Austin, Texas
Encyclopedia
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat
of Travis County
. Located in Central Texas
on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. Austin has a population of 790,390 (2010 U.S. Census). The city is the cultural and economic center of the metropolitan area, which has a population of over 1,716,291 (2010 U.S. Census), making it the 35th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.
The area was settled in the 1830s on the banks of the Colorado River
by pioneers who named the village Waterloo
. In 1839, Waterloo was chosen to become the capital of the newly independent Republic of Texas
. The city was renamed after Stephen F. Austin
, known as the father of Texas. The city grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol
and the University of Texas
. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression
, Austin resumed its development into a major city in the 1980s and emerged as a center for technology and business. Austin is home to many companies, high-tech and otherwise: Fortune 500
corporations Freescale Semiconductor
, Forestar Group
, and Whole Foods Market
, are headquartered there; AMD
, Apple
, Broadcom
, Google
, IBM, Intel, Qualcomm
, ShoreTel
, Synopsys
and Texas Instruments
have prominent regional offices there. Also Dell's Worldwide Headquarters
is located in nearby Round Rock
, a suburb of Austin.
Residents of Austin are known as "Austinites". They include a diverse mix of government employees (e.g., university faculty & staff, law enforcement, political staffers); foreign and domestic college students; musicians; high-tech workers; blue-collar workers and businesspeople. The city is home to development centers for many technology corporations; it adopted the "Silicon Hills" nickname in the 1990s. However, the current official slogan promotes Austin as "The Live Music Capital of the World", a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the area, and the long-running PBS
TV concert series Austin City Limits
. In recent years, some Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan "Keep Austin Weird
" . This interpretation of the classic, "Texas-style" sense of independence refers to: the traditional and proudly eclectic, liberal lifestyles of many Austin residents; a desire to protect small, unique, local businesses from being overrun by large corporations; and, as a reaction to the perceived rise of conservative influences within the community. In the late 1800s, Austin also became known as the City of the "Violet Crown" for the wintertime violet glow of color across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term "violet crown" in their name. Lastly, Austin is known as a "clean air city" for the city's stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, and all restaurants.
Austin, Travis County and Williamson County have been the site of human habitation since at least 9,200 BC. The earliest known inhabitants of the area lived during the late Pleistocene
(Ice Age), and are linked to the Clovis culture
around 9,200 BC (11,200 years old) based on evidence found throughout the area and documented at the much-studied Gault Site, midway between Georgetown and Fort Hood.
When settlers first arrived from Europe, the area was inhabited by the Tonkawa
tribe, and the Comanche
s and Lipan Apaches were known to travel through the area as well. Spanish explorers, including the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition, traveled through the area for centuries, though few permanent settlements were created for some time. In 1730, three missions from East Texas were combined and reestablished as one mission on the south side of the Colorado River, in what is now Zilker Park, in Austin. The mission was in this area for only about seven months, and then was moved to San Antonio de Béxar and split into three missions. In the mid-18th century, the San Xavier missions were located along the Colorado River, in what is now western Milam County, to facilitate exploration.
Early in the 19th century, Spanish forts were established in what are now Bastrop
and San Marcos
. Following the independence of Mexico, new settlements were established in Central Texas, but growth in the region was stagnant because of conflicts with the regional Native Americans.
In 1835–1836, Texans fought and won independence from Mexico
. Texas thus became its own independent country with its own president, congress and monetary system. In 1839, the Texas Congress formed a commission to seek a site for a new capital to be named for Stephen F. Austin
. Mirabeau B. Lamar
, second president of the newly formed Republic of Texas
, advised the commissioners to investigate the area named Waterloo, noting the area's hills, waterways, and pleasant surroundings. Waterloo was selected and the name Austin was chosen as the town's new name. The location was seen as a convenient crossroads for trade routes between Santa Fe
and Galveston Bay
, as well as routes between northern Mexico and the Red River. Austin is also the site where the southern leg of the Chisholm Trail
leads to the Colorado River.
Edwin Waller
was picked by Lamar to survey the village and draft a plan laying out the new capital. The original site was narrowed to 640 acre (259 ha) that fronted the Colorado River
between two creeks, Shoal Creek and Waller Creek, which was later named in his honor. The 14-block grid plan was bisected by a broad north-south thoroughfare, Congress Avenue, running up from the river to Capital Square, where the new Texas State Capitol was to be constructed. A temporary one-story capitol was erected on the corner of Colorado and 8th Streets. On August 1, 1839, the first auction of 217 out of 306 lots total was held. The grid plan Waller designed and surveyed now forms the basis of downtown Austin.
In 1840, a series of conflicts between the Texas Rangers and the Comanches, known as the Council House Fight
and the Battle of Plum Creek
, finally pushed the Comanches westward, mostly ending conflicts in Central Texas. Settlement in the area began to expand quickly. Travis County was established in 1840, and the surrounding counties were mostly established within the next two decades.
Initially, the new capital thrived. But Lamar's political enemy, Sam Houston
, used two Mexican army incursions to San Antonio as an excuse to move the government. Sam Houston fought bitterly against Lamar’s decision to establish the capital in such a remote wilderness. The men and women who traveled mainly from Houston to conduct government business were intensely disappointed as well. By 1840 the population had risen to 856 of whom nearly half fled from Austin when Congress recessed. The resident Black population listed in January of this same year was 176. The fear of Austin’s proximity to the Indians and Mexico, which still considered Texas a part of their land, created an immense motive for Sam Houston, the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, to relocate the capital once again in 1841. Upon threats of Mexican troops in Texas, Houston raided the Land Office to transfer all official documents to Houston for safe keeping in what was later known as the Archive War, but the people of Austin would not allow this unaccompanied decision to be executed. The documents stayed, but the capital would temporarily move from Austin to Houston to Washington-on-the-Brazos. Without the governmental body, Austin’s population declined to an alarming low of only a few hundred people throughout the early 1840s. The voting by the fourth President of the Republic, Anson Jones, and Congress, who reconvened in Austin in 1845, settled the issue to keep Austin the seat of government as well as annex the Republic of Texas into the United States.
In 1860, 38% of Travis County residents were slaves. In 1861, with the outbreak of the American Civil War
, voters in Austin and other Central Texas communities voted against secession. However, as the war progressed and fears of attack by Union forces increased, Austin contributed hundreds of men to the Confederate
forces. The African American population of Austin swelled dramatically after the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas by Union
General Gordon Granger
at Galveston in an event commemorated as Juneteenth
. Black communities such as Wheatville, Pleasant Hill, and Clarksville were established around Austin by these newcomers. The postwar period saw dramatic population and economic growth. The opening of the Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC) in 1871, turned Austin into the major trading center for the region with the ability to transport both cotton and cattle. The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (MKT) line followed close behind. Austin was also the terminus of the southernmost leg of the Chisholm Trail and "drovers" pushed cattle north to the railroad. Cotton was one of the few crops produced locally for export and a cotton gin engine was located downtown near the trains for "ginning" cotton of its seeds and turning the product into bales for shipment. As other new railroads were built through the region in 1870s, however, Austin began to lose its primacy in trade to the surrounding communities. In addition, the areas east of Austin took over cattle and cotton production from Austin, especially in towns like Hutto and Taylor that sit over the blackland prairie, with its deep, rich soils for producing cotton and hay.
In September 1881, Austin public schools held their first classes. The same year, Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute (now part of Huston-Tillotson University
) opened its doors. The University of Texas
held its first classes in 1883, although classes had been held in the original wooden state Capitol for four years before.
During the 1880s, Austin gained new prominence as the state capitol building
was completed in 1888, and claimed as the seventh largest building in the world. In the late 19th century, Austin expanded its city limits to more than three times its former area, and the first granite dam was built on the Colorado River to power a new street car line and the new "moon towers". Unfortunately the first dam washed away in a flood on April 6, 1909. It was finally replaced in 1940 by a hollow concrete dam that formed Lake McDonald (now called Lake Austin) and which has withstood all floods since. In addition, the much larger Mansfield Dam was built by the LCRA upstream of Austin to form the flood-control lake, Lake Travis. In the early 20th century, the Texas Oil Boom
took hold, creating tremendous economic opportunities in Southeast Texas and North Texas. The growth generated by this boom largely passed by Austin at first, with the city slipping from fourth largest to 10th largest in Texas between 1880 and 1920.
Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, Austin launched a series of civic development and beautification projects that created much of the city's infrastructure and parks. In addition, the state legislature established the Lower Colorado River Authority
that, along with the City of Austin, created the system of dams along the Colorado River to form the Highland Lakes. These projects were enabled in large part because Austin received more Depression era relief funds than any other Texas city.
After the mid-20th century, Austin became established as one of Texas' major metropolitan centers. In the late 20th century, Austin emerged as an important high tech center for semiconductors and software. The University of Texas emerged as a major university.
The 1970s also saw Austin's emergence in the national music scene, with local artists such as Willie Nelson
, Asleep at the Wheel
, and Stevie Ray Vaughan
and iconic music venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters
. The long-running television program Austin City Limits
and the annual South by Southwest
musical festival and the Austin City Limits Festival helped to solidify the city's place in the music industry.
Austin is located in Central Texas
, along the Balcones Escarpment and Interstate 35
, northwest of Houston. Its elevation varies from 425 feet (130 m) to approximately 1000 feet (305 m) above sea level. As of 2010, the city occupies a total area of 271.8 square miles (704 km²). Approximately 6.9 square miles (18 km²) of this area is water.
Austin is situated on the Colorado River
, with three man-made (artificial) lakes within the city limits: Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake), Lake Austin
(both created by dams along the Colorado River), and Lake Walter E. Long
that is partly used for cooling water for the Decker Power Plant. Additionally, the foot of Lake Travis
, including Mansfield Dam
, is located within the city's limits. Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are each on the Colorado River. As a result of its straddling the Balcones Fault
, the eastern part of the city is flat, with heavy clay and loam soils, whereas, the western part and western suburbs consist of rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country
. Because the hills to the west are primarily limestone
rock with a thin covering of topsoil, portions of the city are frequently subjected to flash floods from the runoff caused by thunderstorms. To help control this runoff and to generate hydroelectric power, the Lower Colorado River Authority
operates a series of dams that form the Texas Highland Lakes
. The lakes also provide venues for boating, swimming, and other forms of recreation within several parks on the lake shores.
Austin is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, and is consequently a temperate-to-hot green oasis with a highly variable climate having some characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and a wetter climate. The area is very diverse ecologically and biologically, and is home to a variety of animals and plants. Notably, the area is home to many types of wildflowers that blossom throughout the year but especially in the spring, including the popular bluebonnets, some planted in an effort by "Lady Bird" Johnson
, wife of former President Lyndon Johnson
.
A popular point of prominence in Austin is Mount Bonnell
. At about 780 feet (238 m) above sea level, it is a natural limestone formation overlooking Lake Austin
on the Colorado River, with an observation deck about 200 feet (61 m) below its summit. From the observation deck, many homes are visible.
The soils of Austin range from shallow, gravelly clay loams over limestone in the western outskirts to deep, fine sandy loams, silty clay loams, silty clays or clays in the city's eastern part. Some of the clays have pronounced shrink-swell properties and are difficult to work under most moisture conditions. Many of Austin's soils, especially the clay-rich types, are slightly to moderately alkaline and have free calcium carbonate
.
(Köppen
Cfa), characterized by extremely hot summers with prevailing humid winds from the Gulf of Mexico and mild winters. On average, Austin receives 33.6 inches (853.4 mm) of rain per year, with most of the precipitation in the spring, and a secondary maximum in the fall. During springtime, severe thunderstorms sometimes occur, though tornadoes are rare in the city. Austin is usually at least partially sunny, receiving nearly 2650 hours, or 60.3% of the possible total, of bright sunshine per year.
Austin summers are usually hot and humid, with average July and August highs in the mid-90s °F (34–36 °C). Highs exceed 90 °F (32.2 °C) on 109 days per year, and 100 °F (37.8 °C) on 12. The highest recorded temperature was 112 °F (44 °C) occurring both on September 5, 2000 and also on August 28, 2011.
Winters in Austin are mild and relatively dry. For the entire year, Austin averages 88 days below 45 °F (7.2 °C) and 18 days when the minimum temperature falls below freezing. The lowest recorded temperature was -2 °F on January 31, 1949. Snowfall is rare in Austin, but approximately biannually Austin may suffer an ice storm
that freezes roads over and affects much of the city for 24 to 48 hours. Monthly averages for Austin's weather data are shown in a graphical format to the right, and in a more detailed tabular format below.
Austin is administered by a city council
of seven members, each of them elected at large. The council is composed of six council members, and by an elected mayor, accompanied by a hired city manager
under the manager-council
system of municipal governance. Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan, with a runoff in case there is no majority winner. Austin remains an anomaly among large Texas cities in that council members are elected on an at-large basis by all voters, as opposed to elections by districts.
Austin formerly operated its city hall at 128 West 8th Street. Antoine Predock and Cotera Kolar Negrete & Reed Architects designed a new city hall building, which was intended to reflect what The Dallas Morning News
referred to as a "crazy-quilt vitality, that embraces everything from country music to environmental protests and high-tech swagger." The new city hall, built from recycled materials, has solar panels in its garage. The city hall, at 301 West Second Street, opened in November 2004. The mayor of Austin is Lee Leffingwell
. His first term ends in 2012.
Law enforcement in Austin is provided by the Austin Police Department
, except for state government buildings, which are patrolled by the Texas Department of Public Safety
. Austin was ranked the fifth-safest city in part because there are fewer than five murders per 100,000 people annually.
Fire protection is provided by the Austin Fire Department
, and emergency medical services are provided by Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
operates the Austin District Office in Austin.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(TDCJ) operates the Austin I and Austin II district parole offices in Austin.
The United States Postal Service
operates several post offices in Austin.
As a result of the major party realignment that began in the 1970s, central Austin became a stronghold of the Democratic Party
, while the suburbs tend to vote Republican
. Opponents characterized the resulting district layout as excessively partisan gerrymandering
, and the plan was challenged in court on this basis by Democratic and minority activists; of note, the Supreme Court of the United States
has never struck down a redistricting plan for being excessively partisan. The plan was subsequently upheld by a three-judge federal panel in late 2003, and on June 28, 2006, the matter was largely settled when the Supreme Court in a 7–2 decision upheld the entire congressional redistricting plan with the exception of a Hispanic-majority district in southwest Texas. This later affected Austin's districting, as U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett
's district (U.S. Congressional District 25) was found to be insufficiently compact to compensate for the reduced minority influence
in the southwest district and so was redrawn so that it now takes in most of southeastern Travis County and several counties to its south and east.
Overall, the city is a blend of downtown liberalism and suburban conservatism but leans to the political left as a whole. In 2003, the city adopted a resolution against the USA PATRIOT Act
that reaffirmed constitutionally guaranteed rights. In the 2004 presidential election, Senator John Kerry
won a substantial majority of the votes in Travis County. Of Austin's six state legislative districts, three are strongly Democratic and three are swing districts, two of which are held by Democrats and one of which is held by a Republican. However, two of its three congressional districts (the 10th
and the 21st
) are presently held by Republicans, with only the 25th
held by a Democrat. This is largely due to the 2003 redistricting, which left downtown Austin without an exclusive congressional seat of its own. Travis County was also the only county in Texas to reject Texas Constitutional Amendment Proposition 2 that effectively outlawed gay marriage and status equal or similar to it and did so by a wide margin (40% for, 60% against).
Austin is also an active area for the Libertarian Party
.
Two of the candidates for president in the 2004 race call Austin home. Michael Badnarik, mentioned above as the Libertarian Party candidate, and David Cobb
of the Green Party
both have lived in Austin. During the run up to the election in November, a presidential debate was held at the University of Texas student union involving the two minor party candidates. While the Commission on Presidential Debates
only invites Democrats and Republicans to participate in televised debates, the debate at UT was open to all presidential candidates. Austin also hosted one of the last presidential debates between Barack Obama
and Hillary Clinton during their heated race for the Democratic nomination in 2008.
Austin is the largest component of the Austin Round Rock MSA, which had a Gross Domestic Product of $86 billion in 2010. Austin is considered to be a major center for high tech
. Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at The University of Texas at Austin
provide a steady source of employees that help to fuel Austin's technology and defense industry sectors. The metro Austin area has much lower housing costs than Silicon Valley
, but much higher housing costs than many parts of rural Texas. As a result of the high concentration of high-tech companies in the region, Austin was strongly affected by the dot-com boom
in the late 1990s and subsequent bust. Austin's largest employers include the Austin Independent School District
, the City of Austin, Dell
, the U.S. Federal Government
, Freescale Semiconductor
(spun off from Motorola
in 2004), IBM
, St. David's Healthcare Partnership, Seton Family of Hospitals, the State of Texas
, Texas State University–San Marcos
, and The University of Texas
.
