Do you remember these restaurants?

Conan’s Pizza on 29th
Ruby’s BBQ
Frisco
Threadgill’s on Riverside
Hut’s Hamburgers
Players
The Lahala House
Steak Island
The Enchilada Bar
The Nighthawk - served great steaks all over town?
The Filling Station
Hill’s Cafe
Mrs. Baird’s donuts on Anderson Lane
Barnett's Fried Pie Company
The Piccadilly Cafeteria on Congress
Folkville Ice Cream...which became the Beach, now Crown and Anchor
Mezzaluna and Capitol Brasserie at 310 Colorado Street in the Warehouse District.
Hangtown Grill
Reeds Supper Club
Les Amis
Tallyho Restaurant at Congress Avenue and Seventh Street
Ferrari’s Pizza on the North West corner of 34th and Lamar.
Ferrari’s at S. Lamar and Oxford St.
Barton Springs Flying Circus at the corner of Barton Springs and Dawson/S5th.
Flapjack Canyon
Alonzo’s
Marimont Cafeteria
Bonanza Steakhouse
Dobb’s Houses
Hamburgers by Gourmet
Lunch at White's Pharmacy
Burkhart’s Polar Bear Ice Cream
Jorge's? JT Enchiladas! Two Everclear margaritas, and you were toast
Jorge's Uptown Enchilada Bar – Enchiladas Arredondo!
The Pier on Lake Austin
Louie’s on the Lake
Hector’s Taco Flats – “Over 3000 Tacos Returned”
The Brown Bag BBQ at Bluebonnet and Lamar
Pete's On the Drag
Fritz's
The Canary Hut
Beans
Mars – now Olamie
Ernie’s Chicken Shack
The original El Mats Mexican food place on 5th & I-35 that had the boat in the parking lot.
Hank's Hamburgers
Youngbloods’ Chicken
Caruso's on 6th
Carmen’s La Tapatia on E 6th when it was still in the old house. Carmen taught all of the present-day cooks and waitresses in every restaurant in town on how to cook and serve Tex-Mex.
MooreBurger, then Players. Players got bought out by UT and torn down.
The "Big Three" Mexican Restaurants ... El Matamoros, El Rancho, and El Toro ... all owned by the same guys
The original El Matador on Burnet Rd. had a cool mural of a bullfight painted by Robert Cisneros, brother of Rudy Cisneros’s of Cisco’s fame’s.
Pancho’s
La Reyna
Rockin’ V Inn in Volente
Basil's
Jovita’s on S. 1st. It was well known as the place to score smack, and the owner had this mansion across Bouldin Creek behind the restaurant where the all-night parties would nod out.
Eats
Pizza Nizza
Pearls
Oyster Bar
Black Eyed Pea
Harpoon Henry’s
The Holiday House and the Night Hawk next to each other on the Drag. That Holiday House moved to Barton Springs – it’s Black's Bar-B-Q now. They used to have an alligator named Charlie, and a whole bunch of birds and fish tanks. Holiday House also had one on 51st and Airport that was like a huge A-frame with all this Polynesian junk in it and lots of fish tanks. It got torn down, and is now part of the Travis County complex. The last Holiday House on Exposition was shut down by some vegetarian vigilante who inherited the shopping center from her mother, chased out all the businesses that served meat or leather (really – how much leather does a child’s shoe contain?), and opened up a New Age Tofu place.
La Fiesta and their shrimp enchiladas for kids -- over where Karavel was on Burnet Rd. It got torn down.
G&M Steakhouse on the Drag.
Home Drug on the Drag.
The Branding Iron.
The Barn.
The Feedlot
Texas Tumbleweed - The Branding Iron, The Barn, The Feedlot and Texas Tumbleweed were all owned by Jack Ray. Jack Ray had two steers at The Feedlot named “Zeke” and “Echo” who would stick their heads inside the bar for jollies from the drunk HH customers
Toddle House for their Banana Icebox pie and hashbrowns. Shortstack for 99 cents
That stretch of N. Lamar had some killer restaurants - The Stallion, the Chicken Shack (the big thrill as a kid was you got to go to that prize machine and pick out a little cheezy toy if you finished your dinner), and Hank's Hamburgers (still had carhops). The Chicken Shack is a vacuum store that got torn down for a Taco Cabana, and Hank’s was a used car lot now that got torn down for who knows what (probably condos).
