Austin
Austin has been on the national music map since 1984 when Austin City Limits, a showcase for bands taped at the University of Texas campus, began airing nationwide. The city cemented its music reputation by hosting the annual South by Southwest conference, which draws bands and record company executives from around the world every March. High-tech industries have also migrated to the Austin area, making it Texas's answer to Silicon Valley.
Neighborhoods
- Downtown Austin is laid out in an orderly grid system. The main drag, Congress Ave, runs from the southern end of the city across the Colorado River and continues to the steps of the Texas State Capitol in the heart of downtown.
- Guadalupe St. parallels Congress Ave. three blocks to the west; near the University of Texas campus in the northern downtown area, Guadalupe becomes the Drag, a student's mecca of cheap eats and music shops.
- East 6th St between Congress and Sabine is known as the Strip and boasts a dizzying collection of clubs, pubs and rollicking nightspots.
- The Warehouse District, south and west of Congress and West 6th Sts, is another entertainment district, catering to an older crowd, and the site of many gay and lesbian venues.
When to Go
Austin has a semitropical climate that's often downright pleasant. May through September is the rainiest, most humid period, but even August's heat spells are less severe than elsewhere in the state. As far as weather's concerned, fall and spring are the best times to visit. Winter (December to February) temperatures usually drop no lower than a brisk 38°F (4°C), while the most sweltering summer days top out at about 98°F (37°C).
Things can get crowded during the big music festivals, especially during South by Southwest in March. Otherwise, Austin doesn't have a definite tourist season.
What to See
South by Southwest (SXSW) is, an internationally renowned music, film and multimedia conference that packs the city every March.
The Capitol Complex is made up of over two dozen state government offices. Like a pink mirage in the city center's sea of green, the Texas State Capitol (1888) is certainly Austin's most distinctive landmark. Constructed of sunset-colored Texas limestone, the capitol is topped with a statue of the Goddess of Liberty and ranks as the seventh largest government building in the world.
Austin City Limits: Every Friday, get a behind-the-scenes look at the longest-running music showcase on television. The show has hosted legends like Roy Orbison, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Marcia Ball, and Queen Ida.
University of Texas Museums & Galleries: The LBJ Library on the University of Texas (UT) campus is a highlight of a visit to Austin. Lyndon Baines Johnson - or LBJ, as he was known to just about everybody - was the 36th president of the USA. A menacingly jovial native Texan, LBJ balanced the John F Kennedy campaign ticket with a southern political mainstay and, hours after JFK's assassination, was sworn in as president on board Air Force One. Supported by Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady, the museum offers a candid look at the social and political climate of the era. Look for exhibitions on the JFK presidency and assassination, the Bay of Pigs, Krushchev, the civil rights movement, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr.and Robert Kennedy, and the Vietnam War. Upstairs, a new exhibit on Mexican Texans details pre-republic Texas life. Also on campus, the Texas Memorial Museum houses a huge art deco building with displays of Texas' natural and social history. Exhibits focus on geology, paleontology, anthropology and natural history.
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