Other high-tech companies with operations in Austin include Nvidia
, 3M
, Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard
, Google
, AMD
, Applied Materials
, Cirrus Logic
, Cisco Systems
, eBay
/PayPal
, Bioware
, Blizzard Entertainment
, Hoover's
, Intel Corporation
, National Instruments
, Samsung Group
, Buffalo Technology, Silicon Laboratories
, Oracle Corporation
, Hostgator
, and United Devices
. In 2010, Facebook
accepted a grant to build a downtown office that could bring as many as 200 jobs to the city. The proliferation of technology companies has led to the region's nickname, "the Silicon Hills", and spurred development that greatly expanded the city. The concentration of high-tech companies has led the former American Airlines
flight between Austin and San Jose, California
to be dubbed the "nerd bird."
Austin is also emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies; the city is home to about 85 of them. The city was ranked by the Milken Institute as the No.12 biotech and life science center in the United States.
Whole Foods Market
(often called just "Whole Foods") is an upscale, national grocery store chain specializing in fresh and packaged food products—many having an organic-/local-/"natural"-theme. It was founded and is headquartered in Austin.
In addition to national and global corporations, Austin features a strong network of independent, unique, locally-owned firms and organizations.
building from various locations around Austin (known as the Capitol View Corridor). However, many new highrise towers have been constructed and the downtown area is looking more modern and dense. The city's tallest building, The Austonian
, was topped out on September 17, 2009. Austin is currently undergoing a skyscraper boom, which includes recent construction on the now complete 360 Condominiums at 563 feet (172 m), Spring (condominiums),the Austonian at 683 feet (208 m), and several others that are mainly for residential use. By 2015, the Frost Bank Tower
could be the only skyscraper built before 2005 to remain in the ten tallest buildings in the city.
At night, parts of Austin are lighted by "artificial moonlight" from Moonlight Towers
built to illuminate the central part of the city. The 165 feet (50.3 m) moonlight towers were built in the late 19th century and are now recognized as historic landmarks. Only 15 of the 31 original innovative towers remain standing in Austin, and none remain in any of the other cities where they were installed. The towers are featured in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused
.
topping out at 56 floors and the 360 Condos
at 44 floors. The 360 Tower
and the Four Seasons Condos
are condo towers in Austin, opened in early 2008. Former Mayor Will Wynn set out a goal for having up to 25,000 people living Downtown by 2015, and the city provided incentives for building residential units in the urban core. Because of this, the city has been driven to increase density in Austin's urban core. The skyline has drastically changed in recent years, and the residential real estate market has remained relatively strong.
Downtown growth has been aided by the presence of a popular live music and nightlife scene, museums, restaurants, and Lady Bird Lake, considered one of the city's best recreational spots. The 2nd Street District consists of several new residential projects, restaurants, coffee shops, record stores, upscale boutiques and museums, and the Austin City Hall. Across 2nd Street from Austin City Hall is the newly re-created TV set for the long-running PBS program Austin City Limits
, which is housed beneath the new 478 feet (146 m) W Hotel
. The new Austin City Limits location also presents national and local live music performances unrelated to the television show such as recent performances by story-teller Garrison Keillor
, and music groups Return to Forever
and George Thorogood
. South by Southwest
(SXSW) is hosted downtown and is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, with more than 2,000 performers playing in more than 90 venue
s around Downtown Austin over four days, in March. Though it is an industry-based event, SXSW Music links locally with events such as the annual Austin Music Awards show. SXSW is the highest revenue-producing special event for the Austin economy, with an estimated economic impact of at least $167 million in 2010.
As of the census of 2000, there were 656,562 people, 265,649 households, and 141,590 families residing in the city (roughly comparable in size to San Francisco, USA; Leeds, UK
; Ottawa
and a bit less than Alaska
). The population density was 2,610.4 people per square mile (1,007.9/km²). There were 276,842 housing units at an average density of 1,100.7 per square mile (425.0/km²). There were 265,648 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 105.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,689, and the median income for a family was $54,091. Males had a median income of $35,545 vs. $30,046 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,163. About 9.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. The median house price was $185,906 in 2009, and it has increased every year since 2003.
In July 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the Austin–Round Rock
metropolitan area had 1,705,075 people (roughly comparable to the San Jose, California
area in the U.S.; the West Yorkshire area
in the U.K.; and the Marseille
area in France).
" has become a local motto
in recent years, featured on bumper stickers and t-shirts. This motto has not only been used in promoting Austin's eccentricity and diversity, but is also meant to bolster support of local independent businesses. According to the 2010 book, Weird City
, the phrase was begun by a local Austin Community College librarian, Red Wassenich, and his wife, Karen Pavelka, who were concerned about Austin's "rapid descent into commercialism and over-development." The slogan has been interpreted many ways since its inception, but remains an important symbol for many Austinites who wish to voice concerns over rapid growth and irresponsible development. Austin has a long history of vocal citizen resistance to development projects perceived to degrade the environment, or to threaten the natural and cultural landscapes.
According to the Nielsen Company, adults in Austin read and contribute to blogs more than those in any other U.S. metropolitan area. Austin residents have the highest internet usage in all of Texas. Austin was selected as the No. 2 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money
magazine in 2006, and No. 3 in 2009, and also the "Greenest
City in America" by MSN. According to Travel & Leisure magazine, Austin ranks No. 1 on the list of cities with the best people, referring to the personalities and attributes of the citizens.
SoCo
is a shopping district stretching down South Congress Avenue from Downtown. This area is home to coffee shops, eccentric stores, restaurants, food trucks, trailers and festivals. It prides itself on "Keeping Austin Weird", especially with development in the surrounding area(s).
The O. Henry House Museum hosts the annual O. Henry Pun Off, a pun contest where the contestants exhibit wit. Other annual events include Eeyore's Birthday Party
, Spamarama, the Austin Reggae Festival and Art City Austin in April, East Austin Studio Tour in November, and Carnaval Brasileiro
in February. Sixth Street features annual festivals such as the Pecan Street Festival
and Halloween night. The three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival
has been held in Zilker Park
every year since 2002. Every year around the end of March and the beginning of April, Austin is home to "Texas Relay Weekend."
Austin's Zilker Park Tree is a Christmas display made of lights strung from the top of a Moonlight tower
in Zilker Park
. The Zilker Tree is lit in December along with the "Trail of Lights", an Austin Christmas tradition. In 2010, the Trail of Lights was canceled due to budget problems, but the city says they hope to have finances for the trail next year.
with more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclub
s on 6th Street and an annual film/music/interactive festival known as South by Southwest
(SXSW). The longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits
, is recorded at Moody Theatre at the W Hotel in Austin, TX. Austin City Limits and C3 Presents produce the Austin City Limits Music Festival
, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park
in Austin based on the Austin City Limits television show. The festival and television show alike attract musical artists from around the world. Other music events include the Urban Music Festival, the Fun Fun Fun Fest
, Chaos In Tejas and the Old Settlers Music Festival.
Austin Lyric Opera
has, since its founding in 1986, provided area residents with performances of multiple operas each year (including the 2007 opening of Philip Glass
's Waiting for the Barbarians
, written by University of Texas alumnus J. M. Coetzee). Performances are held at the Long Center for the Performing Arts with outdoor performance at Zilker Hillside Theater.
The Austin Symphony Orchestra
performs a range of classical, pop and family performances and is led by Music Director and Conductor Peter Bay
.
, which draws films of many different types from all over the world. In 2004 the city was first in MovieMaker Magazine's annual top ten cities to live and make movies. The 2007 South by Southwest
(SXSW) festival included Pete Townshend
, Iggy Pop
, Tom Morello
, and Rickie Lee Jones
.
Austin has been the location for a number of motion pictures, partly due to the influence of The University of Texas at Austin Department of Radio-Television-Film
. Films produced in Austin include Man of the House
, Secondhand Lions
, Waking Life
, Spy Kids
, Dazed and Confused
, Office Space
, The Life of David Gale
, Miss Congeniality, Doubting Thomas
, Slacker
, Idiocracy
, The New Guy
, Hope Floats
, The Alamo
, Blank Check
, The Wendall Baker Story, School of Rock
, A Slipping-Down Life
, A Scanner Darkly
, and most recently, the Coen Brothers' True Grit
, Grindhouse, Machete
, How To Eat Fried Worms
and Bandslam. In order to draw future film projects to the area, the Austin Film Society
has converted several airplane hangars from the former Mueller Airport into filmmaking center Austin Studios. Projects that have used facilities at Austin Studios include music videos by The Flaming Lips
and feature films such as 25th Hour
and Sin City
. Austin also hosted the MTV series, The Real World: Austin
in 2005. The film review websites Spill.com
and Ain't It Cool News
are based in Austin. Rooster Teeth Productions
, creator of popular web series such as Red vs. Blue
, is also located on Austin.
. The Austin Chronicle is Austin's alternative weekly
, while The Daily Texan
is the student newspaper of the University of Texas. Austin's business newspaper is the weekly Austin Business Journal. Austin also has numerous smaller special interest or sub-regional newspapers such as the Oak Hill Gazette
, Westlake Picayune, Hill Country News, Round Rock Leader, NOKOA, and The Villager among others. Texas Monthly
, a major regional magazine, is also headquartered in Austin. The Texas Observer, a muckraking biweekly political magazine, has been based in Austin for over five decades. The most recent newspaper entrant is the weekly Community Impact Newspaper
newspaper published by John Garrett, former publisher of the Austin Business Journal. Community Impact has five regional editions and is delivered to every house and business within certain zip codes and all of the news is specific to those zip codes. The local PBS
station KLRU
produces several award winning locally produced programs. KUT
is the leading public radio
station in Texas and produces the majority of its content locally. KOOP (FM) is a volunteer-run radio station with more than 60 locally produced programs. KVRX is the student-run college radio station of the University of Texas with a focus on local and non-mainstream music and community programming. Network television stations (affiliations in parentheses) include KTBC
(Fox), KVUE
(ABC), KXAN (NBC), KEYE-TV
(CBS), KLRU
(PBS), KNVA
(The CW), KBVO
(My Network TV), and KAKW (Univision). Also, subscribers to Time Warner Cable
receive a 24-hour local news station, News 8 Austin
. In some parts of Austin, Time Warner has cable competition from Grande Communications.
The most recent entrant on the Austin news scene is The Texas Tribune
, an on-line publication focused on Texas and Austin politics. The Tribune is "user-supported" through donations, a business model similar to public radio. The Editor is Evan Smith
, former Editor of Texas Monthly. Smith co-founded the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non-partisan public media organization, with Austin venture capitalist John Thornton and veteran journalist Ross Ramsey.
Theatre Center, Vortex Repertory Company, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Rude Mechanicals' the Off Center, Austin Playhouse, Scottish Rite Children's Theater, Hyde Park Theatre
, the Blue Theater, the Hideout Theater, and Esther's Follies
. The Victory Grill
was a renowned venue on the Chitlin' circuit
. Public art and performances in the parks and on bridges are popular. Austin hosts the Fuse Box Festival each April featuring international, leading-edge theater artists.
The Paramount Theatre
, opened in downtown Austin in 1915, contributes to Austin's theater and film culture, showing classic films throughout the summer and hosting regional premieres for films such as Miss Congeniality. The Zilker Park
Summer Musical is a long-running outdoor musical.
The Long Center for the Performing Arts is a 2,300 seat theater built partly with recycled materials from the old Lester E. Palmer Auditorium.
Ballet Austin
is the fourth largest ballet academy in the country. Each year Ballet Austin's twenty member professional company performs ballets from a wide variety of choreographers, including their international award winning artistic director, Stephen Mills
. The city is also home to the Ballet East Dance Company
, a modern dance ensemble, and the Tapestry Dance Company
which performs a variety of dance genres.
The Austin improv
comedy scene has several theaters: ColdTowne Theater, The Hideout Theater, The New Movement Theater
, and Salvage Vanguard Theater. Austin also hosts the annual Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, which draws comedic artists in all disciplines to Austin. In 2010, Out of Bounds hosted over 400 U.S. and international improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy artists over 7 days in 7 different venues.
downtown, is one example started by a group of painters and sculptors from Mexico. Poet Hedwig Gorski
invented the widespread term "pet sitting" in the early 1980s to describe one of the original in-home animal care services, Hyde Park Pet Sitting. A major entrepreneural landmark, The Armadillo World Headquarters
, presented national musical rock and country acts as well as regional bands like Willie Nelson
and Roky Erikson in the 1970s helping to build the city's reputation as a music capitol. The current scene has been featured in BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine (twice, and a THIRD time), GigaOm, Time, ABJ Entrepreneur, Kiplinger and CNN.
W
Austin is the largest city in the United States without a club in a major professional sports league
. Many Austinites support the University of Texas Longhorns
' sports programs. The University of Texas football and baseball teams each won their respective national championships
during the 2005–2006 seasons. The Texas Longhorns play home games in the state's second-largest sports stadium, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, seating over 101,000 fans. Baseball games are played at UFCU Disch–Falk Field which underwent renovation in 1996 with an increased capacity to 6,756 seats plus 11 stadium suites.
Minor-league professional sports came to Austin in 1996, when the Austin Ice Bats
began playing at the Travis County Expo Center. Since then, the Austin Ice Bats have been replaced by the Texas Stars
of the American Hockey League
, and many other teams have come to Austin including the http://www.nba.com/dleague/austin/Austin Toros
] of the NBA Development League
, and the Texas Stars
. Austin is home to the 2010 U.S. Youth Soccer U19 Girls National Champion club Lonestar Soccer Club
.
Natural features like the bicycle-friendly Texas Hill Country
, limestone rock formations, and generally mild climate work with the centrally located Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, and local pools like Barton Springs
to make Austin the home of several endurance and multi-sport races and communities. The Capitol 10,000 is the largest race in Texas, and approximately fifth largest in the United States. The Austin Marathon
has been run in the city every year since 1992. The Austin-founded American Swimming Association hosts an open water swimming event, the Cap 2 K, and other closed-course, open water, and cable swim races around town. Austin is also the hometown of several cycling groups and the seven-time Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong
, as well as environmentally and economically minded bicycle commuters. Combining these three disciplines is a growing crop of triathlons, including the Capital of Texas Triathlon held every Memorial Day
on and around Lady Bird Lake, Auditorium Shores
, and Downtown Austin
.
In June 2010 it was announced by the Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone
that the Austin area would host the Formula One
, United States Grand Prix
, from 2012 until 2021. The effort was aided by State Comptroller
Susan Combs. The state has pledged to put up $25 million in public funds annually for 10 years to pay the sanctioning fees for the race. The event was last held in 2007
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
. A Formula One circuit will need to be built at an estimated cost of $250 to $300 million, paid for by private investors, and is expected to be located just east of the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The Austin investor group is headed by Tavo Hellmund
, President of Full Throttle Productions, LP. Hellmund, of Austin, is himself a former race car owner and driver. Circuit of the Americas will also play host to MotoGP World Championships from 2013.
, the Blanton Museum of Art
(reopened in 2006), the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
across the street (which opened in 2000), the Austin Museum of Art
(AMOA), and the galleries at the Harry Ransom Center. The Texas State Capitol
itself is also a major tourist attraction. The Driskill Hotel
built in 1886, and located at 6th and Brazos, was finished just before the construction of the Capitol building. Sixth Street is a musical hub for the city. The Enchanted Forest, a multi-acre outdoor music, art, and performance art space in South Austin hosts events such as fire-dancing and circus-like-acts. Austin is also home to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
, which houses documents and artifacts related to the Johnson administration, including LBJ's limousine and a recreation of the Oval Office.
Locally produced art is featured at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture
. The Mexic-Arte Museum
is a Latin American art
museum founded in 1983. Austin is also home to the O. Henry House Museum, residence of O. Henry
in 1891. Farmers markets are popular attractions, providing a variety of locally grown and often organic goods.
Austin is also "weird" for its many statues and landmarks, such as the Hyde Park Bar & Grill fork, the Mangia dinosaur, the Loca Maria lady at Taco Xpress on South Lamar, the 'migrating' pink flamingos on the lawn in front of the Pots and Plants Garden Center, the Hyde Park Gym's giant flexed arm, and Daniel Johnston
's Hi, how are you? frog mural.
Austinites often start tours for visitors with a pilgrimage to the statue of Texas blues
guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan
on the south shore of Town Lake. The statue's 'shadow' is longer than its height, to symbolize Vaughan's wide influence on electric guitarists.
