Austin, Texas
Austin Real Estate
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Austin, Texas
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Austin Real Estate |
Austin, the capital city of Texas, is located in the central part of the state. The seat of Travis County, Austin lies on the Colorado River where the river emerges from the Texas hill country and the Balcones Escarpment.
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Austin's population increased significantly from 345,496 in 1980 to 465,622 in 1990, largely because of the city's economic diversification, especially into high-technology fields. The population growth continued in the 1990s, reaching 541,278 in 1996. According to the 1990 census, whites constitute 70.7 percent of Austin's population; blacks, 12.4 percent; Asians and Pacific Islanders, 3.0 percent; and Native Americans, 0.4 percent. The remainder are of mixed racial heritage or did not report an ethnicity. Hispanics, who may be of any race, make up 22.6 percent of the population. The Austin metropolitan area includes Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell, and Bastrop counties and covers a land area of 10,945 sq km (4226 sq mi); notable cities included besides Austin are San Marcos and Round Rock. The metropolitan area population grew from 585,000 in 1980 to 846,000 in 1990; it reached an estimated 999,936 in 1995. |
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For much of Austin's history, the city's economy was dominated by the state and federal government and the University of Texas. Beginning in the 1980s, the arrival of several computer technology corporations and research organizations helped diversify the economy. Since 1990 additional high-tech companies have moved to the city. Austin's other manufactured goods include food products, printed materials, furniture, and office supplies. In the early 1970s many country-and-western musicians moved to Austin. The city has since assumed the nickname "The Live Music Capital of the World," and each March it hosts the South by Southwest music festival, which serves as a venue for new bands of various musical styles. |
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The city is served by several railroads, an interstate highway, and the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. A new facility, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, opened in the spring of 1999. As a state capital close to Mexico, Austin is expected to benefit from increased international trade resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which eliminates most tariffs and trade barriers among the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
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| Capital of the Republic of Texas from 1839 until 1842, Austin became the capital of the new state of Texas in 1845. In 1888 architects and builders completed the State Capitol Building. A statue of the Goddess of Liberty holding the five-pointed star, the symbol of Texas, sits atop the dome of the Capitol |
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Among Austin's points of interest are the State Capitol Building, constructed of Texas pink granite between 1882 and 1888, and the  Governor's Mansion (1856).; |
 French Legation (1841) |
 In 1884, Colonel Jesse Driskill purchases the lot at the corner of Brazos and Pecan, later renamed 6th Street, for $7,500, He decided to build a luxurious grand hotel (The Driskill). The Driskill becomes the talk of the town. And in 1886, the Grand Opening of The Driskill is heralded as (One of the Finest Hotels in the Whole Country.) The entire cost is estimated at $400,000. |
| Mexican Free-Tailed Bats in Austin Austin is home to the largest colony of urban bats in North America. Between April and September more than 1 million Mexican free-tailed bats congregate under the Congress Avenue Bridge in the city. |
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 Elisabet Ney Museum Once the home and workshop of the noted German-American sculptor; the home of O. Henry, which is now a museum housing many of the author's possessions |
 Texas Memorial Museum |
 Laguna Gloria Art Museum |
 The Paramount Theatre for Performing Arts |
LBJ Library and Museum |
 Our 36th President Lydon B. Johnson Lydon B. Johnson served as vice president under John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963. Johnson was sworn in as president minutes after Kennedy's death. He continued his successful domestic reforms after winning the 1964 presidential elections, but his leadership during the Vietnam War became unpopular, and he retired at the end of his term. |
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In 1730 Franciscan missionaries established three temporary missions in the area, at sites which for centuries had been occupied periodically by groups of Native Americans. The site of the present city was settled in 1838 on the north bank of the Colorado River by five families, who named the community Waterloo. In 1839 Waterloo was chosen as the site of the permanent capital of the Republic of Texas. A one-story frame building was erected to house government offices, town lots were sold, and a newspaper began publication. In December 1839 the city was incorporated and its name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, who is considered the father of Texas. |
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The Houston and Texas Central Railroad reached Austin in 1871, and other railroads soon followed. The construction of a dam and power plant on the Colorado River prompted a period of industrialization between 1880 and 1900. The dam was destroyed in a flood in 1900 and was rebuilt in 1912. After major flooding in the 1930s, the Colorado River Authority constructed a series of dams and reservoirs on the river. This chain of reservoirs, known locally as the Highland Lakes, stretches for 153 km (95 mi) inland from Austin and is a major recreation and tourist attraction for central Texas. |
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