Kirshner's Fried Chicken - loved their fried chicken - torn down.
When 2J's next to the University Co-op was called Chambers? Great Manske rolls.
Freeland's Frosty Mug on Burnet Rd. (which is now a veterinary clinic) that was just south of Northland, and north of the old Handy Andy Grocery and Shopper's World.
The place on Burnet Road with the big frosty root-beer mug on top was called "Frost Top." It became the Omelettry, which go torn down for condos, and moved to Airport Blvd.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor.
Nau’s Pharmacy when they used to serve hamburgers, and were still open.
Crestview Pharmacy, which also had the old soda jerks.
Italian Gardens on West 5th.
Uncle Van's Pancake House (19th and Guadalupe).
Heading to the Lazy Daisy at 3 in the morning after the bars closed for some munchies.
Der Wienerschnitzel on Burnet, which turned into a great pet store – got mowed down.
Salvation Sandwiches.
The Copper Skillet: go in about 2pm when they were trying to shut down, order quiche, it came with a salad; you could get as much as a half a quiche, cuz they wanted you the hell OUT!
Nothing Strikes Back - The black-lights at Nothing Strikes Back were to hide the cockroaches. You only THOUGHT they gave you Brazil Nut Crunch instead of Valhalla Vanilla by mistake!
You Scream Ice Cream,
Udder Delight.
Airport Haven Hamburgers – they now serve Indian/Korean food, or something else.
The Convict Hill restaurant way south of town on Hwy 71 in Oak Hill. It was named after the quarry that convicts would drag limestone out of to build some of the great buildings in Austin (including the Capitol). If you are driving down 290 West, you are driving through the area that convicts have taken away stones. If you look up to the left, you see the cliffs where the stone was taken from.
Alfy's Fish and Chips
Somewhere Burgers
The Garden
Neuwe Hope
The A & W Hamburger stand on Riverside.
Hickory St. Bar and Grill at 8th and Congress
Taco Flats
Mad Dogs and Beans
The San Francisco Steakhouse, which looked like a whorehouse, and had the girl on the swing who would kick up to ring the bell attached to the ceiling. They also had that massive block of Swiss cheese on the wood cutting board next to the basket of hot bread.
Xalepeño Charlie's? Best damn nachos in town. Veggie enchiladas that had so many hot peppers in them, they'd rip the skin off your throat on the way down. And that killer space mural..."Juan Haute Sucker"
The Three Sisters Chinese restaurant.
El Azteca
Old Spaghetti Warehouse with the trolley car inside Las Manitas. They tore it down to build a Marriott Hotel.
Burkhart's Ellis Café on North Lamar.
The Stallion Grill
Bucky’s
The Patio
Southern Maid Donuts on Burnet Rd.
Sweetie Pies
Harpoon Henry's
Chef Lupes’ on Cameron Rd.
Romeo’s
Broadway Joe’s Truck Stop Café on N. Lamar. Before they built IH 35, N. Lamar was known as the “Dallas Highway” - the only north – south throughway in Austin for visitors and truckers. That is why you can still see motels and truck stops on N. Lamar. There's only a few of those motels left, like Mehl’s Motel.
Queen Bee Diner on Airport.
The Pig Stand.
The Red Tomato
Los Mariachis
Pelican’s Wharf
Cafe Brasil
Rainbow Inn on South Lamar. Yummy. I miss their cheese soup, croutons, and Rainbow Inn Shrimp.
Sashas
Gaylord’s Hamburgers
Mariposa Express
Art's Rib House
Vikashmo’s
Katz's Deli
The Bakehouse on Manshack (now named “Menchaca”)
Plantation Restaurant
Chez Fred
Yummy Gardens on S. Lamar and Oltorf
Artz’ Rib House on S. Lamar.
Moreland's Hamburger's (with the big frosty RootBeer on top).
Moreland’s Mesquite Grill
The Beacon Point Hamburgers.
Chelsea Street Pub in Highland Mall
Magic Time Machine – when you asked where the bathroom was, they would execute the “Potty Patrol”
Rome Inn (now Texas French Bread, which burned down).
Big-Tex Sirloin House.
Trudy’s on 34th.
Morty’s Pizza King.
Dan McCluskey’s Steak House
Café Camille on Kerbey Lane
Raw Deal
Another Raw Deal on 6th St.
Colorado St. Café.