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
houses the world's largest urban population of Mexican Free-tailed Bat
s. Starting in March, up to 1.5 million bats take up residence inside the bridge's expansion and contraction zones as well as in long horizontal grooves running the length of the bridge's underside, an environment ideally suited for raising their young. Every evening around sunset, the bats emerge in search of insects, an exit visible on weather radar. Watching the bat emergence is an event that is popular with locals and tourists, with more than 100,000 viewers per year. The bats migrate to Mexico each winter.
The Austin Zoo
, located in unincorporated
western Travis County
is a rescue zoo that provides sanctuary to displaced animals from a variety of situations, including those involving neglect.
The Austin Parks & Recreation Department received the Excellence in Aquatics award in 1999 and the Gold Medal Awards in 2004 from the National Recreation and Park Association
. Home to more than 50 public swimming pools, Austin has parks and pools throughout the city. There are several well-known swimming locations. These include Deep Eddy Pool
, Texas' oldest man-made swimming pool, and Barton Springs Pool
, the nation's largest natural swimming pool in an urban area. Barton Springs Pool is spring-fed while Deep Eddy is well-fed. Both range in temperature from about 68 °F (20 °C) during the winter to about 71.6 °F (22 °C) during the summer. Hippie Hollow Park
, a county park situated along Lake Travis, is the only officially sanctioned clothing-optional public park in Texas. Activities include rockclimbing, kayaking, swimming, exploring, and hiking along the greenbelt, a long-spanning area that runs through the city. Zilker Park, a large green area close to downtown, forms part of the greenbelt along the Colorado River. Hamilton Pool is a pool and wildlife park located about 30 minutes from the city.
Central Austin is essentially bracketed by two major North/South thoroughfares: Interstate 35
to the east and the Mopac Expressway (Loop 1)
to the west. U.S. Highway 183 runs from northwest to southeast, and State Highway 71
crosses the southern part of the city from east to west, completing a rough "box" around the central and north-central city. Austin is the largest city in the United States to be served by only one Interstate Highway.
U.S. Highway 290 enters Austin from the east and merges into I-35. Its highway designation continues south on I-35 and then becomes part of Highway 71, continuing on to the west. Highway 290 becomes its own road again southwest of the city, when it splits from Highway 71 in a busy interchange in Oak Hill known as "The Y." Highway 71 continues as far west as Brady, Texas
, and Highway 290 continues west to intersect Interstate 10
near Junction. Interstate 35 continues south through San Antonio, and continues to its culmination at Laredo, Texas
, which is on the Texas-Mexico border. Interstate 35 is the highway link to the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex in northern Texas. There are two links to Houston, Texas (Highway 290 and State Highway 71/Interstate 10). Highway 183 leads northwest of Austin and is a route with other major highways to such cities as Abilene, San Angelo, Lubbock, Amarillo, Albuquerque and Denver.
In the mid-1980s, Austin completed construction on Loop 360
, a scenic highway that curves through the hill country from near the 71/Mopac interchange in the south to near the 183/Mopac interchange in the north. The iconic Pennybacker Bridge
, also known as the "360 Bridge", crosses Lake Austin
to connect north and south Loop 360.
In November 2006, Austin opened the first segments of its first-ever tollway system: State Highway 130
runs from just south of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Interstate 35 just north of Georgetown
. Highway 130 connects with Highway 45 in Pflugerville, Texas. The project, when completed, will end at Interstate 10
just east of Seguin
, about 30 miles (48.3 km) east-northeast of San Antonio.
State Highway 45
runs east-west from just west of Highway 183 in Cedar Park
to 130 inside Pflugerville
(just east of Round Rock). The project also included a tolled extension to Mopac that allows direct access to I-35. A new southeast leg of Highway 45 has recently been completed, connecting US 183 and the current south end of TX-130 to I-35 at the FM 1327/Creedmoor exit near the south end of Austin and close to the town of Buda's
northernmost interchange. The 183A Toll Road opened March 2007, providing a tolled alternative to 183 through the cities of Leander
and Cedar Park
.
Despite the overwhelming initial opposition to the toll road concept when it was first announced, all three toll roads have improved mobility in and around the Austin area and are significantly exceeding their revenue projections.
(ABIA) (IATA code AUS), located 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the city. The airport is on the site of the former Bergstrom Air Force Base
, which was closed in 1993 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure
process. Previously, Robert Mueller Municipal Airport
was the commercial airport of Austin.
operates the Austin Station at 916 East Koenig Lane, just east of Airport Boulevard and adjacent to Highland Mall
. Turimex Internacional operates bus service from Austin to Nuevo Laredo and on to many destinations in Mexico. The Turimex station is located at 5012 East 7th Street, near Shady Lane.
system known as Capital MetroRail
on March 22, 2010. The system was built on existing freight rail lines and will serve downtown Austin, East Austin, North Central Austin, Northwest Austin, and Leander in its first phase. Future expansion could include a line to Manor and another to Round Rock. Capital Metro is also looking into a circulator system of streetcars to connect most of Downtown, the University of Texas, and the 700 acres (2.8 km²) Mueller Airport Redevelopment
. The streetcar system would help connect the new rail line to key destinations in Central Austin. An Amtrak
Texas Eagle
station
is located west of downtown. Segments of the Amtrak route between Austin and San Antonio are under evaluation for a future passenger rail corridor as an alternative to the traffic congestion of Interstate 35. Austin is known as the most bike-friendly city in Texas and has a Silver-level rating from the League of American Bicyclists
. Austin is also home to Car2Go
, a carsharing
program. Austin was chosen as the first city in the western hemisphere to host this company's business, which is based in Germany.
ranked Austin the 16th most literate city in the United States for 2008. The Austin Public Library
operates the John Henry Faulk
Library and various library branches. In addition, the University of Texas at Austin operates the seventh-largest academic library in the nation.
Austin was voted "America's No.1 College Town" by the Travel Channel. Over 43 percent of Austin residents age 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree, while 16 percent hold a graduate degree. As of 2009, greater Austin ranks eighth among metropolitan areas in the United States for bachelor's degree attainment with nearly 39 percent of area residents over 25 holding a bachelor's degree.
Austin is home to The University of Texas at Austin
, the flagship institution of The University of Texas System
with over 38,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students. In 2010, the university was ranked 45th among "National Universities" (13th among public universities) by U.S. News and World Report. UT has annual research expenditures of over $640 million and has the highest-ranked business, engineering, and law programs of any university in the state of Texas.
Other institutions of higher learning in Austin include St. Edward's University
, Austin Community College
, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson University
, the Seminary of the Southwest, the Acton School of Business
, Austin Graduate School of Theology
, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
, Virginia College
's Austin Campus, The Art Institute of Austin
, Austin Conservatory and a branch of Park University
.
Highly rated elementary and secondary schools contribute to both quality of life and the beginnings of exceptional labor pools to come. Austin area households enjoy diverse options in education, including 29 public school districts, 17 charter schools and 69 private schools. Most of the city is served by the Austin Independent School District
. This district includes notable schools such as the magnet Liberal Arts and Science Academy, which, by test scores, has always been within the top thirty high schools in the nation. Some parts of Austin are served by other districts, including Round Rock
, Pflugerville
, Leander
, Manor
, Del Valle
, Lake Travis
, Hays
, and Eanes ISDs
. Four of the metro's major public school systems, representing 54% of area enrollment, are included in Expansion Management magazine's latest annual education quality ratings of nearly 2,800 school districts nationwide. Two districts—Eanes and Round Rock—are rated "gold medal", the highest of the magazine's cost-performance categories.
, Redeemer Lutheran School, Garza (public), Austin Discovery School (public charter), Austin Jewish Academy, the Waldorf schools, The Griffin School, The Khabele School, Concordia Academy
, St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School, San Juan Diego Catholic High School
, Brentwood Christian School, St. Austin Catholic School
, St. Stephen's Episcopal School, St. Mary's, St. Theresa's, St. Michael's Catholic Academy
, Saint Gabriel's Catholic School, St. Andrew's Episcopal School
, St. Francis Episcopal School, Saint Paul Lutheran School, Trinity Episcopal School
, Huntington-Surrey, Cleaview Sudbury School, The Inside Outside School, ACE Academy, Paragon Preparatory Middle School, Austin International School, The Progress School and a number of Montessori schools.
Along with vibrant homeschooling & "unschooling"
communities, Austin is home to a number of part-time learning environments designed to offer basic academics and inspired mentoring. Such current resources include the Whole Life Learning Center & AHB Community School.
Austin is also home to numerous child developmental institutions including the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, the Central Texas Autism Center, Autism Early Learning Center, Johnson Center for Child Health and Development
and many more.
.
Adelaide
, Australia – since 1983 Porto Alegre
, Brazil – since 2002 Koblenz
, Germany – since 1991 Lima
, Peru – since 1981 Maseru
, Lesotho – since 1978 Ōita
, Japan – since 1990 Saltillo
, Mexico – since 1968 Taichung
, Taiwan – since 1986 Orlu
, Nigeria – since 2000 Gwangmyeong
, South Korea Xishuangbanna, People's Republic of China – since 1997 Antalya
, Turkey Fethiye
, Turkey – since 2008 Caracas
, Venezuela
The cities of Belo Horizonte
, Brazil and Elche, Spain were formerly sister cities, but upon a vote of the Austin City Council in 1991, their status was de-activated.
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Travis County
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
. Located in Central Texas
Central Texas
Central Texas , is a region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is roughly bordered by San Marcos to Fredericksburg to Waco, and to Brenham, and includes the Austin–Round Rock, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Bryan-College Station, and Waco metropolitan areas...
on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. Austin has a population of 790,390 (2010 U.S. Census). The city is the cultural and economic center of the metropolitan area, which has a population of over 1,716,291 (2010 U.S. Census), making it the 35th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.
The area was settled in the 1830s on the banks of the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
by pioneers who named the village Waterloo
Waterloo, Texas
Waterloo is an unincorporated community in Williamson County in the U.S. state of Texas.Waterloo was the original name for the nearby city of Austin.-External links:* from...
. In 1839, Waterloo was chosen to become the capital of the newly independent Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
. The city was renamed after Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
, known as the father of Texas. The city grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol
Texas State Capitol
The Texas State Capitol is located in Austin, Texas, and is the fourth building to be the house of Texas government in Austin. It houses the chambers of the Texas Legislature and the office of the governor of Texas. It was designed originally during 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, and was...
and the University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Austin resumed its development into a major city in the 1980s and emerged as a center for technology and business. Austin is home to many companies, high-tech and otherwise: Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
corporations Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a producer and designer of embedded hardware, with 17 billion semiconductor chips in use around the world. The company focuses on the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets with its product portfolio including microprocessors, microcontrollers,...
, Forestar Group
Forestar Group
Forestar Group Inc. is a real estate, mineral, and fiber resource company based in Austin, Texas. The company owns directly or through ventures about of real estate located in ten states and 13 markets and about of oil and gas mineral interests..-Overview:...
, and Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
, are headquartered there; AMD
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
, Apple
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, IBM, Intel, Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
, ShoreTel
ShoreTel
ShoreTel is a company based in Sunnyvale, CA. They are a provider of commercial, closed-source VoIP products. Current implementations of ShoreTel systems include telephone handsets, as well as voicemail servers, switching hardware, analog phone outputs, and other telecommunications-related...
, Synopsys
Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. is one of the largest companies in the Electronic Design Automation industry. Synopsys' first and best-known product is Design Compiler, a logic-synthesis tool. Synopsys offers a wide range of other products used in the design of an application-specific integrated circuit...
and Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
have prominent regional offices there. Also Dell's Worldwide Headquarters
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
is located in nearby Round Rock
Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
, a suburb of Austin.
Residents of Austin are known as "Austinites". They include a diverse mix of government employees (e.g., university faculty & staff, law enforcement, political staffers); foreign and domestic college students; musicians; high-tech workers; blue-collar workers and businesspeople. The city is home to development centers for many technology corporations; it adopted the "Silicon Hills" nickname in the 1990s. However, the current official slogan promotes Austin as "The Live Music Capital of the World", a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the area, and the long-running PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
TV concert series Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
. In recent years, some Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan "Keep Austin Weird
Keep Austin Weird
Keep Austin Weird is the slogan adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to promote small businesses in Austin, Texas. The phrase has long been believed to have been coined in 2000 by Red Wassenich, who says he made the comment after giving a pledge to an Austin radio station...
" . This interpretation of the classic, "Texas-style" sense of independence refers to: the traditional and proudly eclectic, liberal lifestyles of many Austin residents; a desire to protect small, unique, local businesses from being overrun by large corporations; and, as a reaction to the perceived rise of conservative influences within the community. In the late 1800s, Austin also became known as the City of the "Violet Crown" for the wintertime violet glow of color across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term "violet crown" in their name. Lastly, Austin is known as a "clean air city" for the city's stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, and all restaurants.
History
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
(Ice Age), and are linked to the Clovis culture
Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...
around 9,200 BC (11,200 years old) based on evidence found throughout the area and documented at the much-studied Gault Site, midway between Georgetown and Fort Hood.
When settlers first arrived from Europe, the area was inhabited by the Tonkawa
Tonkawa
The Tickanwa•tic Tribe , better known as the Tonkawa , are a Native American people indigenous to present-day Oklahoma and Texas. They once spoke the now-extinct Tonkawa language believed to have been a language isolate not related to any other indigenous tongues...
tribe, and the Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
s and Lipan Apaches were known to travel through the area as well. Spanish explorers, including the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition, traveled through the area for centuries, though few permanent settlements were created for some time. In 1730, three missions from East Texas were combined and reestablished as one mission on the south side of the Colorado River, in what is now Zilker Park, in Austin. The mission was in this area for only about seven months, and then was moved to San Antonio de Béxar and split into three missions. In the mid-18th century, the San Xavier missions were located along the Colorado River, in what is now western Milam County, to facilitate exploration.
Early in the 19th century, Spanish forts were established in what are now Bastrop
Bastrop, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 5340 people in Bastrop, organized into 2034 households and 1336 families. The population density is 734.8 people per square mile . There are 2,239 housing units at an average density of 308.1 per square mile...
and San Marcos
San Marcos, Texas
San Marcos is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is the seat of Hays County. Located within the metropolitan area, the city is located on the Interstate 35 corridor—between Austin and San Antonio....
. Following the independence of Mexico, new settlements were established in Central Texas, but growth in the region was stagnant because of conflicts with the regional Native Americans.
In 1835–1836, Texans fought and won independence from Mexico
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
. Texas thus became its own independent country with its own president, congress and monetary system. In 1839, the Texas Congress formed a commission to seek a site for a new capital to be named for Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
. Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was a Texas politician, diplomat and soldier who was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was the second President of the Republic of Texas, after David G. Burnet and Sam Houston.-Early years:Lamar grew up at Fairfield, his father's...
, second president of the newly formed Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
, advised the commissioners to investigate the area named Waterloo, noting the area's hills, waterways, and pleasant surroundings. Waterloo was selected and the name Austin was chosen as the town's new name. The location was seen as a convenient crossroads for trade routes between Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
and Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along the upper coast of Texas in the United States. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and is surrounded by sub-tropic marshes and prairies on the mainland. The water in the Bay is a complex mixture of sea water and fresh water which supports a wide...
, as well as routes between northern Mexico and the Red River. Austin is also the site where the southern leg of the Chisholm Trail
Chisholm Trail
The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The portion of the trail marked by Jesse Chisholm went from his southern trading post near the Red River, to his northern trading post near Kansas City, Kansas...
leads to the Colorado River.
Edwin Waller
Edwin Waller
Judge Edwin Waller was an entrepreneur, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the first mayor of Austin, Texas, and the designer of its downtown grid plan....
was picked by Lamar to survey the village and draft a plan laying out the new capital. The original site was narrowed to 640 acre (259 ha) that fronted the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
between two creeks, Shoal Creek and Waller Creek, which was later named in his honor. The 14-block grid plan was bisected by a broad north-south thoroughfare, Congress Avenue, running up from the river to Capital Square, where the new Texas State Capitol was to be constructed. A temporary one-story capitol was erected on the corner of Colorado and 8th Streets. On August 1, 1839, the first auction of 217 out of 306 lots total was held. The grid plan Waller designed and surveyed now forms the basis of downtown Austin.
In 1840, a series of conflicts between the Texas Rangers and the Comanches, known as the Council House Fight
Council House Fight
The Council House Fight was a conflict between Republic of Texas officials and a Comanche peace delegation which took place in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 1840. The meeting took place under a truce with the purpose of negotiating peace after two years of war. The Comanches sought to obtain...
and the Battle of Plum Creek
Battle of Plum Creek
The Battle of Plum Creek was a clash between militia and Rangers of the Republic of Texas and a huge Comanche war party under Chief Buffalo Hump, which took place near Lockhart, Texas, on August 12, 1840, following the Great Raid of 1840 as the Comanche war party returned to West...
