Austin has been losing its historic structures and resources at a rapid pace, compelling several questions around historic preservation. Why do we preserve certain structures and sites, and how do we make those decisions? What tools do we have to preserve them? Among the most powerful tools at the disposal of preservationists to combat demolition are local historic districts. 

Dry Creek Cafe & Boat Dock, a beloved dive bar that has nurtured cedar choppers, hippies, UT students, and everyone in between for nearly seventy years, is set to close on October 31, 2021. This legacy business’s storied history makes it an unforgettable Austin treasure.  

In honor of the recent re-opening of the French Legation Historic Site, read about the Texas Historical Commission’s vision for the future of Austin’s oldest remaining home.

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that public school segregation was unconstitutional, leading to the eventual closure of L.C. Anderson High School.

L.C. Anderson High School was Austin’s only high school for African American students during the era of segregation.

Learn more about the history of Austin’s Rosedale neighborhood.

South Congress Avenue has changed and undergone many iterations and name changes over its 135+ year history. Learn more about the history of South Congress and the rehabilitation of C-Boy’s Heart & Soul.

Butler bricks were Austin’s building blocks. Most of the brick structures constructed in Austin from 1873 until 1912 used Butler’s “Austin common” buff bricks, manufactured from the alluvial clay deposited by the Colorado River.