Bag o’ Chicken on S. Lamar, next to the Horseshoe Lounge
Mama Woon’s on 2244...was in that old house on the hill close to where the Westlake Hospital is now...
Burger Chef - they had a big blown-up balloon of the Burger Chef at Burnet Rd. and Hancock, and people would shoot arrows and pellets into it to deflate it. Needless to say, Burger Chef did not prosper.
Pancho’s - they had this disgusting buffet where you would raise the flag for more food, but they had sopapillos, with honey and butter that made everything all right.
Christie’s - original restaurant that had the first liquor-by-the-drink permit in Texas. My mom was a waitress there, and made so much money from tips, she quit and went into real estate. Now the Hyatt Hotel.
Lenzo's Italian Sid’s - now a Post Office on N. Lamar. Favorite place to go for brunch after church.
Tortuga’s
Martin Brothers
Paggi House
Bennigans
Casaraggi’s
Monroes
El Toro on Lavaca
Lazy Daisy
Pecan Street
Nick’s Pizza
Bud’s Hamburgers
Mi Burrito
Darcy’s Diner at Delwood Shopping Center
Milto’s Pizza (183). The one on Guadalupe is not long for this world.
Old Hickory Bar-B-Que (Koenig Lane).
Victor’s Italian Village (Guadalupe).
Allandale Cafeteria (later Pancho’s).
El Carnivore
Carla's
Virginia's Café
El Gallo
Casa Ramirez
Momma's Money
Riccos
Mike & Charlie’s
Tortuga’s
Fandango’s
Aunt Chiladas
El Chico
Maharani
Michael Michael.
Charex on N. Lamar across from DPS - Charex moved to Pflugerville and became Charlie’s Steakhouse.
San Francisco Steakhouse on IH 35
Shalimar Indian restaurant
Matterhorn north of Georgetown on I-35
The Courtyard
Castle HillCafé
AlvinOrds
English’s on Guadalupe about 33rd near the fire station. Later was Ray’s Steakhouse.
Los Tres Bobos
Gianni's
Monterey House
Mama’s Kitchen by Gillis Park
Hungry Hobo
Gilligan's Armadillo Burger at N Lamar and Rundberg
Medieval Inn
Ted's Greek Corner
Dot's Place
Chumikal's on W. MLK
China Buffet on Burnet, TacoDeli there now
Aljons Pizza was very popular in South Austin
Lim Ting's on Ben White
The Saigon eggroll cart on the Drag (in the 70s). Got busted for fencing/drug-dealing.
Bonanza Steakhouse
Big Cat on 2222
Jerry Jacob’s BBQ
Scampi’s Pizza with the organ, bubbles and cymbal-clanging monkey
EZ’s (39 1/2 & Lamar)
Twin Dragon (N Lamar & Rundberg area)
Straw Hat Pizza on Airport
The Rockin V in Volente
Suzi’s on Anderson Lane
Par Burger on N. Loop
Joe’s Pizza
Leo's Flying Pizza at Riverside and Congress
Shenanigans on Barton Springs
Mikes Pub. Probably one of the best kept secrets in Austin for years! It was located in the parking garage next to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. It was run by some classmates of mine from St. Louis Catholic School – Mike and George Lavas. They had the BEST hamburgers in town, and the beer was very cold.
Texicalli
Lungs Chinese Kitchen on the Drag
Lung’s Casina del Sur on Anderson
Rabbit Habbit in Cedar Park had frog legs
Waterloo Icehouse on Congress
Morty's Pizza
Bagel Manufactory
Tom’s Tabouleh
Ararat
Mezzaluna
Granite Café
Waterloo Brewing Co.
Shoreline Grill
Zuider Zee
Gregory's sandwich shop on Guadalupe
Lock, Stock, and Barrel on Anderson Lane
Arkie's
The Sandwich Shop on West Sixth
Mama's Café on Oltorf at S.1st
Spezia’s Galleria Restaurant Griff's on San Jacinto between 5th and 6th
Hunan Chinese Restaurant on Wm Cannon & Manchaca
DartBowl Cafe. Originally on Burnet Rd., then on Grover behind McCallum HS. Truckstop Enchiladas!!! I actually had a McCallum PE bowling class there, and bowled a 220 one time!