, finally pushed the Comanches westward, mostly ending conflicts in Central Texas. Settlement in the area began to expand quickly. Travis County was established in 1840, and the surrounding counties were mostly established within the next two decades.
Initially, the new capital thrived. But Lamar's political enemy, Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
, used two Mexican army incursions to San Antonio as an excuse to move the government. Sam Houston fought bitterly against Lamar’s decision to establish the capital in such a remote wilderness. The men and women who traveled mainly from Houston to conduct government business were intensely disappointed as well. By 1840 the population had risen to 856 of whom nearly half fled from Austin when Congress recessed. The resident Black population listed in January of this same year was 176. The fear of Austin’s proximity to the Indians and Mexico, which still considered Texas a part of their land, created an immense motive for Sam Houston, the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, to relocate the capital once again in 1841. Upon threats of Mexican troops in Texas, Houston raided the Land Office to transfer all official documents to Houston for safe keeping in what was later known as the Archive War, but the people of Austin would not allow this unaccompanied decision to be executed. The documents stayed, but the capital would temporarily move from Austin to Houston to Washington-on-the-Brazos. Without the governmental body, Austin’s population declined to an alarming low of only a few hundred people throughout the early 1840s. The voting by the fourth President of the Republic, Anson Jones, and Congress, who reconvened in Austin in 1845, settled the issue to keep Austin the seat of government as well as annex the Republic of Texas into the United States.
In 1860, 38% of Travis County residents were slaves. In 1861, with the outbreak of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, voters in Austin and other Central Texas communities voted against secession. However, as the war progressed and fears of attack by Union forces increased, Austin contributed hundreds of men to the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forces. The African American population of Austin swelled dramatically after the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas by Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
General Gordon Granger
Gordon Granger
Gordon Granger was a career U.S. army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga.-Early life & Mexico:...
at Galveston in an event commemorated as Juneteenth
Juneteenth
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865...
. Black communities such as Wheatville, Pleasant Hill, and Clarksville were established around Austin by these newcomers. The postwar period saw dramatic population and economic growth. The opening of the Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC) in 1871, turned Austin into the major trading center for the region with the ability to transport both cotton and cattle. The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (MKT) line followed close behind. Austin was also the terminus of the southernmost leg of the Chisholm Trail and "drovers" pushed cattle north to the railroad. Cotton was one of the few crops produced locally for export and a cotton gin engine was located downtown near the trains for "ginning" cotton of its seeds and turning the product into bales for shipment. As other new railroads were built through the region in 1870s, however, Austin began to lose its primacy in trade to the surrounding communities. In addition, the areas east of Austin took over cattle and cotton production from Austin, especially in towns like Hutto and Taylor that sit over the blackland prairie, with its deep, rich soils for producing cotton and hay.
In September 1881, Austin public schools held their first classes. The same year, Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute (now part of Huston-Tillotson University
Huston-Tillotson University
Huston–Tillotson University is a historically black university in Austin, Texas, United States. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and the United Negro College Fund....
) opened its doors. The University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
held its first classes in 1883, although classes had been held in the original wooden state Capitol for four years before.
During the 1880s, Austin gained new prominence as the state capitol building
Texas State Capitol
The Texas State Capitol is located in Austin, Texas, and is the fourth building to be the house of Texas government in Austin. It houses the chambers of the Texas Legislature and the office of the governor of Texas. It was designed originally during 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, and was...
was completed in 1888, and claimed as the seventh largest building in the world. In the late 19th century, Austin expanded its city limits to more than three times its former area, and the first granite dam was built on the Colorado River to power a new street car line and the new "moon towers". Unfortunately the first dam washed away in a flood on April 6, 1909. It was finally replaced in 1940 by a hollow concrete dam that formed Lake McDonald (now called Lake Austin) and which has withstood all floods since. In addition, the much larger Mansfield Dam was built by the LCRA upstream of Austin to form the flood-control lake, Lake Travis. In the early 20th century, the Texas Oil Boom
Texas Oil Boom
The Texas Oil Boom, sometimes called the Gusher Age, was a period of dramatic change and economic growth in U.S. state of Texas during the early 20th century that began with the discovery of a large petroleum reserve near Beaumont, Texas...
took hold, creating tremendous economic opportunities in Southeast Texas and North Texas. The growth generated by this boom largely passed by Austin at first, with the city slipping from fourth largest to 10th largest in Texas between 1880 and 1920.
Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, Austin launched a series of civic development and beautification projects that created much of the city's infrastructure and parks. In addition, the state legislature established the Lower Colorado River Authority
Lower Colorado River Authority
The Lower Colorado River Authority or LCRA is a nonprofit public utility that was created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to protect people, property and the environment by providing public services for more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas...
that, along with the City of Austin, created the system of dams along the Colorado River to form the Highland Lakes. These projects were enabled in large part because Austin received more Depression era relief funds than any other Texas city.
After the mid-20th century, Austin became established as one of Texas' major metropolitan centers. In the late 20th century, Austin emerged as an important high tech center for semiconductors and software. The University of Texas emerged as a major university.
The 1970s also saw Austin's emergence in the national music scene, with local artists such as Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is a American country music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, but based in Austin, Texas. Altogether, they have won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception. In their career, they have released more than twenty studio albums, and have charted more than twenty...
, and Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
and iconic music venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters
Armadillo World Headquarters
The Armadillo World Headquarters was the premier music hall and entertainment center in Austin, Texas, United States from 1970 to 1980.-History:...
. The long-running television program Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
and the annual South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
musical festival and the Austin City Limits Festival helped to solidify the city's place in the music industry.
Geography
Central Texas
Central Texas , is a region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is roughly bordered by San Marcos to Fredericksburg to Waco, and to Brenham, and includes the Austin–Round Rock, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Bryan-College Station, and Waco metropolitan areas...
, along the Balcones Escarpment and Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
, northwest of Houston. Its elevation varies from 425 feet (130 m) to approximately 1000 feet (305 m) above sea level. As of 2010, the city occupies a total area of 271.8 square miles (704 km²). Approximately 6.9 square miles (18 km²) of this area is water.
Austin is situated on the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
, with three man-made (artificial) lakes within the city limits: Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake), Lake Austin
Lake Austin
Lake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority....
(both created by dams along the Colorado River), and Lake Walter E. Long
Lake Walter E. Long
Lake Walter E. Long is a power plant cooling reservoir on Decker Creek in Austin, Texas, USA. The reservoir was officially impounded in 1967 and serves to provide water for turbines used in the production of electricity from petroleum-based fuels. The dam and the lake are managed by the City of...
that is partly used for cooling water for the Decker Power Plant. Additionally, the foot of Lake Travis
Lake Travis
Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1942 by the construction of Mansfield Dam on the western edge of Austin, Texas by the Lower Colorado River Authority...
, including Mansfield Dam
Mansfield Dam
Mansfield Dam is a dam located at across a canyon at Marshall Ford on the Colorado River, northwest of Austin, Texas. Construction of the dam began in 1937 and was completed in 1941 as a joint project by the Lower Colorado River Authority and the United States Bureau of Reclamation...
, is located within the city's limits. Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are each on the Colorado River. As a result of its straddling the Balcones Fault
Balcones Fault
The Balcones Fault Zone is a tensional structural system in Texas that runs approximately from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north central region near Waco along Interstate 35. The Balcones Fault zone is made up of many smaller features, including normal faults, grabens, and...
, the eastern part of the city is flat, with heavy clay and loam soils, whereas, the western part and western suburbs consist of rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
. Because the hills to the west are primarily limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rock with a thin covering of topsoil, portions of the city are frequently subjected to flash floods from the runoff caused by thunderstorms. To help control this runoff and to generate hydroelectric power, the Lower Colorado River Authority
Lower Colorado River Authority
The Lower Colorado River Authority or LCRA is a nonprofit public utility that was created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to protect people, property and the environment by providing public services for more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas...
operates a series of dams that form the Texas Highland Lakes
Texas Highland Lakes
The Texas Highland Lakes is a chain of seven reservoirs in Central Texas formed by several dams on the Colorado River. This portion of the river winds southeast from its headwaters near the border of Texas and New Mexico to Matagorda Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
. The lakes also provide venues for boating, swimming, and other forms of recreation within several parks on the lake shores.
Austin is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, and is consequently a temperate-to-hot green oasis with a highly variable climate having some characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and a wetter climate. The area is very diverse ecologically and biologically, and is home to a variety of animals and plants. Notably, the area is home to many types of wildflowers that blossom throughout the year but especially in the spring, including the popular bluebonnets, some planted in an effort by "Lady Bird" Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
, wife of former President Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
.
A popular point of prominence in Austin is Mount Bonnell
Mount Bonnell
Mount Bonnell , also known as Covert Park, is a prominent point alongside Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. It has been a popular tourist destination since the 1850s. The mount provides a vista for viewing the city of Austin, Lake Austin, and the surrounding hills...
. At about 780 feet (238 m) above sea level, it is a natural limestone formation overlooking Lake Austin
Lake Austin
Lake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority....
on the Colorado River, with an observation deck about 200 feet (61 m) below its summit. From the observation deck, many homes are visible.
The soils of Austin range from shallow, gravelly clay loams over limestone in the western outskirts to deep, fine sandy loams, silty clay loams, silty clays or clays in the city's eastern part. Some of the clays have pronounced shrink-swell properties and are difficult to work under most moisture conditions. Many of Austin's soils, especially the clay-rich types, are slightly to moderately alkaline and have free calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...
.
Climate
Austin has a humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfa), characterized by extremely hot summers with prevailing humid winds from the Gulf of Mexico and mild winters. On average, Austin receives 33.6 inches (853.4 mm) of rain per year, with most of the precipitation in the spring, and a secondary maximum in the fall. During springtime, severe thunderstorms sometimes occur, though tornadoes are rare in the city. Austin is usually at least partially sunny, receiving nearly 2650 hours, or 60.3% of the possible total, of bright sunshine per year.
Austin summers are usually hot and humid, with average July and August highs in the mid-90s °F (34–36 °C). Highs exceed 90 °F (32.2 °C) on 109 days per year, and 100 °F (37.8 °C) on 12. The highest recorded temperature was 112 °F (44 °C) occurring both on September 5, 2000 and also on August 28, 2011.
Winters in Austin are mild and relatively dry. For the entire year, Austin averages 88 days below 45 °F (7.2 °C) and 18 days when the minimum temperature falls below freezing. The lowest recorded temperature was -2 °F on January 31, 1949. Snowfall is rare in Austin, but approximately biannually Austin may suffer an ice storm
Ice storm
An ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain, also known as a glaze event or in some parts of the United States as a silver thaw. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on exposed surfaces...
that freezes roads over and affects much of the city for 24 to 48 hours. Monthly averages for Austin's weather data are shown in a graphical format to the right, and in a more detailed tabular format below.
-
-
- Table Note: All temperature and precipitation normals were recorded at Camp MabryCamp MabryCamp Mabry is a military installation in Austin, Texas that houses the headquarters of the Texas Military Forces. Its original site, three miles northwest of downtown west of Mopac Expressway, was deeded from the city to the state in 1892. It was named for Brigadier General Woodford H. Mabry the...
from 1971–2000, and sunshine data were recorded from 1961–1990. Extremes are from Camp Mabry and previous stations, with the record spanning 1897 to present.
- Table Note: All temperature and precipitation normals were recorded at Camp Mabry
-
2011 Drought
From October 2010 to August 2011, Austin has had the least rainfall since the 1950s. This is a result of La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean where water turns unusually cooler than normal. Dr. David Brown, a regional official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has explained that "these kinds of droughts will have effects that are even more extreme in the future, given a warming and drying regional climate."Law and government
Austin is administered by a city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
of seven members, each of them elected at large. The council is composed of six council members, and by an elected mayor, accompanied by a hired city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
under the manager-council
Council-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
system of municipal governance. Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan, with a runoff in case there is no majority winner. Austin remains an anomaly among large Texas cities in that council members are elected on an at-large basis by all voters, as opposed to elections by districts.
Austin formerly operated its city hall at 128 West 8th Street. Antoine Predock and Cotera Kolar Negrete & Reed Architects designed a new city hall building, which was intended to reflect what The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
referred to as a "crazy-quilt vitality, that embraces everything from country music to environmental protests and high-tech swagger." The new city hall, built from recycled materials, has solar panels in its garage. The city hall, at 301 West Second Street, opened in November 2004. The mayor of Austin is Lee Leffingwell
Lee Leffingwell
Shelly Lee Leffingwell is the current mayor of Austin, Texas. He was first elected as an Austin city council member in 2005, won re-election in 2008, and was elected mayor in 2009....
. His first term ends in 2012.
Law enforcement in Austin is provided by the Austin Police Department
Austin Police Department
Austin Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency serving Austin, Texas, United States. As of Fiscal Year 2010, the agency had an annual budget of more than $240 million and employed around 2,200 personnel, including approximately 1,600 officers...
, except for state government buildings, which are patrolled by the Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Texas Department of Public Safety is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and vehicle regulation. The Public Safety Commission oversees the DPS. Its five members are appointed by the Governor of Texas and confirmed by the...
. Austin was ranked the fifth-safest city in part because there are fewer than five murders per 100,000 people annually.
Fire protection is provided by the Austin Fire Department
Austin Fire Department
Austin Fire Department is the fire protection agency of Austin, Texas, United States. It is headquartered at 4201 Ed Bluestein Boulevard.-Current Firehouses and Apparatus Assignments:-Run Statistics:For FY 2008-2009-External links:*...
, and emergency medical services are provided by Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
State and federal representation
The Texas Department of TransportationTexas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Texas. Its stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state...
operates the Austin District Office in Austin.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...
(TDCJ) operates the Austin I and Austin II district parole offices in Austin.
The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates several post offices in Austin.
Politics
Austin is known as an enclave of liberal politics in a generally conservative state—so much so, that the city is sometimes sarcastically called the "People's Republic of Austin" by residents of other parts of Texas, and conservatives in the Texas Legislature.As a result of the major party realignment that began in the 1970s, central Austin became a stronghold of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, while the suburbs tend to vote Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Opponents characterized the resulting district layout as excessively partisan gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...
, and the plan was challenged in court on this basis by Democratic and minority activists; of note, the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
has never struck down a redistricting plan for being excessively partisan. The plan was subsequently upheld by a three-judge federal panel in late 2003, and on June 28, 2006, the matter was largely settled when the Supreme Court in a 7–2 decision upheld the entire congressional redistricting plan with the exception of a Hispanic-majority district in southwest Texas. This later affected Austin's districting, as U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett
Lloyd Doggett
Lloyd Alton Doggett II is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He previously represented from 1995 to 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
's district (U.S. Congressional District 25) was found to be insufficiently compact to compensate for the reduced minority influence
Minority influence
Minority influence, a form of social influence, takes place when a minority, like an individual, influences a majority to accept the minority's beliefs or behaviour. There are two types of social influence: majority influence and minority influence...
in the southwest district and so was redrawn so that it now takes in most of southeastern Travis County and several counties to its south and east.
Overall, the city is a blend of downtown liberalism and suburban conservatism but leans to the political left as a whole. In 2003, the city adopted a resolution against the USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
that reaffirmed constitutionally guaranteed rights. In the 2004 presidential election, Senator John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
won a substantial majority of the votes in Travis County. Of Austin's six state legislative districts, three are strongly Democratic and three are swing districts, two of which are held by Democrats and one of which is held by a Republican. However, two of its three congressional districts (the 10th
Texas's 10th congressional district
Texas District 10 of the United States House of Representatives is a congressional district that serves the northwestern portion of the Greater Houston region stretching to the Austin area of Texas...
and the 21st
Texas's 21st congressional district
-References:*...
) are presently held by Republicans, with only the 25th
Texas's 25th congressional district
-2006 election:On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislature's 2003 redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of District 23...
held by a Democrat. This is largely due to the 2003 redistricting, which left downtown Austin without an exclusive congressional seat of its own. Travis County was also the only county in Texas to reject Texas Constitutional Amendment Proposition 2 that effectively outlawed gay marriage and status equal or similar to it and did so by a wide margin (40% for, 60% against).
Austin is also an active area for the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
.
Two of the candidates for president in the 2004 race call Austin home. Michael Badnarik, mentioned above as the Libertarian Party candidate, and David Cobb
David Cobb
David Keith Cobb is an American activist and was the 2004 presidential candidate of the Green Party of the United States .-Career and political activities:...
of the Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
both have lived in Austin. During the run up to the election in November, a presidential debate was held at the University of Texas student union involving the two minor party candidates. While the Commission on Presidential Debates
Commission on Presidential Debates
The Commission on Presidential Debates began in 1987 by the Democratic and Republican parties to establish the way that presidential election debates are run between candidates for President of the United States...
only invites Democrats and Republicans to participate in televised debates, the debate at UT was open to all presidential candidates. Austin also hosted one of the last presidential debates between Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Hillary Clinton during their heated race for the Democratic nomination in 2008.
