of comrades, taking full advantage of the fun and free beer First Thursdays offered. We enjoyed street dancing to bands like The Gulf Coast Playboys and Ponty Bone, who played in roped off areas on the street or on the new patio at Guerro’s Taco Bar. Artisans and vendors plied their wares, well-behaved dogs, hippies, and children were welcome, and a good time was generally had by all.

Today, I make a point to avoid the entire area on First Thursday because the traffic congestion has become a headache, and the crowds are too daunting for a “regular South Austinite” like me. In only six years, the South Congress Avenue I knew has changed. Someone finally opened a small market that wasn’t a 7-Eleven, Terra Toys lost their lease and had to move to the suburbs, Factory People installed the cool of neo-Warholism, and the NYC black bled down the street to Blackmail boutique, Goody Two Shoes, and Wet. Just Guns went the way of the old West, and the old hardware store vacated, making room for a new age gift shop. Capital Car Credit moved further south, and a four story ultra modern upscale structure is almost complete, including another pricey, but convenient and cool, neighborhood-style food market in which I’ll probably never shop. Just the other day, I heard Rue’s Antiques is closing, and I wonder what they will do with all the cool junk they used to sell.

Real estate is slowly but steadily transforming the surrounding neighborhoods of cozy bungalows into models of urban art, architecture, and green building innovation, and I feel ambivalent about the change. On one hand, change is inevitable, although sometimes it arrives more quickly than we could ever imagine, and I want to attempt to find some connection between the old and the new, the past and the present, and to adapt to the undeniable fact that Austin is becoming more urban and less weird every day. But have no fear, there are still pockets of weirdness to be discovered, even though in less concentrations than they were in the past, and I’ll bet my last dollar that they will never disappear completely from Austin’s heart and soul.

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