Pinch-a-Pollo
Chuck Wagon on Burnet Road
The Tamale House on Airport
Louie's 106
Good Eats
Cadillac Bar
Black Hawk
Jalapeno Joe’s
The Y in Oakhill
Iron Works
Catfish Grill
Romeo's
Hill's Cafe
Hank'sRoadhouse
Bluebonnet Cafe
Austin Java
Landry's Seafood
Houston's
Graces Home Cooking up Lamar a few blocks from the Stallion
Jake's
Mama Eleni's (Greek place)
Waller Creek Inn (6th St near I-35)
Pato's Good Tacos on Manor Rd.
See Island Inn on Lake Travis
Shady Grove
Elsi’s on Burnet Rd.
Little Italy
Chez Nous
Magnolia Café
Mother’s Café and Garden
Jambalaya’s CityGrill
Dry Creek Café
Leo’s Tasty Wings
The Tree House Restaurant – The House That Coke Built!!!
The Pathfinder
Gumbo’s
Newberry’s Cafeteria
Mangia's Pizza
Burger Tex
Pronto's
Panteras Pizza
39 Cent Hamburgers
Johnny Boy’s Hamburgers on East First street across from the Pepsi Cola Bottling plant.
San Jacinto Cafe, on San Jacinto Street.
Sam Wah Cafe on Congress Ave.
La Fiesta
ChinaWok
Taco Village
Captains on the Halfshell
Lone Star Cafe
Tres Amigos
Southpoint Seafood
Mexico Tipico
Catfish Parlor
Carmello's
Sullivan's Steakhouse
Country Dinner Playhouse
PeeWees BBQ by Barton Springs
Texadelphia on the Drag
Olive’s Pizza
First Wok
Chez Zee
Don Limones
Dorsett’s 221
Texicali
Southside Flying Pizza
The Great Juan Gonzalez
Griffs
Virginia’s
The Lazy Daisy
Ross’s Diner
El Menudito
El Rinconcito
Chef Lupes 
Foothills Restaurant
Dog and Duck
Emerald's Restaurant
Hudson’s on the Bend
TGI Fridays
Steak and Ale
Grandy’s
Jaime’s Spanish Village
The Hoffbreau Steakhouse
Nuevo León and later Doña Emilia's - same location
Doña Emilia's
Peso’s on S. Lamar
The Kitchen Door
Evita's Botanitas
Cozzoli’s Pizza
Z-Tejas
Jonah's Seafood
Old San Francisco Steakhouse
Victoria Station
Mi Casa es Su Casa
Chumikal’s on E. 7th
Holiday House on Ben White
Bamboo Garden on Ben White
Hao Hao in Dobie Mall
Orange Julius
Angie’s in the old house on East 7th
Los Jalisciences on Ben White
Big Wheel
Dario’s
Montana Mining Company on Hancock
Zeider Zee on Burnet Road
Parburger on North Loop
Dodge City Steak House on North Lamar
The Shrimp Boat, true Drive-In with Car-hops and all on Barton Springs and S. 1st
Across The Street Restaurant
Mrs. Robinson’s
The Terrace
Showbiz Pizza Place/Chuck E Cheese with the creepy animatronic bear band
Celebration Station
La Dolce Vita
Gilberto’s
La Fuentes
Peter Piper Pizza 
Furr’s Cafeteria
Terry’s Seafood & Chicken
Porfirio’s Tacos

I miss old Austin (sniff).