Environmental movement
The distinguishing political movement of Austin politics has been that of the environmental movement, which spawned the parallel neighborhood movement, then the more recent conservationist movement (as typified by the Hill Country Conservancy), and eventually the current on-going debate about "sense of place" and preserving the Austin quality of life. Much of the so-called environmental movement has matured into a debate on issues related to saving and creating an Austin "sense of place."Economy
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
. Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at The University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
provide a steady source of employees that help to fuel Austin's technology and defense industry sectors. The metro Austin area has much lower housing costs than Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, but much higher housing costs than many parts of rural Texas. As a result of the high concentration of high-tech companies in the region, Austin was strongly affected by the dot-com boom
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
in the late 1990s and subsequent bust. Austin's largest employers include the Austin Independent School District
Austin Independent School District
Austin Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. It was established in 1881. Its current superintendent is...
, the City of Austin, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, the U.S. Federal Government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a producer and designer of embedded hardware, with 17 billion semiconductor chips in use around the world. The company focuses on the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets with its product portfolio including microprocessors, microcontrollers,...
(spun off from Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
in 2004), IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, St. David's Healthcare Partnership, Seton Family of Hospitals, the State of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Texas State University–San Marcos
Texas State University–San Marcos
Texas State University–San Marcos is a doctoral-granting university located in San Marcos, Texas...
, and The University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
.
Other high-tech companies with operations in Austin include Nvidia
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
, 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
, Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, AMD
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
, Applied Materials
Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc. is a capital equipment producer serving the semiconductor, TFT LCD display, Glass, WEB and solar manufacturing industries....
, Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic is a fabless semiconductor supplier specializing in analog, mixed-signal, and audio DSP integrated circuits . They are presently headquartered in Austin, Texas. Their audio processors and audio converters are found in many professional audio and consumer entertainment products,...
, Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
, eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
/PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
, Bioware
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...
, Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
, Hoover's
Hoover's
Hoover's, Inc., a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet, is a business research company that has provided information on U.S. and foreign companies and industries since 1990. Since 1993, the company has made its information available on its website.-Operations:...
, Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
, National Instruments
National Instruments
National Instruments Corporation, or NI , is an American company with over 5,000 employees and direct operations in 41 countries. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software...
, Samsung Group
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Buffalo Technology, Silicon Laboratories
Silicon Laboratories
Silicon Laboratories, Inc. is a mixed signal fabless semiconductor company based in Austin, Texas.The company was founded in 1996 by three veterans from the former Crystal Semiconductor – Nav Sooch, Dave Welland and Jeff Scott . The company's CEO is Necip Sayiner. The company went public in...
, Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, Hostgator
HostGator
HostGator is a Houston-based web hosting company with an additional presence in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2002 by Brent Oxley, who was then a student at Florida Atlantic University. By 2006, HostGator had passed the 200,000 mark in registered domains. In 2008, Inc...
, and United Devices
United Devices
United Devices, Inc. was a privately held, commercial distributed computing company that focused on the use of grid computing to manage HPC infrastructures and enterprise cluster management...
. In 2010, Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
accepted a grant to build a downtown office that could bring as many as 200 jobs to the city. The proliferation of technology companies has led to the region's nickname, "the Silicon Hills", and spurred development that greatly expanded the city. The concentration of high-tech companies has led the former American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
flight between Austin and San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
to be dubbed the "nerd bird."
Austin is also emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
companies; the city is home to about 85 of them. The city was ranked by the Milken Institute as the No.12 biotech and life science center in the United States.
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
(often called just "Whole Foods") is an upscale, national grocery store chain specializing in fresh and packaged food products—many having an organic-/local-/"natural"-theme. It was founded and is headquartered in Austin.
In addition to national and global corporations, Austin features a strong network of independent, unique, locally-owned firms and organizations.
Cityscape
Buildings that make up most of Austin's skyline are modest in height and somewhat spread out. The latter characteristic is partly due to a restriction that preserves the view of the Texas State CapitolTexas State Capitol
The Texas State Capitol is located in Austin, Texas, and is the fourth building to be the house of Texas government in Austin. It houses the chambers of the Texas Legislature and the office of the governor of Texas. It was designed originally during 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, and was...
building from various locations around Austin (known as the Capitol View Corridor). However, many new highrise towers have been constructed and the downtown area is looking more modern and dense. The city's tallest building, The Austonian
The Austonian
The Austonian is a residential skyscraper in Downtown Austin, Texas. At tall with 56 floors, the building is the tallest in Austin, overtaking the 360 Condominiums. The tower is also the tallest all-residential building in the state of Texas and Texas' tallest building outside of Houston or...
, was topped out on September 17, 2009. Austin is currently undergoing a skyscraper boom, which includes recent construction on the now complete 360 Condominiums at 563 feet (172 m), Spring (condominiums),the Austonian at 683 feet (208 m), and several others that are mainly for residential use. By 2015, the Frost Bank Tower
Frost Bank Tower
The Frost Bank Tower is a skyscraper in Austin, Texas, United States. Standing 515 feet tall with 33 floors, it is the third tallest building in Austin, behind The Austonian and the 360 Condominiums. It was developed by Cousins Properties from November 2001 to December 2003 as a class A...
could be the only skyscraper built before 2005 to remain in the ten tallest buildings in the city.
At night, parts of Austin are lighted by "artificial moonlight" from Moonlight Towers
Moonlight tower
Moonlight towers are lighting structures designed to illuminate areas of a city at night.The structures were popular in the late 19th century in cities across the United States and Europe; they were most common in the 1880s-1890s...
built to illuminate the central part of the city. The 165 feet (50.3 m) moonlight towers were built in the late 19th century and are now recognized as historic landmarks. Only 15 of the 31 original innovative towers remain standing in Austin, and none remain in any of the other cities where they were installed. The towers are featured in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused
Dazed and Confused
"Dazed and Confused" is a song by Jake Holmes, which was covered by The Yardbirds, and later reworked by Led Zeppelin who hold a separate copyright on the song.-Jake Holmes:...
.
Downtown
The central business district of the city is home to some of the tallest condo towers in the state, with the Austonian CondosThe Austonian
The Austonian is a residential skyscraper in Downtown Austin, Texas. At tall with 56 floors, the building is the tallest in Austin, overtaking the 360 Condominiums. The tower is also the tallest all-residential building in the state of Texas and Texas' tallest building outside of Houston or...
topping out at 56 floors and the 360 Condos
Austin 360 Condominiums Tower
The Austin 360 Condominiums Tower is a residential skyscraper at 360 Nueces Street, Downtown Austin, Texas, United States, standing 562' 9" tall with 44 floors and has 430 homes with over 14,000 sf of retail space. The building topped out in November 2007, and construction was officially completed...
at 44 floors. The 360 Tower
Austin 360 Condominiums Tower
The Austin 360 Condominiums Tower is a residential skyscraper at 360 Nueces Street, Downtown Austin, Texas, United States, standing 562' 9" tall with 44 floors and has 430 homes with over 14,000 sf of retail space. The building topped out in November 2007, and construction was officially completed...
and the Four Seasons Condos
Four Seasons Hotel Austin
Four Seasons Hotel Austin is a part of the Toronto-based Four Seasons chain of luxury hotels and resorts. Four Seasons Hotel Austin offers Austin's only four-star restaurant, TRIO. It is located on the shores of Lady Bird Lake, a reservoir of the Colorado River in the heart of Downtown Austin,...
are condo towers in Austin, opened in early 2008. Former Mayor Will Wynn set out a goal for having up to 25,000 people living Downtown by 2015, and the city provided incentives for building residential units in the urban core. Because of this, the city has been driven to increase density in Austin's urban core. The skyline has drastically changed in recent years, and the residential real estate market has remained relatively strong.
Downtown growth has been aided by the presence of a popular live music and nightlife scene, museums, restaurants, and Lady Bird Lake, considered one of the city's best recreational spots. The 2nd Street District consists of several new residential projects, restaurants, coffee shops, record stores, upscale boutiques and museums, and the Austin City Hall. Across 2nd Street from Austin City Hall is the newly re-created TV set for the long-running PBS program Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
, which is housed beneath the new 478 feet (146 m) W Hotel
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a hospitality ownership and management organization, headquartered in White Plains, New York. One of the world's largest hotel companies, it owns, operates, franchises and manages hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties...
. The new Austin City Limits location also presents national and local live music performances unrelated to the television show such as recent performances by story-teller Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
, and music groups Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
and George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
. South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
(SXSW) is hosted downtown and is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, with more than 2,000 performers playing in more than 90 venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
s around Downtown Austin over four days, in March. Though it is an industry-based event, SXSW Music links locally with events such as the annual Austin Music Awards show. SXSW is the highest revenue-producing special event for the Austin economy, with an estimated economic impact of at least $167 million in 2010.
Demographics
According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Austin is:- WhiteWhite AmericanWhite Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
: 68.3% (Non-Hispanic WhitesNon-Hispanic WhitesNon-Hispanic Whites or White, Not Hispanic or Latino are people in the United States, as defined by the Census Bureau, who are of the White race and are not of Hispanic or Latino origin/ethnicity. Hence the designation is exclusive in the sense that it defines who is not included as opposed to who is...
): 48.7% - Hispanic or LatinoHispanic and Latino AmericansHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
: 35.1% (29.1% Mexican, 0.5% Puerto Rican, 0.4% Cuban, 5.1% Other) - African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
: 8.1% - AsianAsian AmericanAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
: 6.3% (1.9% Indian, 1.5% Chinese, 1.0% Vietnamese, 0.7% Korean, 0.3% Filipino, 0.2% Japanese, 0.8% Other) - American IndianNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
: 0.9% - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific IslanderPacific Islander AmericanPacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
: 0.1% - Two or More RacesMultiracial AmericanMultiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
: 3.4%
As of the census of 2000, there were 656,562 people, 265,649 households, and 141,590 families residing in the city (roughly comparable in size to San Francisco, USA; Leeds, UK
City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Leeds City Council, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. The metropolitan district includes Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell,...
; Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and a bit less than Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
). The population density was 2,610.4 people per square mile (1,007.9/km²). There were 276,842 housing units at an average density of 1,100.7 per square mile (425.0/km²). There were 265,648 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 105.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,689, and the median income for a family was $54,091. Males had a median income of $35,545 vs. $30,046 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,163. About 9.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. The median house price was $185,906 in 2009, and it has increased every year since 2003.
In July 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the Austin–Round Rock
Greater Austin
Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos is a five-county metropolitan area in the US state of Texas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area straddles on the eastern edge of the and is situated in Central Texas....
metropolitan area had 1,705,075 people (roughly comparable to the San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
area in the U.S.; the West Yorkshire area
West Yorkshire Urban Area
The West Yorkshire Urban Area is a term used by the Office for National Statistics to refer to a conurbation in West Yorkshire, England, based around the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, and the large town of Huddersfield...
in the U.K.; and the Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
area in France).
Arts and culture
"Keep Austin WeirdKeep Austin Weird
Keep Austin Weird is the slogan adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to promote small businesses in Austin, Texas. The phrase has long been believed to have been coined in 2000 by Red Wassenich, who says he made the comment after giving a pledge to an Austin radio station...
" has become a local motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
in recent years, featured on bumper stickers and t-shirts. This motto has not only been used in promoting Austin's eccentricity and diversity, but is also meant to bolster support of local independent businesses. According to the 2010 book, Weird City
Weird City
Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas is a non-fiction scholarly text by Joshua Long published in 2010 by University of Texas Press. The book uses the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as a central focus to discuss the social, cultural and economic changes occurring in...
, the phrase was begun by a local Austin Community College librarian, Red Wassenich, and his wife, Karen Pavelka, who were concerned about Austin's "rapid descent into commercialism and over-development." The slogan has been interpreted many ways since its inception, but remains an important symbol for many Austinites who wish to voice concerns over rapid growth and irresponsible development. Austin has a long history of vocal citizen resistance to development projects perceived to degrade the environment, or to threaten the natural and cultural landscapes.
According to the Nielsen Company, adults in Austin read and contribute to blogs more than those in any other U.S. metropolitan area. Austin residents have the highest internet usage in all of Texas. Austin was selected as the No. 2 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money
Money (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...
magazine in 2006, and No. 3 in 2009, and also the "Greenest
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
City in America" by MSN. According to Travel & Leisure magazine, Austin ranks No. 1 on the list of cities with the best people, referring to the personalities and attributes of the citizens.
SoCo
South Congress
South Congress is a neighborhood located on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, United States. It is also a nationally-known shopping and cultural district famous for its many eclectic small retailers, restaurants, music and art venues and, more recently, food trucks.South Congress begins at...
is a shopping district stretching down South Congress Avenue from Downtown. This area is home to coffee shops, eccentric stores, restaurants, food trucks, trailers and festivals. It prides itself on "Keeping Austin Weird", especially with development in the surrounding area(s).
Annual cultural events
Eeyore's Birthday Party
Eeyore's Birthday Party is a day-long festival taking place annually in Austin, Texas since 1963. It typically occurs on the last Saturday of April in Austin's Pease Park. It includes live music, food and drink vending which benefit local non-profit organizations, attendees in colorful costumes,...
, Spamarama, the Austin Reggae Festival and Art City Austin in April, East Austin Studio Tour in November, and Carnaval Brasileiro
Carnaval Brasileiro in Austin, Texas
Carnaval Brasileiro is an annual one-night festival in Austin, Texas. The next occurrence is Saturday, February 4, 2012. It is the largest indoor Brazilian Carnaval in the world.- Origin :...
in February. Sixth Street features annual festivals such as the Pecan Street Festival
Pecan Street Festival
The Pecan Street Festival is the common name for the Old Pecan Street Spring and Fall Arts Festival, a free, bi-annual juried fine art and arts and crafts festival held on 6th Street in Austin, Texas...
and Halloween night. The three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
has been held in Zilker Park
Zilker Park
Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in the heart of south Austin that comprises over of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the land to the city in 1917. It was developed into the park during the Great Depression in the 1930s...
every year since 2002. Every year around the end of March and the beginning of April, Austin is home to "Texas Relay Weekend."
Austin's Zilker Park Tree is a Christmas display made of lights strung from the top of a Moonlight tower
Moonlight tower
Moonlight towers are lighting structures designed to illuminate areas of a city at night.The structures were popular in the late 19th century in cities across the United States and Europe; they were most common in the 1880s-1890s...
in Zilker Park
Zilker Park
Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in the heart of south Austin that comprises over of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the land to the city in 1917. It was developed into the park during the Great Depression in the 1930s...
. The Zilker Tree is lit in December along with the "Trail of Lights", an Austin Christmas tradition. In 2010, the Trail of Lights was canceled due to budget problems, but the city says they hope to have finances for the trail next year.
Music
As Austin's official slogan is The Live Music Capital of the World, the city has a vibrant live music sceneMusic of Austin
The music of Austin, Texas, USA has gone beyond 6th Street and now includes other areas such as Red River, the University of Texas, the Warehouse District and Downtown, South Lamar, South Austin, East Austin and the Market District where bars and clubs of every kind can be found. Every night over...
with more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s on 6th Street and an annual film/music/interactive festival known as South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
(SXSW). The longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
, is recorded at Moody Theatre at the W Hotel in Austin, TX. Austin City Limits and C3 Presents produce the Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park
Zilker Park
Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in the heart of south Austin that comprises over of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the land to the city in 1917. It was developed into the park during the Great Depression in the 1930s...
in Austin based on the Austin City Limits television show. The festival and television show alike attract musical artists from around the world. Other music events include the Urban Music Festival, the Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest is an annual music festival held in Austin, Texas. Started in 2006, the festival brings together many progressive and underground musicians with a focus on indie rock, punk rock/hardcore, and hip hop/DJ....
, Chaos In Tejas and the Old Settlers Music Festival.
Austin Lyric Opera
Austin Lyric Opera
Austin Lyric Opera, founded in 1986, is an internationally known opera company based in Austin, Texas.It also operates the Armstrong Community Music School....
has, since its founding in 1986, provided area residents with performances of multiple operas each year (including the 2007 opening of Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
's Waiting for the Barbarians
Waiting for the Barbarians
Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born author J. M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. The novel was published in 1980. It was chosen by Penguin for its series Great Books of the 20th Century and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and...
, written by University of Texas alumnus J. M. Coetzee). Performances are held at the Long Center for the Performing Arts with outdoor performance at Zilker Hillside Theater.
The Austin Symphony Orchestra
Austin Symphony Orchestra
The Austin Symphony Orchestra is the oldest performing group in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1911, and is celebrating its centenary year in 2011....
performs a range of classical, pop and family performances and is led by Music Director and Conductor Peter Bay
Peter Bay
Peter Bay is Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra in Oregon, and Music Director of the Austin Symphony Orchestra.-Life:He graduated from the University of Maryland and the Peabody Institute....
.
Film
Austin hosts the annual Austin Film FestivalAustin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
, which draws films of many different types from all over the world. In 2004 the city was first in MovieMaker Magazine's annual top ten cities to live and make movies. The 2007 South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
(SXSW) festival included Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, Tom Morello
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
, and Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones is an American vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards.-Childhood:...
.
Austin has been the location for a number of motion pictures, partly due to the influence of The University of Texas at Austin Department of Radio-Television-Film
University of Texas at Austin College of Communication
The College of Communication is the communication college at The University of Texas at Austin. The College was established in 1965 in an effort to consolidate the all Communication Studies under one roof including the Department of Public Speaking , School of Journalism , and independent...
. Films produced in Austin include Man of the House
Man of the House (2005 comedy film)
Man of the House is a 2005 crime comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by John J. McLaughlin and Scott Lobdell, and starring Tommy Lee Jones. The main plot revolves around Lt...
, Secondhand Lions
Secondhand Lions
Secondhand Lions is a 2003 American dramedy film written and directed by Tim McCanlies. It tells the story of an introverted young boy who is sent to live with his eccentric uncles on a farm in the U.S...
, Waking Life
Waking Life
Waking Life is an American animated film , directed by Richard Linklater and released in 2001. The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.The film focuses on the nature of dreams, consciousness, and...
, Spy Kids
Spy Kids
The Spy Kids series is a series of family action adventure films written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The main plot follows the adventures of two Cortez children who become involved in their parents' espionage. The rest of their family are spies as well, including their estranged...
, Dazed and Confused
Dazed and Confused
"Dazed and Confused" is a song by Jake Holmes, which was covered by The Yardbirds, and later reworked by Led Zeppelin who hold a separate copyright on the song.-Jake Holmes:...
, Office Space
Office Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
, The Life of David Gale
The Life of David Gale
The Life of David Gale is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alan Parker and written by Charles Randolph.Kevin Spacey stars as the eponymous character, a college Professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent...
, Miss Congeniality, Doubting Thomas
Doubting Thomas
A Doubting Thomas is someone who will refuse to believe something without direct, physical, personal evidence; a skeptic.-Origin:The term is based on the Biblical account of Thomas the Apostle, a disciple of Jesus who doubted Jesus' resurrection and demanded to feel Jesus' wounds before being...
, Slacker
Slacker (film)
Slacker is an American independent film written and directed by Richard Linklater, who also appears in the film. Slacker was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991.-Plot summary:...
, Idiocracy
Idiocracy
Idiocracy is a 2006 American film, a satirical science fiction comedy, directed by Mike Judge and starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, and Terry Crews....
, The New Guy
The New Guy
The New Guy is a 2002 American teen comedy directed by Ed Decter. The film tells the story of high school loser Dizzy Gillespie Harrison. Dizzy is an unpopular, high school band geek going through a hellish senior year...
, Hope Floats
Hope Floats
Hope Floats is a 1998 American romantic drama film directed by Forest Whitaker, and starring Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick, Jr. and Gena Rowlands....
, The Alamo
The Alamo (2004 film)
The Alamo is a 2004 American war film about the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. The film was directed by Texan John Lee Hancock, produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Mark Johnson, and distributed by Touchstone Pictures....
, Blank Check
Blank Check (film)
Blank Check is a 1994 film directed by Rupert Wainwright, starring Brian Bonsall, Karen Duffy, Miguel Ferrer, Tone Lōc, Michael Lerner and James Rebhorn and released by Walt Disney Pictures.-Plot:...
, The Wendall Baker Story, School of Rock
School of Rock
School of Rock, also called The School of Rock, is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black...
, A Slipping-Down Life
A Slipping-Down Life
A Slipping-Down Life is a 1999 romantic drama film directed by Toni Kalem. Based on a novel by Anne Tyler, it stars Lili Taylor and Guy Pearce.-Plot:...
, A Scanner Darkly
A Scanner Darkly (film)
A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 science fiction thriller directed by Richard Linklater based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick. The film tells the story of identity and deception in a near-future dystopia constantly under intrusive high-technology police surveillance in the midst of a drug...
, and most recently, the Coen Brothers' True Grit
True Grit (2010 film)
True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....
, Grindhouse, Machete
Machete (film)
Machete is a 2010 action film directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis. The "Machete" character originates from the 2001 Spy Kids film, written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. This film is an expansion of a fake trailer that was released together with Rodriguez's and Quentin Tarantino's...
, How To Eat Fried Worms
How to Eat Fried Worms (film)
How to Eat Fried Worms is a 2006 American film based on the 1973 children's book of the same name by Thomas Rockwell. It was produced by New Line Cinema with Walden Media. Development began in 1998 and theatrical release for the U.S. and Canada was August 25, 2006. The DVD for the film was released...
and Bandslam. In order to draw future film projects to the area, the Austin Film Society
Austin Film Society
The Austin Film Society is a non-profit film society based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1985 to exhibit independent, experimental, foreign and various other non-mainstream art films, the film society has grown from just film exhibition to fostering independent filmmaking in Texas and has served as...
has converted several airplane hangars from the former Mueller Airport into filmmaking center Austin Studios. Projects that have used facilities at Austin Studios include music videos by The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
and feature films such as 25th Hour
25th Hour
25th Hour is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and is based on the novel The 25th Hour written by David Benioff, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox...
and Sin City
Sin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
. Austin also hosted the MTV series, The Real World: Austin
The Real World: Austin
The Real World: Austin is the sixteenth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. The Real World: Austin...
in 2005. The film review websites Spill.com
Spill.com
Spill.com is an award-winning video game and movie review, discussion, and news website created by cartoonist and animator Korey Coleman. It is the continuation of the 9 year old Austin, Texas based Public-access television cable TV show called The Reel Deal...
and Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
are based in Austin. Rooster Teeth Productions
Rooster Teeth Productions
Rooster Teeth Productions is a production group from Austin, Texas that specializes in the creation of live action shorts, animated peices and machinima, or films created using real-time, interactive engines from computer and video games. The name Rooster Teeth is a euphemism for Cockbite, an...
, creator of popular web series such as Red vs. Blue
Red vs. Blue
Red vs. Blue, often abbreviated as RvB, is a set of related comic science fiction video series created by Rooster Teeth Productions and distributed through the Internet and on DVD...
, is also located on Austin.
Media
Austin's main daily newspaper is the Austin American-StatesmanAustin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
. The Austin Chronicle is Austin's alternative weekly
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
, while The Daily Texan
The Daily Texan
The Daily Texan is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is entirely student-run and independent from the university. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States with a daily circulation of roughly 30,000 during the fall and spring semesters and bills...
is the student newspaper of the University of Texas. Austin's business newspaper is the weekly Austin Business Journal. Austin also has numerous smaller special interest or sub-regional newspapers such as the Oak Hill Gazette
Oak Hill Gazette
Oak Hill Gazette is a weekly tabloid newspaper serving the Oak Hill area of southwest Austin, Texas since 1995. The Gazette is published every Wednesday and has a circulation that varies from 5,000 to 6,500...
, Westlake Picayune, Hill Country News, Round Rock Leader, NOKOA, and The Villager among others. Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
, a major regional magazine, is also headquartered in Austin. The Texas Observer, a muckraking biweekly political magazine, has been based in Austin for over five decades. The most recent newspaper entrant is the weekly Community Impact Newspaper
Community Impact Newspaper
-History:In September 2005, , published by JG Media, Inc. launched its first edition in Pflugerville/Round Rock, Texas. There were three full time employees including the publisher, John Garrett, and the company officed out of the game room in John’s house...
newspaper published by John Garrett, former publisher of the Austin Business Journal. Community Impact has five regional editions and is delivered to every house and business within certain zip codes and all of the news is specific to those zip codes. The local PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
station KLRU
KLRU
KLRU is the local Public Broadcasting Service member public television station in Austin, Texas, in the United States of America.-History:...
produces several award winning locally produced programs. KUT
Kut
Al-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
is the leading public radio
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
station in Texas and produces the majority of its content locally. KOOP (FM) is a volunteer-run radio station with more than 60 locally produced programs. KVRX is the student-run college radio station of the University of Texas with a focus on local and non-mainstream music and community programming. Network television stations (affiliations in parentheses) include KTBC
KTBC
KTBC, channel 7, is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in Austin, Texas. Studios are located in downtown Austin at the corner of 10th and Brazos Streets , and its transmitter is located in the city....
(Fox), KVUE
KVUE
KVUE, virtual channel 24 , is the local Austin, Texas-based ABC affiliate, owned by Belo Corporation. Its transmitter is located in West Lake Hills, just west of Downtown...
(ABC), KXAN (NBC), KEYE-TV
KEYE-TV
KEYE-TV, digital channel 43 , is the CBS affiliate in Austin, Texas. It is owned by the Four Points Media Group, LLC Sinclair Broadcasting Group has announced a purchase of the the Four Points stations, and has begun operating KEYE-TV through a local service agreement in anticipation of FCC...
(CBS), KLRU
KLRU
KLRU is the local Public Broadcasting Service member public television station in Austin, Texas, in the United States of America.-History:...
(PBS), KNVA
KNVA
KNVA is the CW-affiliated television station for Austin, Texas. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 49 from a transmitter in the West Austin Antenna Farm north of West Lake Hills. Owned by 54 Broadcasting, the station is operated by the LIN TV Corporation through a local...
(The CW), KBVO
KBVO
KBVO is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Austin, Texas that is licensed to Llano. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter eight miles southeast of the city near the intersection of TX 71 and Llano County Road 307...
(My Network TV), and KAKW (Univision). Also, subscribers to Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
receive a 24-hour local news station, News 8 Austin
News 8 Austin
YNN Austin is a 24-hour local cable news television channel based in Austin, Texas, owned by Time Warner Cable. Launched on September 13, 1999 as News 8 Austin it is available only to subscribers of Time Warner Cable's Central Texas Division, which includes Austin, San Marcos, Round Rock, Temple,...
. In some parts of Austin, Time Warner has cable competition from Grande Communications.
The most recent entrant on the Austin news scene is The Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit news organization headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas, devoted to state government and public policy. It aims to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events...
, an on-line publication focused on Texas and Austin politics. The Tribune is "user-supported" through donations, a business model similar to public radio. The Editor is Evan Smith
Evan Smith
Evan Smith is the CEO and editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune.Born in New York, Smith has a bachelor's degree in public policy from Hamilton College and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University...
, former Editor of Texas Monthly. Smith co-founded the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non-partisan public media organization, with Austin venture capitalist John Thornton and veteran journalist Ross Ramsey.
Theater
Austin has a strong theater culture, with dozens of itinerant and resident companies producing a variety of work. The city also has live performance theater venues such as the Zachary ScottZachary Scott
Zachary Scott was an American actor, most notable for his roles as villains and "mystery men".-Life and career:...
Theatre Center, Vortex Repertory Company, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Rude Mechanicals' the Off Center, Austin Playhouse, Scottish Rite Children's Theater, Hyde Park Theatre
Hyde Park Theatre
Founded in 1992, Hyde Park Theatre is an arts centers in Austin, Texas, that has produced over 50 world and regional premieres. In addition to a mainstage season, HPT curates the largest performance festival in the Southwest, FronteraFest.The quality of their work has been acknowledged by 46...
, the Blue Theater, the Hideout Theater, and Esther's Follies
Esther's Follies
Esther's Follies is a modern day vaudeville theatre located on 6th Street in downtown Austin, Texas. The group is named after actress Esther Williams. Acts incorporate magic, juggling, singing, dancing, and sketches on current events...
. The Victory Grill
Victory Grill
Victory Grill is a historic music venue located at 1104 E. 11th St, Austin, Texas. The nightclub was on the Chitlin' Circuit and hosted famous African American acts such as Bobby Bland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, W. C. Clark and B. B. King when Austin was legally segregated...
was a renowned venue on the Chitlin' circuit
Chitlin' circuit
The "Chitlin' Circuit" was the collective name given to the string of performance venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that were safe and acceptable for African-American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers to perform during the age of racial segregation in the United...
. Public art and performances in the parks and on bridges are popular. Austin hosts the Fuse Box Festival each April featuring international, leading-edge theater artists.
The Paramount Theatre
The Paramount Theatre (Austin, Texas)
The Paramount Theatre is a live theatre venue/movie theatre located in downtown Austin, Texas in the United States of America. The classical revival style structure was built in 1915...
, opened in downtown Austin in 1915, contributes to Austin's theater and film culture, showing classic films throughout the summer and hosting regional premieres for films such as Miss Congeniality. The Zilker Park
Zilker Park
Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in the heart of south Austin that comprises over of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the land to the city in 1917. It was developed into the park during the Great Depression in the 1930s...
Summer Musical is a long-running outdoor musical.
The Long Center for the Performing Arts is a 2,300 seat theater built partly with recycled materials from the old Lester E. Palmer Auditorium.
Ballet Austin
Ballet Austin
Ballet Austin is one of the largest classical ballet academies in the country. Each year the Ballet Austin company performs ballets from a wide variety of choreographers, including Stephen Mills....
is the fourth largest ballet academy in the country. Each year Ballet Austin's twenty member professional company performs ballets from a wide variety of choreographers, including their international award winning artistic director, Stephen Mills
Stephen Mills
Under the artistic leadership of Stephen Mills, Ballet Austin has emerged as one of the nation's premiere developing ballet organizations. In his inaugural season as artistic director he attracted attention from around the United States with his world-premiere production of Hamlet, hailed in Dance...
. The city is also home to the Ballet East Dance Company
Ballet East Dance Company
The Ballet East Dance Company is an American modern dance company located in Austin, Texas. Founded by Rodolfo Mendez in 1978, the company presents at least eight staged productions during an annual season. The company often works with nationally recognized choreographers in addition to working...
, a modern dance ensemble, and the Tapestry Dance Company
Tapestry Dance Company
The Tapestry Dance Company is a professional non-profit dance company in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1989, the company performs repertoire from a variety of dance genres and often blends different types of dance within their choreography...
which performs a variety of dance genres.
The Austin improv
Austin improv
Austin Improv is improvisational theater in Austin, Texas.-History:In 1990, the main comedy venues—which also hosted improv—were the Laff Stop and the Velveeta Room. The Laff Stop was home to the Laff Staff, which was under the direction of Chris Bonno, while the Velveeta Room featured the Cheese...
comedy scene has several theaters: ColdTowne Theater, The Hideout Theater, The New Movement Theater
The New Movement
The New Movement is a comedy theater and training center in Austin, Texas focusing on long form improv and sketch comedy writing. The theater is owned and operated by Chris Trew and Tami Nelson. The theater opened for classes in February 2009 and began running shows on January 13th 2010. The...
, and Salvage Vanguard Theater. Austin also hosts the annual Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, which draws comedic artists in all disciplines to Austin. In 2010, Out of Bounds hosted over 400 U.S. and international improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy artists over 7 days in 7 different venues.
Entrepreneurship
Austin has an emerging entrepreneurial scene which supports multiple paths, including craft, bootstrap and funding-driven. The scene comes together every March at RISE Austin, an annual week-long conference around the city. Known as the "Silicon Hills", Austin's early technical entrepreneurialism fostered Dell Computer; as well as AMD, IBM, and Motorola. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/03/04/tech/main33615.shtml?source=search_story Conversely, part of Austin's charm has been the unique enterprises by artists and poets since the late 1970s. Mexic-Arte MuseumMexic-Arte Museum
Mexic-Arte Museum is a fine arts museum in Austin, Texas founded in 1983 by Sylvia Orozco of Cuero, Texas and Pio Pulido of Mexico. The Museum was begun to educate and promote traditional and contemporary Mexican and Latino art throughout the state of Texas by providing cultural...
downtown, is one example started by a group of painters and sculptors from Mexico. Poet Hedwig Gorski
Hedwig Gorski
Dr. Hedwig Gorski is an American performance poet and an avant-garde artist who labels her aesthetic as American Futurism...
invented the widespread term "pet sitting" in the early 1980s to describe one of the original in-home animal care services, Hyde Park Pet Sitting. A major entrepreneural landmark, The Armadillo World Headquarters
Armadillo World Headquarters
The Armadillo World Headquarters was the premier music hall and entertainment center in Austin, Texas, United States from 1970 to 1980.-History:...