Do you remember the following stores, retail, entertainment or recreational places? Diving off the cliff at Hamilton Pool? Now, unless you have a reservation, you can’t go there. Berkman’s. The Toggery. Rudi Casuals. Discount Records. Rexall Drugs. The Cadeau. Inner Sanctum. Aunt Sally's used books and records. Sunshine Records. Old Bossy Milk Store on South Lamar. The Coxville Zoo with the tiger near the gas pumps. You can still see the ruins of it out on North Lamar on the left before Parmer Lane. Rylanders. Polar Bear Ice Cream. Mrs. Johnson’s Bakery. Frosty Top Root beer. Freeland’s Root Beer. C&S Sporting Goods. Johnson's Trading Post. Slax Menswear. Lerner’s. Winkley’s at 620 or 1431. I went to Catholic school with all the Winkleys. They had about 9 kids. When Windy Point, Marshall Ford, Hippie Hollow were free and cool. Taking all the girls out to Hippie Hollow to go skinny dipping. Tek Cemetery on Lake Travis – you had to hop a fence to get there, but it was great place to skinny dip. Remember when a dock pass at the lake was $50.00 for the season at Cypress Park? It’s over $500.00 now. Showtown Twin Drive-In Movie on Ben White. The carnival used to always park there. Now it’s a WalMart. The Austin Theater on 2130 S. Congress. Became a porno theater (reportedly called the “Jack Shack”), now it’s a high-tech office building. Chief Drive-in at the corner of Koenig and Lamar. If you knew somebody who lived behind it, you could hear the sound from all the cars that parked on the back row. The sign had a big, politically-incorrect Indian Head on top of it. They once buried a guy for 62 days underground. Nice marketing! Uncle Jay and Packer Jack were signing autographs for children around the corpse. Burnet Drive-In. We lived right behind it, and would sit in the back yard and watch silent movies. It is a storage place now, but they kept part of the original sign out front. They had these fiberglass chairs outside the snack bar to watch the movies.. Longhorn Drive-In at the intersection of N. Lamar Blvd. and Anderson Ln., where Anderson Square is now. It burned down, and they rebuilt it up north of Peyton Gin. The Delwood Drive-In was east of 35 off of 38th street. Miniature golf & the pizza with the organ grinder. The Rebel Drive-In on Burleson Road. It became a porn drive-in after people quit coming to regular movies. When Lockheed moved their headquarters out between Burleson Rd. and Ben White, they built this big tower that conveniently had a birds-eye view over the fence of the Rebel Drive-in screen. The Lockheed executives would repair up into the tower, get drunk, and watch porno flicks for free. The Rebel has since been torn down, but you can still see the Lockheed porn-watching tower at the office complex from Burleson Rd. The Texas Theatre, the Tower Theater and the Varsity Theatre on the Drag. The Tower Theater became Tower Records before it went out of business. However, Tower Records was responsible for keeping and maintaining the murals on the 24th St. side. The Varsity Theatre became CVS Pharmacy, and they maintained the sign on the Drag. Longhorn Drive-In Theater. Capital Plaza Cinema. Fox Theater on Airport (now a Mercedes dealership). The Austin American and the Afternoon Statesman. They had both a morning and afternoon paper, but the afternoon paper died an ignominious death, and the American and Statesman merged. Then the Statesman was bought out by a venture capital fund, fired (or retired) most of its reporters. Now, if you get the paper, it has been printed and shipped from San Antonio with yesterdays’ news. When local TV was KTBC Channel 7 - period. Channels 24 and 36 were Johnnie-come-lately’s, and were only available from rabbit ears tuned to the correct UHF frequencies on your black-and-white TV. You had to turn the channel changer, then adjust the rabbit ears to pick 24 and 36 up. Channel 7 was always clear as a bell. LBJ had an office at the Federal building, across from the old post office on 9th and San Jacinto. He had an exact replication of the White House office in it. There is also another miniature replica of the White House office at the top floor of the LBJ library, complete with rotary dial hot-lines to Russia. Uncle Jay and Packer Jack had an afternoon cartoon show on KTBC Channel 7. On your birthday, you got to go on the Uncle Jay show, and if he picked you, you ran up to this box that had a clown’s face with a red nose, punch it, and these weird hypno-rays would come out of the TV. Voila, a cartoon would start! There was fierce competition to be picked by Uncle Jay to punch the clown, and the poor little girls would often be overwhelmed by all of us loud rude boys. But Uncle Jay, bless his heart, would always pick some cute little girl in the back to come punch Cartoon Clown. Packer Jack looked like that homeless guy – long hair, beard, long johns, vest, overalls, and Granny Clampett boots. The Uncle Jay Show always had Packer Jack’s annual bath on