, presented national musical rock and country acts as well as regional bands like Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
and Roky Erikson in the 1970s helping to build the city's reputation as a music capitol. The current scene has been featured in BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine (twice, and a THIRD time), GigaOm, Time, ABJ Entrepreneur, Kiplinger and CNN.
W
Sports
Major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada
The major professional sports leagues, or simply major leagues, in the United States and Canada are the highest professional competitions in team sports...
. Many Austinites support the University of Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorn Athletics
Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns , taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the...
' sports programs. The University of Texas football and baseball teams each won their respective national championships
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
during the 2005–2006 seasons. The Texas Longhorns play home games in the state's second-largest sports stadium, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, seating over 101,000 fans. Baseball games are played at UFCU Disch–Falk Field which underwent renovation in 1996 with an increased capacity to 6,756 seats plus 11 stadium suites.
Minor-league professional sports came to Austin in 1996, when the Austin Ice Bats
Austin Ice Bats
The Austin Ice Bats were a professional minor-league ice hockey team based in Austin, Texas, United States. They played in Austin from 1996 to 2008. Affiliated with the Central Hockey League, the team was named in honor of the Mexican Free-tailed Bats which nest under the Ann W. Richards Congress...
began playing at the Travis County Expo Center. Since then, the Austin Ice Bats have been replaced by the Texas Stars
Texas Stars
The Texas Stars are an American Hockey League team. They play in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin.The team is the top affiliate of the NHL Dallas Stars. In April 2008, the Iowa Stars announced that they would no longer affiliate with the Dallas Stars, and changed the team's name to Chops for the...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, and many other teams have come to Austin including the http://www.nba.com/dleague/austin/Austin Toros
Austin Toros
The Austin Toros are a NBA Development League minor league basketball team based in Cedar Park, Texas, United States.The team plays home games at Cedar Park Center.Their logo is the design of a bull and basketball with the state of Texas in the background...
] of the NBA Development League
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...
, and the Texas Stars
Texas Stars
The Texas Stars are an American Hockey League team. They play in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin.The team is the top affiliate of the NHL Dallas Stars. In April 2008, the Iowa Stars announced that they would no longer affiliate with the Dallas Stars, and changed the team's name to Chops for the...
. Austin is home to the 2010 U.S. Youth Soccer U19 Girls National Champion club Lonestar Soccer Club
Lonestar Soccer Club
Lonestar Soccer Club is a youth soccer club, based in Austin, Texas, with teams competing in the USSF , Elite Clubs National League RIII Premier League, SCL, Division I, Super II, Division II, Division III, & Division IV...
.
| Club | Sport | Founded | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round Rock Express Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express is a class Triple-A Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team in Round Rock, Texas, owned by RSR Sports and founded by Reid Ryan, son of Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. The team is affiliated with the Texas Rangers, for whom Nolan Ryan serves as the president and... |
Baseball | 1999 | Pacific Coast League Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The... |
Dell Diamond Dell Diamond The Dell Diamond is the home stadium of the Round Rock Express, the AAA minor league baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers major league baseball team... |
| Austin Outlaws Austin Outlaws The Austin Outlaws are a women's football team in the Women's Football Alliance. They are based in Austin, Texas. Home games are played at Chaparral Stadium on the campus of Westlake High School.... |
Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by... |
2003 | National Women's Football Association National Women's Football Association The National Women's Football Association was a full-contact American football league for women headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The league was founded by Catherine Masters in 2000, as the two benchmark teams, the Alabama Renegades and the Nashville Dream played each other six times in... |
House Park House Park House Park is a 6,000-6,500 seat American football stadium in Austin, Texas that is owned and operated by the Austin Independent School District.... |
| Austin Toros Austin Toros The Austin Toros are a NBA Development League minor league basketball team based in Cedar Park, Texas, United States.The team plays home games at Cedar Park Center.Their logo is the design of a bull and basketball with the state of Texas in the background... |
Basketball | 2005 | NBA D-League NBA Development League The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001... |
Cedar Park Center |
| Texas Stars Texas Stars The Texas Stars are an American Hockey League team. They play in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin.The team is the top affiliate of the NHL Dallas Stars. In April 2008, the Iowa Stars announced that they would no longer affiliate with the Dallas Stars, and changed the team's name to Chops for the... |
Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take... |
2009 | American Hockey League American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
Cedar Park Center |
| Austin Gamebreakers |
Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by... |
1998 | North American Football League | Yellow Jacket Stadium |
Natural features like the bicycle-friendly Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
, limestone rock formations, and generally mild climate work with the centrally located Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, and local pools like Barton Springs
Barton Springs
Barton Springs is a set of four natural water springs located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas resulting from water flowing through the Edwards Aquifer. The largest spring, Main Barton Spring supplies water to Barton Springs Pool, a popular recreational destination in Austin...
to make Austin the home of several endurance and multi-sport races and communities. The Capitol 10,000 is the largest race in Texas, and approximately fifth largest in the United States. The Austin Marathon
Austin Marathon
The Austin Marathon is an annual marathon held in Austin, Texas. Freescale Semiconductor, spun off from Motorola's semiconductor products sector in 2006, founded the marathon in 1991 and served as title sponsor for fifteen years. The marathon was sponsored by AT&T in 2007 and 2008, but ran with no...
has been run in the city every year since 1992. The Austin-founded American Swimming Association hosts an open water swimming event, the Cap 2 K, and other closed-course, open water, and cable swim races around town. Austin is also the hometown of several cycling groups and the seven-time Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
, as well as environmentally and economically minded bicycle commuters. Combining these three disciplines is a growing crop of triathlons, including the Capital of Texas Triathlon held every Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
on and around Lady Bird Lake, Auditorium Shores
Auditorium Shores
Auditorium Shores is a public park located on Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas....
, and Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, 11th Street and sometimes Martin Luther King, Jr...
.
In June 2010 it was announced by the Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
that the Austin area would host the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, United States Grand Prix
United States Grand Prix
The United States Grand Prix is a motor race which has been run on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The race later became part of the Formula One World Championship. Over 41 editions, the race has been held at nine locations, most recently in 2007 at the...
, from 2012 until 2021. The effort was aided by State Comptroller
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is an executive branch position created by the Texas Constitution. As with nearly every other executive branch head, the Comptroller is popularly elected every four years concurrently with the Governor and the other elected executive branch positions...
Susan Combs. The state has pledged to put up $25 million in public funds annually for 10 years to pay the sanctioning fees for the race. The event was last held in 2007
2007 Formula One season
The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the...
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
. A Formula One circuit will need to be built at an estimated cost of $250 to $300 million, paid for by private investors, and is expected to be located just east of the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The Austin investor group is headed by Tavo Hellmund
Tavo Hellmund
Tavo Hellmund is an American former racing driver and promoter, who is promoting the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas with the first race in 2012....
, President of Full Throttle Productions, LP. Hellmund, of Austin, is himself a former race car owner and driver. Circuit of the Americas will also play host to MotoGP World Championships from 2013.
Museums and other points of interest
Museums in Austin include the Texas Memorial MuseumTexas Memorial Museum
The Texas Memorial Museum is the main exhibit hall of the Texas Natural Science Center at the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas, USA....
, the Blanton Museum of Art
Blanton Museum of Art
The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art is the art museum and research center of the University of Texas at Austin. Formerly under the College of Fine Arts, the museum director now reports to the University's...
(reopened in 2006), the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, is a history museum in Austin, Texas. The museum is a division of the Texas State Preservation Board. Its stated mission is to tell "the Story of Texas."...
across the street (which opened in 2000), the Austin Museum of Art
Austin Museum of Art
The Austin Museum of Art is Austin, Texas's primary community art museum, since it was established in 1961 as Laguna Gloria Art Museum. The museums roots date to 1943, when Clara Driscoll donated her 1916 lakeside estate in west Austin to be used "as a museum to bring pleasure in the appreciation...
(AMOA), and the galleries at the Harry Ransom Center. The Texas State Capitol
Texas State Capitol
The Texas State Capitol is located in Austin, Texas, and is the fourth building to be the house of Texas government in Austin. It houses the chambers of the Texas Legislature and the office of the governor of Texas. It was designed originally during 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, and was...
itself is also a major tourist attraction. The Driskill Hotel
Driskill Hotel
The Driskill Hotel, a Romanesque style building completed in 1886, is the oldest operating hotel in Austin, Texas, USA, and one of the best-known hotels in Texas generally. The Driskill was conceived and built by Col. Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his fortune constructing "the finest hotel...
built in 1886, and located at 6th and Brazos, was finished just before the construction of the Capitol building. Sixth Street is a musical hub for the city. The Enchanted Forest, a multi-acre outdoor music, art, and performance art space in South Austin hosts events such as fire-dancing and circus-like-acts. Austin is also home to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum is one of 13 presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, including the papers of Lyndon Baines Johnson and those of his close associates and others...
, which houses documents and artifacts related to the Johnson administration, including LBJ's limousine and a recreation of the Oval Office.
Locally produced art is featured at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture
South Austin Museum of Popular Culture
The South Austin Museum of Popular Culture is a Texas 501 nonprofit organisation dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting art and memorabilia that reflect Austin's eclectic contributions to popular culture worldwide....
. The Mexic-Arte Museum
Mexic-Arte Museum
Mexic-Arte Museum is a fine arts museum in Austin, Texas founded in 1983 by Sylvia Orozco of Cuero, Texas and Pio Pulido of Mexico. The Museum was begun to educate and promote traditional and contemporary Mexican and Latino art throughout the state of Texas by providing cultural...
is a Latin American art
Latin American art
Latin American art is the combined artistic expressions of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, as well as Latin American living in other regions....
museum founded in 1983. Austin is also home to the O. Henry House Museum, residence of O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
in 1891. Farmers markets are popular attractions, providing a variety of locally grown and often organic goods.
Austin is also "weird" for its many statues and landmarks, such as the Hyde Park Bar & Grill fork, the Mangia dinosaur, the Loca Maria lady at Taco Xpress on South Lamar, the 'migrating' pink flamingos on the lawn in front of the Pots and Plants Garden Center, the Hyde Park Gym's giant flexed arm, and Daniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
's Hi, how are you? frog mural.
Austinites often start tours for visitors with a pilgrimage to the statue of Texas blues
Texas blues
Texas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
on the south shore of Town Lake. The statue's 'shadow' is longer than its height, to symbolize Vaughan's wide influence on electric guitarists.
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Before the construction of Longhorn Dam was completed in 1960, the bridge crossed the Colorado River from which Lady Bird Lake is impounded...
houses the world's largest urban population of Mexican Free-tailed Bat
Mexican Free-tailed Bat
The Mexican free-tailed bat , also known as the Brazilian free-tailed bat, is a medium-sized bat that is native to the Americas and is widely regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America...
s. Starting in March, up to 1.5 million bats take up residence inside the bridge's expansion and contraction zones as well as in long horizontal grooves running the length of the bridge's underside, an environment ideally suited for raising their young. Every evening around sunset, the bats emerge in search of insects, an exit visible on weather radar. Watching the bat emergence is an event that is popular with locals and tourists, with more than 100,000 viewers per year. The bats migrate to Mexico each winter.
The Austin Zoo
Austin Zoo
Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary is a non-profit rescue zoo and animal sanctuary located at 10808 Rawhide Trail in southwestern unincorporated Travis County, Texas, United States, west of Austin....
, located in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
western Travis County
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
is a rescue zoo that provides sanctuary to displaced animals from a variety of situations, including those involving neglect.
Parks and recreation
National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association provides information and services to communities in the United States attempting to make them conscious of the environment around them. It supports the construction of parks and recreational facilities around the United States...
. Home to more than 50 public swimming pools, Austin has parks and pools throughout the city. There are several well-known swimming locations. These include Deep Eddy Pool
Deep Eddy Pool
Deep Eddy Pool is a historic, man-made swimming pool in Austin, Texas. Deep Eddy is the oldest swimming pool in Texas and features a bathhouse built during the Depression era by the Works Progress Administration...
, Texas' oldest man-made swimming pool, and Barton Springs Pool
Barton Springs Pool
Barton Springs Pool is a man-made recreational swimming pool located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The pool exists in the channel of Barton Creek and is filled by water from Main Barton Spring, the fourth largest spring in Texas...
, the nation's largest natural swimming pool in an urban area. Barton Springs Pool is spring-fed while Deep Eddy is well-fed. Both range in temperature from about 68 °F (20 °C) during the winter to about 71.6 °F (22 °C) during the summer. Hippie Hollow Park
Hippie Hollow Park
Hippie Hollow Park is a park located on the shore of Lake Travis in northwest Austin . It is the only legally recognized clothing-optional public park in the State of Texas. Though the land is owned by the Lower Colorado River Authority, it is leased to Travis County, whose Parks Department has...
, a county park situated along Lake Travis, is the only officially sanctioned clothing-optional public park in Texas. Activities include rockclimbing, kayaking, swimming, exploring, and hiking along the greenbelt, a long-spanning area that runs through the city. Zilker Park, a large green area close to downtown, forms part of the greenbelt along the Colorado River. Hamilton Pool is a pool and wildlife park located about 30 minutes from the city.
Transportation
Of all the people who work in Austin, 73% drive alone, 10% carpool, 6% work from home, 5% take the bus, 2% walk, and 1% bicycle.Highways
Interstate 35 in Texas
Interstate 35 in Texas is a major north–south Interstate Highway running from Laredo near the United States-Mexico border to the Red River north of Gainesville where it crosses into Oklahoma. Along its route, it passes through the cities of San Antonio, Austin, and Waco before it splits into two...
to the east and the Mopac Expressway (Loop 1)
State Highway Loop 1 (Texas)
Loop 1 is a controlled-access highway which provides access to the west side of Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. It is named Mopac Expressway after the Missouri Pacific Railroad...
to the west. U.S. Highway 183 runs from northwest to southeast, and State Highway 71
State Highway 71 (Texas)
State Highway 71 or SH 71 is a Texas state highway that runs . The northern terminus is at US 87 and US 377 south of Brady and its southern terminus is at SH 35 near Blessing. This highway is designated the "10th Mountain Division Highway" from SH 95 to Interstate 35.Through Austin, SH 71 is known...
crosses the southern part of the city from east to west, completing a rough "box" around the central and north-central city. Austin is the largest city in the United States to be served by only one Interstate Highway.
U.S. Highway 290 enters Austin from the east and merges into I-35. Its highway designation continues south on I-35 and then becomes part of Highway 71, continuing on to the west. Highway 290 becomes its own road again southwest of the city, when it splits from Highway 71 in a busy interchange in Oak Hill known as "The Y." Highway 71 continues as far west as Brady, Texas
Brady, Texas
Brady is a city in McCulloch County, Texas, United States. Brady refers to itself as "The Heart of Texas", as it is the closest city to the geographical center of the state. The population was 5,523 at the 2000 census...
, and Highway 290 continues west to intersect Interstate 10
Interstate 10 in Texas
Interstate 10 is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. In the U.S. state of Texas, it runs east from El Paso, near the border with New Mexico, through San Antonio and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange, Texas....
near Junction. Interstate 35 continues south through San Antonio, and continues to its culmination at Laredo, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, which is on the Texas-Mexico border. Interstate 35 is the highway link to the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex in northern Texas. There are two links to Houston, Texas (Highway 290 and State Highway 71/Interstate 10). Highway 183 leads northwest of Austin and is a route with other major highways to such cities as Abilene, San Angelo, Lubbock, Amarillo, Albuquerque and Denver.
In the mid-1980s, Austin completed construction on Loop 360
State Highway Loop 360 (Texas)
Loop 360 is a loop route in Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. Loop 360 is a scenic highway winding through the hills of West Austin. The road is described by the Texas Department of Transportation as "a 4-lane depressed median arterial with at-grade signalized intersections." In 2001, the...
, a scenic highway that curves through the hill country from near the 71/Mopac interchange in the south to near the 183/Mopac interchange in the north. The iconic Pennybacker Bridge
Pennybacker Bridge
The Pennybacker Bridge in Austin, Texas bridges Lake Austin to connect north and south Loop 360 highway, also known as the "Capital of Texas Highway." The road is widely considered one of the most scenic urban drives in central Texas, in large part due to this arched weathering steel bridge and...
, also known as the "360 Bridge", crosses Lake Austin
Lake Austin
Lake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority....
to connect north and south Loop 360.
Tollways
State Highway 130 (Texas)
State Highway 130, also known as SH 130 and Pickle Parkway, is a tollway from Interstate 35 in Georgetown to US 183 and SH 45 at Mustang Ridge in Central Texas. Portions south of Mustang Ridge are now under construction [As of 7/2010]. When completed, SH 130 will run in a corridor east and...
runs from just south of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Interstate 35 just north of Georgetown
Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown is a city and also the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States with a population of 47,400 at the 2010 census. Southwestern University, founded in 1840, is the oldest university in Texas and is located in Georgetown, about 1/2 mile east of the historic square...