his birthday. They would throw Packer Jack in, screaming and kicking, overalls and all, into in this big metal tub filled with soap bubbles. One day, as a kid, I noticed an extremely large group of excited children gathered around a picnic table at Northwest Park. When I got there, I discovered that the excitement was being generated by the presence of, not just Uncle Jay, but also Packer Jack. The two of them were on a day off from TV, dressed in cut-offs, t-shirts and flip-flops, calmly sipping cold beer. All of a sudden, they are being mobbed by about 30 screaming kids. They seemed to be amused by the attention, and took it all in stride. Before I could stop her, my kid sister crawled into Packer Jack’s lap and asked him if his beard was real. Before he could answer, she grabbed it with both hands and yanked it really hard, causing him to tumble to the ground in a heap, screaming and cursing in pain. Packer Jack and Uncle Jay decided that it was time to escape from their screaming fans, and left, leaving my sister one of the most unpopular kids in the neighborhood for quite some time. You don’t get entertainment like that anymore! Uncle Jay and Packer Jack gave me hours of entertainment when I was a kid. There was a big super slide that was where the McDonalds is on Oltorf, just east of Congress. The racetrack out past Bergstrom AFB - “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday – Motor Rickey Ware at the SMOKIN’ Alamo Dragway!!!”. Camp Tom Wooten - the old Boy Scout camp off of 2222, where the Courtyard and Loop 360 bridge is now. You used to be able to hike on the cliffs named Eagle’s Nest overlooking Lake Austin and see mountain goats. We used to camp out there and start fires. They used dynamite to blast out the hill over Lake Austin for the 360 bridge, and there was a big gaping hole there for years before the bridge was built. You could race down the track between 2222 and the edge of the cliff, turn around, and haul butt back. There were ALWAYS huge fireworks fights on New Years and 4th of July. Just downstream on Lake Austin was a great rope swing where you could fly over boats going by. Somebody had a slalom course laid out there, but if you wiped out on the right side, you would end up in a bunch of cattails and duckweed. They hauled the 360 bridge all the way over from Korea, but it didn’t fit, so they had to haul it back. When it was finally installed, a high-school friend of mine, who was a gymnast, dove off of it, perfecting a triple, into Lake Austin, before there was any traffic on 360. Wet Willies Water Park on Ben White. The Japanese Gardens at Zilker Park? They were designed by Isamu Taniguchi, who was interned in a prison camp in California during WWII. He moved to Austin, and designed one of the best examples of an Oriental garden ever, at Zilker Gardens. I know his niece, JoJo Shiva, and his grandson, Evan Taniguchi.. Kress, Andy’s Men’s Store and S&H Green stamps store on the corner of Oltorf and S. Congress where HEB is now. Twin Oaks Shopping Center was diagonal from them at South Congress Avenue and Oltorf Street, and had Twin Oaks Cafeteria, Twin Oaks Hardware and a library. HEB moved there while they built their new store across the street. Remember Gem Fabrics Store, Allandale Cafeteria (later Pancho’s), Western Auto, Ben Franklin Five and Dime and Toy Castle at Allandale Village Shopping Center where HEB is now? North Austin State Bank was just behind the center. Handy Andy and Winns was at the North Loop Shopping Center. Had a great barber shop as well (North Loop Barber Shop, if I remember correctly). Gulf Mart was north of the North Loop Shopping Center.. Not only was there a Gibson's on Burnet Road, there was also a Gulf-Mart, and a Shopper's World. All were there long before Northcross Mall was built. The Holiday House on Burnet Road (now a car dealership) was our hang-out in high school (those are all long gone now). Cruising the parking lot at NorthCross Mall. Then going skating at Chaparral Ice. The Gibson's Discount Store was at the intersection of Burnet Rd. and Greenlawn Parkway. There's a strip center there now with Tuesday Morning and other shops, and Dallas Nightclub used to be next door. Dallas Nightclub got shut down because of too many underage drinking violations, beatings and rapes. Gibson’s was next to the Travis County Farmer’s Market (what a great farmer’s market). The Pour House was there afterwards, which was a GREAT neighborhood bar, but all that got torn down. Home Lumber Company was just across Burnet from Allandale Village. The Bomers lived in a house next door, and we used to buy fresh baked bread from Mrs. Bomer. That location is gone. Across the street from Lamar Jr. High there was Sommer's Rexall Drug store that still had the old fashion soda fountain with the counter and stools and everything. It's a Walgreens now. Big Bear Food Store was Checkerfront from at least 1959 and became Minimax. It became Crestview IGA. It got torn down. La Fiesta and their shrimp enchiladas for kids -- over where Karavel is. It got torn down. Hobby Town with the best HO train layout ever. It got torn down. The Americana Theater on Hancock. Saw "2001, a Space Oddysey" at the premiere there. Now it is an Austin Public Library named for Ralph Yarbrough. Earl Podolnick, the owner of the Burnet and Chief Drive Inns, built the Americana Theater. It was the first 70 mm and the first Dolby theater. He also built the Southwood on Ben White, and the Aquarius 4 - the first multi - screen theatre in Austin on Pleasant Valley. Southwood is Blazer Tag now, and the Aquarius 4 was a flea market that got torn down. Aus-Tex Garden Supply. There was an old Humble (Enco) service station on Justin Lane and Burnet Rd. It became a Ballard’s, then a U-Tote-Em. Now, it’s a Bread Basket. Putt-Putt miniature golf course on Burnet Rd. When Randy was working there, we could play for free. That abruptly ended when we started using the putter as a driver, and would hit orange balls onto Burnet Rd. We were a bunch of despicable delinquents back then. It's now Yard Bar for dogs. There was a trampoline park and go-cart track on Burnet Rd., across Twin Oaks from Putt Putt. They closed up when a bunch of drunks sued them because they injured themselves riding the go carts. Later, a Super Slide was there. I got kicked off the Super Slide many times for surfing down instead of sitting down. Green Acres miniature golf course. Gamefellas. The Game Room. Superior Dairies located at 600 E. 1st Street. When we were kids, during field trips there, they would give you little ice cream cups with flat wooden spoons - Superior Dairies Duchess Deluxe Dixie Cup! Back then, the milkman would deliver milk to your house in heavy glass bottles. When you took the top off, you could drink the heavy cream on the top. I used to LOVE the Superior Dairies billboard on 1st St. with the "milk" pouring into the giant glass. Butter Krust Bakery on Airport and Koenig. Used to love going by there and smelling the fresh bread. When I was in first grade, we would tour the bakery, and sample fresh bread off the line with butter. Butter Krust would give us these tiny little kiddie loaves of bread - real bread in a loaf with the same wrapper, but about 8-10 inches long, and they would hand them out on your way out of the place after taking a tour. They would give you a Butter Krust blue-and-white checkered hat, a pencil and a book cover. Of course, us rude boys would cover our books, and blank out the “-er” on the end of “Butter.”. Now, it's some internet travel agency. The basketball games at the old Gregory Gym were hotter than a steam engine room, and they played the old hardass SWC teams like Arkansas and SMU. The bleachers were so close to the court, the sweaty, opposing players would end up getting knocked into your lap, and you could kick them. Can’t do THAT at the Drum!. The Halloween Parties at that freaky Helm Street House. It had a church-like steeple at the top. Everyone that came to the Helm Street Halloween Party was trippin', and the costumes were FANTASTIC!!!. Registration in big lines at Greg Gym in September. The line wrapped around the block. When you could get a permit to park on campus, and there actually was parking spaces. When you could register for $150, including Blanket Tax, for season tickets for all UT sports. When UT had a bonfire for the A&M game down by the river before it was known as Town Lake, and is now known as Lady Bird Lake. Water skiing at City Park, and wiping out into the duckweed., then standing up in the muck looking like Swamp Thing. 19th Street. IH-35 was single-decked and only 4 lanes - 2 north/2 south. I remember driving on the Upper Deck during COVID, and not seeing any other drivers on it. It was like the Apocalypse!. Even before IH-35 – East Avenue. Clark Field. Going out to Mueller Airport to meet the UT football team coming home on a twin prop. The first time you looked over Austin from the top of the Tower. If you wanted to do some serious vertigo, you would lay back on the edge of wall, tilt your head down and look to the bottom. Mayhem on Guadalupe one December night in '69 after a certain football game against Arkansas. The big celebration on the Drag right after the Cotton Bowl game against Notre Dame and winning the 1969 National Championship. Wow, yeah, we drove up and down the Drag, but it took us several hours - every minute of it was awesome - honking our horns, Hooking our Horns, etc. More mayhem on the Drag when Earl Campbell won the Heisman. Even more mayhem on the Drag when Ricky Williams won the Heisman. Roundup – watching the frat rats chug beer and race around on tricycles, and throw up. Winding around through back streets on the north side of campus to get to I-35. There was some old retired guy who would hang out at the UT map at the Main Mall, and wait for some unsuspecting coed to look at it. He would tap them on the shoulder