. Highway 130 connects with Highway 45 in Pflugerville, Texas. The project, when completed, will end at Interstate 10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
just east of Seguin
Seguin, Texas
Seguin is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,011; the July 1, 2009 Census estimate, however, showed the population had increased to 26,842...
, about 30 miles (48.3 km) east-northeast of San Antonio.
State Highway 45
State Highway 45 (Texas)
State Highway 45 is a highway loop around Austin, Texas that exists in two open segments. The official designation of SH 45 is such to form a complete loop around Austin, a distance of roughly ....
runs east-west from just west of Highway 183 in Cedar Park
Cedar Park, Texas
Cedar Park is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population is 48,937. The city is a major suburb of Austin, the center of which is approximately to the southeast, although Austin directly borders Cedar Park at the latter's...
to 130 inside Pflugerville
Pflugerville, Texas
Pflugerville is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,335 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 39,653...
(just east of Round Rock). The project also included a tolled extension to Mopac that allows direct access to I-35. A new southeast leg of Highway 45 has recently been completed, connecting US 183 and the current south end of TX-130 to I-35 at the FM 1327/Creedmoor exit near the south end of Austin and close to the town of Buda's
Buda, Texas
Buda is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,404 at the 2000 census. City leaders estimated the population exceeded 5,100 in 2008 and the official 2009 Census Bureau estimate showed the population had increased to 7,784 as of July 1, 2009. The 2010 US Census listed...
northernmost interchange. The 183A Toll Road opened March 2007, providing a tolled alternative to 183 through the cities of Leander
Leander, Texas
Leander is a city in Williamson and Travis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 7,596 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimates the population is now 25,424...
and Cedar Park
Cedar Park, Texas
Cedar Park is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population is 48,937. The city is a major suburb of Austin, the center of which is approximately to the southeast, although Austin directly borders Cedar Park at the latter's...
.
Despite the overwhelming initial opposition to the toll road concept when it was first announced, all three toll roads have improved mobility in and around the Austin area and are significantly exceeding their revenue projections.
Airports
Austin's airport is Austin-Bergstrom International AirportAustin-Bergstrom International Airport
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is a mixed-use commercial airport located southeast of the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. It covers and has two runways and three helipads.The airport began passenger service on May 23, 1999...
(ABIA) (IATA code AUS), located 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the city. The airport is on the site of the former Bergstrom Air Force Base
Bergstrom Air Force Base
Bergstrom Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located seven miles southeast of downtown Austin, Texas. It was activated during World War II as a troop carrier training airfield, and was a front-line Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War...
, which was closed in 1993 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
process. Previously, Robert Mueller Municipal Airport
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport served the Austin, Texas, United States, area until it was replaced by the Austin Bergstrom International Airport and subsequently closed in 1999...
was the commercial airport of Austin.
Intercity bus service
Greyhound LinesGreyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
operates the Austin Station at 916 East Koenig Lane, just east of Airport Boulevard and adjacent to Highland Mall
Highland Mall
Highland Mall, is a shopping mall located in north Austin, Texas, on Airport Boulevard west of I-35 and north of US Route 290. Opened in 1971, Highland Mall was Austin's first suburban shopping mall...
. Turimex Internacional operates bus service from Austin to Nuevo Laredo and on to many destinations in Mexico. The Turimex station is located at 5012 East 7th Street, near Shady Lane.
Public transportation
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) provides public transportation to the city, primarily by bus. Capital Metro is planning to change some routes to "Rapid Lines". The lines will feature 60 ft (18.3 m) long, train-like high-tech buses. This addition is going to be implemented to help reduce congestion. Capital Metro opened a 32 miles (51.5 km) commuter railRegional rail
Commuter rail, also called suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates between a city center, and the middle to outer suburbs beyond 15km and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of commuters—people who travel on a daily basis...
system known as Capital MetroRail
Capital MetroRail
Capital MetroRail is a commuter rail system that serves the Greater Austin, Texas, area and which is owned by the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Red Line, Capital Metro's first and only rail line, connects Downtown Austin with Austin's northern suburbs. The line operates on 32...
on March 22, 2010. The system was built on existing freight rail lines and will serve downtown Austin, East Austin, North Central Austin, Northwest Austin, and Leander in its first phase. Future expansion could include a line to Manor and another to Round Rock. Capital Metro is also looking into a circulator system of streetcars to connect most of Downtown, the University of Texas, and the 700 acres (2.8 km²) Mueller Airport Redevelopment
Mueller Community
The Mueller Community is a Planned Unit Development in the northeast central portion of the city of Austin, Texas, USA. The project is being developed on the former site of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, which was closed in 1999 upon the opening of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport...
. The streetcar system would help connect the new rail line to key destinations in Central Austin. An Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
Texas Eagle
Texas Eagle
The Texas Eagle is a 1306-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the central and western United States. Trains run daily between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, and continue to Los Angeles, California, 2728 miles total, three days a week...
station
Austin (Amtrak station)
The Austin Amtrak station is located in the former station of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, just west of downtown Austin, Texas, United States...
is located west of downtown. Segments of the Amtrak route between Austin and San Antonio are under evaluation for a future passenger rail corridor as an alternative to the traffic congestion of Interstate 35. Austin is known as the most bike-friendly city in Texas and has a Silver-level rating from the League of American Bicyclists
League of American Bicyclists
The League of American Bicyclists is a non-profit membership organization which promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education....
. Austin is also home to Car2Go
Car2Go
Car2Go is a subsidiary of Daimler AG that provides carsharing services in several cities in Europe and North America. In November 2011 the world's first all-electric carsharing network was launched in San Diego, California, with a fleet of 300 Smart EDs...
, a carsharing
Carsharing
Car sharing or Carsharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use...
program. Austin was chosen as the first city in the western hemisphere to host this company's business, which is based in Germany.
Walkability
A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Austin 31st most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities.Pedicabs
Austin has a vibrant and large pedicab community of bicycle taxis that operate downtown during the evening hours and daytime during events.Education
Researchers at Central Connecticut State UniversityCentral Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University is a state university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States.The school was moved to its present campus in 1922...
ranked Austin the 16th most literate city in the United States for 2008. The Austin Public Library
Austin Public Library
Austin Public Library is a library service in Austin, Texas, United States. It is operated by the City of Austin.The John Henry Faulk Central Library at 800 Guadalupe Street is the main branch; opening in 1979. It is on five stories...
operates the John Henry Faulk
John Henry Faulk
John Henry Faulk from Austin, Texas was a storyteller and radio show host. His successful lawsuit against blacklisters of the entertainment industry helped to bring an end to the Hollywood blacklist.-Early life:...
Library and various library branches. In addition, the University of Texas at Austin operates the seventh-largest academic library in the nation.
Austin was voted "America's No.1 College Town" by the Travel Channel. Over 43 percent of Austin residents age 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree, while 16 percent hold a graduate degree. As of 2009, greater Austin ranks eighth among metropolitan areas in the United States for bachelor's degree attainment with nearly 39 percent of area residents over 25 holding a bachelor's degree.
Higher education
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, the flagship institution of The University of Texas System
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...
with over 38,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students. In 2010, the university was ranked 45th among "National Universities" (13th among public universities) by U.S. News and World Report. UT has annual research expenditures of over $640 million and has the highest-ranked business, engineering, and law programs of any university in the state of Texas.
Other institutions of higher learning in Austin include St. Edward's University
St. Edward's University
St. Edward's University is a private Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located south of Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. The university offers a liberal arts education and its campus is located on a hill overlooking the city of Austin. The campus's most notable landmark is Main...
, Austin Community College
Austin Community College
The Austin Community College District is a regional community college district with eight campuses and 12 centers located in and around the city of Austin, Texas, United States....
, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson University
Huston-Tillotson University
Huston–Tillotson University is a historically black university in Austin, Texas, United States. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and the United Negro College Fund....
, the Seminary of the Southwest, the Acton School of Business
Acton School of Business
The Acton School of Business is a private, one-year MBA in Entrepreneurship program in Austin, Texas, taught by successful, practicing entrepreneurs. Offering only a full-time program, the school is based on experiential learning. Students analyze over 300 business case studies and participate in...
, Austin Graduate School of Theology
Austin Graduate School of Theology
Austin Graduate School of Theology, formerly known as Institute for Christian Studies, is located in Austin, Texas, in the United States of America...
, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1902 by Presbyterian ministers, Robert Lewis Dabney and Richmond Kelley Smoot....
, Virginia College
Virginia College
Virginia College is a non Regionally Accredited chain of private for-profit post-secondary institutions located primarily in the Southeastern United States. It is a Proprietary college which, in comparison to traditional colleges or universities, offers classes related to specific professions...
's Austin Campus, The Art Institute of Austin
The Art Institute of Austin
The Art Institute of Austin is a campus of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 40 for-profit educational institutions located throughout North America, providing education in design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts....
, Austin Conservatory and a branch of Park University
Park University
Park University is an independent, private institution of higher education based in Parkville, Missouri. Established in 1875 as a small church-related college, it has now expanded into an electronic learning institution and provider of education courses for the U.S...
.
Public primary and secondary education
Austin Independent School District
Austin Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. It was established in 1881. Its current superintendent is...
. This district includes notable schools such as the magnet Liberal Arts and Science Academy, which, by test scores, has always been within the top thirty high schools in the nation. Some parts of Austin are served by other districts, including Round Rock
Round Rock Independent School District
Round Rock Independent School District is a school district headquartered in the city of Round Rock, Texas, United States. As of 2007, the school district served 39,079 students....
, Pflugerville
Pflugerville Independent School District
Pflugerville Independent School District is a public school district based in Pflugerville, Texas .In addition to Pflugerville, the district also serves the community of Windemere, parts of Wells Branch and Austin as well as rural areas in northeastern Travis County.In 2009, the school district...
, Leander
Leander Independent School District
Leander Independent School District is a school district based in Leander, Texas and covering a total of in Leander, Cedar Park, Jonestown in Williamson County and Northwest Austin in Travis County...
, Manor
Manor Independent School District
Manor Independent School District is a public school district based in Manor, Texas . It was established in 1885. Its current superintendent is Andrew Kim....
, Del Valle
Del Valle Independent School District
Del Valle Independent School District is a public school district with its headquarters in the Edward A. Neal Administration Building in the Del Valle community and in unincorporated Travis County, Texas ....
, Lake Travis
Lake Travis Independent School District
Lake Travis Independent School District is a public school district headquartered western unincorporated Travis County, Texas . It was created on June 12 1981, following a movement led by school board members W.H. Tarbox and Clarence Cox to split the Dripping Springs Independent School District in...
, Hays
Hays Consolidated Independent School District
Hays Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Kyle, Texas . In addition to Kyle, the district serves the cities of Buda, Hays, Mountain City, Uhland, and part of Niederwald. Located mostly in Hays County, small portions of the district extend into Travis and...
, and Eanes ISDs
Eanes Independent School District
Eanes Independent School District is a school district in West Lake Hills, Texas , which is part of the Austin metropolitan area. Its enrollment is approximately 7,700, distributed among six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school...
. Four of the metro's major public school systems, representing 54% of area enrollment, are included in Expansion Management magazine's latest annual education quality ratings of nearly 2,800 school districts nationwide. Two districts—Eanes and Round Rock—are rated "gold medal", the highest of the magazine's cost-performance categories.
Private and alternative education
Private and alternative education institutions for children in preschool-12th grade include Regents School of AustinRegents School of Austin
Regents School of Austin is a classical, Christian school located in Austin, Texas.-About Regents:Regents School of Austin is the largest classical Christian private school in the nation, located in Austin, TX...
, Redeemer Lutheran School, Garza (public), Austin Discovery School (public charter), Austin Jewish Academy, the Waldorf schools, The Griffin School, The Khabele School, Concordia Academy
Concordia Academy (Austin, Texas)
Concordia High School is a private Lutheran high school in Austin, Texas. The school is the only Lutheran high school in Austin. Concordia High School shares its campus with St. Paul Lutheran School and Church...
, St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School, San Juan Diego Catholic High School
San Juan Diego Catholic High School (Austin, Texas)
San Juan Diego Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Austin, Texas. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin.-Mission statement:...
, Brentwood Christian School, St. Austin Catholic School
St. Austin Catholic School
St. Austin Catholic School, established 1917 in Austin, Texas, is an elementary school educating Kindergarten through Eighth grade students. In the 2009-2010 year they added a pre-k class. With one homeroom per grade, St. Austin School has an enrollment of under 200 students.-History:In September...
, St. Stephen's Episcopal School, St. Mary's, St. Theresa's, St. Michael's Catholic Academy
St. Michael's Catholic Academy
St. Michael's Catholic Academy is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Austin, Texas. Located on the edge of the Texas Hill Country, it currently has an enrollment of about 500 students. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin....
, Saint Gabriel's Catholic School, St. Andrew's Episcopal School
St. Andrew's Episcopal School (Texas)
St. Andrew's Episcopal School, also known as SAS, is a private school located in Austin, Texas, USA. St. Andrew's enrolls students in grades 1-12 and is divided into three divisions: Lower , Middle , and Upper Schools...
, St. Francis Episcopal School, Saint Paul Lutheran School, Trinity Episcopal School
Trinity Episcopal School of Austin
Trinity Episcopal School is a K-8 Episcopal school in Austin, Texas that offers enriched and rigorous academics in a nurturing and diverse environment. Trinity's core values are a Christian Foundation, Enriched Academic Excellence, a Diverse Community, and Family Commitment. The school was...
, Huntington-Surrey, Cleaview Sudbury School, The Inside Outside School, ACE Academy, Paragon Preparatory Middle School, Austin International School, The Progress School and a number of Montessori schools.
Along with vibrant homeschooling & "unschooling"
Unschooling
Unschooling is a range of educational philosophies and practices centered on allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience, and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum....
communities, Austin is home to a number of part-time learning environments designed to offer basic academics and inspired mentoring. Such current resources include the Whole Life Learning Center & AHB Community School.
Austin is also home to numerous child developmental institutions including the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, the Central Texas Autism Center, Autism Early Learning Center, Johnson Center for Child Health and Development
Johnson Center for Child Health and Development
The Johnson Center for Child Health and Development is a non-profit organization working to advance the understanding of childhood development through clinical care, research, and education...
and many more.
Sister cities
List of sister cities of Austin, Texas, designated by Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
.
Adelaide
City of Adelaide
The City of Adelaide is a local government area in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. It covers the original Adelaide city centre settlement, , North Adelaide, and the Adelaide Park Lands which surround North Adelaide and the city centre.Established in 1840, the organisation now...
, Australia – since 1983 Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
, Brazil – since 2002 Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, Germany – since 1991 Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Peru – since 1981 Maseru
Maseru
Maseru is the capital of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, bordering South Africa, Maseru is Lesotho's only sizable city, with a population of approximately 227,880 . The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the...
, Lesotho – since 1978 Ōita
Oita, Oita
is the capital city of Ōita Prefecture located on the island of Kyushu, Japan.- Demographics and geography :Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture...
, Japan – since 1990 Saltillo
Saltillo
Saltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....
, Mexico – since 1968 Taichung
Taichung
-Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly....
, Taiwan – since 1986 Orlu
Orlu
Orlu is the third largest city in Southeast Nigeria's Imo State with an estimated population of 220,000. It has a long history and has played a critical role as the headquarters for humanitarian relief agencies during the Nigerian civil war....
, Nigeria – since 2000 Gwangmyeong
Gwangmyeong
Gwangmyeong is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Seoul to the north and northeast, Anyang to the east and south, and Siheung to the southwest.-Districts:There are 18 administrative districts in Gwangmyeong...
, South Korea Xishuangbanna, People's Republic of China – since 1997 Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, Turkey Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
, Turkey – since 2008 Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
The cities of Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Brazil and Elche, Spain were formerly sister cities, but upon a vote of the Austin City Council in 1991, their status was de-activated.
See also
- List of Austinites
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, TexasNational Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, TexasThis is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, Texas.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Travis County, Texas, United States...
Further reading
- Long, Joshua (2010). Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, TexasWeird CityWeird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas is a non-fiction scholarly text by Joshua Long published in 2010 by University of Texas Press. The book uses the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as a central focus to discuss the social, cultural and economic changes occurring in...
. University of Texas Press. - Swearingen Jr., William Scott Environmental City: People, Place, and the Meaning of Modern Austin (University of Texas Press; 2010) 273 pages; traces the history of environmentalism in the Texas capital, which has been part of a larger effort to preserve Austin's quality of life and sense of place.