with a Daily Texan, and watch them recoil in horror. Playing frisbee on the grassy field around the flagpoles between the boxwoods in front of the UT Tower. You can't do that anymore. Drag Racing on Grover Ave. during the McCallum High School pep rallies. Grover Ave., in front of the Dart Bowl, was a perfect quarter mile. The McCallum seniors had some serious hot rods – hopped-up Chevelle 396’s, ’72 Novas with all-aluminum, boost-ready LS2 long-blocks with All Pro heads, and, of course, Steve Treadwell’s Challenger hot rod with an 869-hp Hemi engine, with 12 supercharged carburetors, and 30” Mickey Thompson smoothie rear tires. We would block off both entrances to Grover at Koenig and Houston, bleach the tires so that they would smoke more, then about 4 or 5 of us would hang onto the rear bumper while the Challenger and the Chevelle 396's would stomp into first and start to pull away. One of these dumb rednecks with a polka-dotted choo-choo hat had drank too much Rebel Yell, and didn’t let go of the Challenger once the rest of us did. That monster was hitting 60 mph in about two seconds, and the bottom of Jethro’s ski-cowboy-boots were smoking until he let go. He did about two large steps at 60 mph, then executed a flawless face grind. The McCallum principal and vice principal would watch the drag races with hilarity until the pep rally was over; then call the cops. I feel sorry for kids today that don’t get to enjoy drag races, until I realize how bad Austin drivers are. The world premiere of Batman at the Paramount Theater – Adam West and the Batmobile were parked out front. “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” world premiere at the Paramount Theater when Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton drove down Congress in the Texas limo – the old Caddy convertible with the longhorns and little Texas flags up front. Johnnie “Limo” Ralston owned it, and he drove so many celebrities around in it that he lost count. He drove a very drunk Ann Richards home when she lived on Shoal Creek down from my mom. She quit drinking after that ride. The old Academy Surplus, which actually was a military surplus store – guns, knives, boots, boots and more boots. Piggly Wiggly on S. Lamar, later Handy-Andy, and now Alamo Drafthouse. Der Wienerschnitzel on Burnet, which turned into a great pet store – got mowed down. When the 4th of July fireworks were at Zilker Park. The 4th of July fireworks moved to Auditorium Shores with the Austin Symphony playing. The National Guard would blow the cannons on the 1886 Overture. The Magic Mushroom at Dobie Mall. Red Goose Shoes. Rooster Andrews Sporting Goods. Oshman’s Sporting Goods. Uncle Sid’s Arcade was a fun time on the Drag. General Admission at the Palmer Auditorium. Swimming free at Cypress Creek. The “Chainsaw Massacre” house on Quick Hill Road – now torn down. Crenshaw's Athletic Club – owned by Bea and Bill Crenshaw. The Crenshaws had a summer camp on Lake Austin where I learned how to water ski. Bill was a mean as a snake! He once grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and threw me into the lake because I wasn't worth a dog at gymnastics. Aquafest and the funny sailor suits with a "Skipper Pin" on the Jaycees - turkey legs were expensive at $1.00 a leg!. Boat Drag racing on Town Lake. When those blown-fuel hydros cranked up, you could hear it all the way out to 2222.. Aquafest had a fenced-in hoosegow for drunk people that the frat-boy Jaycees would torture after they threw them into it. Floating at Barton Springs all day and Sandy's for ice cream afterward. At Xmas, you could hop on the 'Dillo and ride around downtown looking at all the lights. They don’t have the lights on Congress anymore. Rocky Horror picture show and the dollar theater at Southside Mall. Wondering why they called Westgate Mall and Southside Malls "malls". Aaron's Rock-n Roll on Guadalupe. Sneakers on N. Lamar. T G & Y. The White House. Weiner's, when it was a store and you could say it without having to be politically correct. A friend’s dad owned the business across Nueces from Dirty's (University Typewriter Exchange) before selling to a family friend, who in turn decided the property would be more valuable as condos. That was in '86, just as the real estate market was downturning, but not many folks realized it yet. Don't think he ever sold a single condo unit before being foreclosed on. It’s worth a fortune now. You know where the Hole in the Wall is in the 2400 block of Guadalupe? Well, that's where University Typewriter Exchange was, and had been since 1940. In October, '64, a fire consumed the block, including Faulkner Drugstore. Remember the little Quonset-hut-looking shack west of north Guadalupe where you could cash out-of-town checks until midnight was Raymond's Drugs, owned by Raymond Toungate. Raymond Toungate was Faulkner's pharmacist, and reopened the business as Raymond's Drug Store, subsequently relocating on Rio Grande. It’s a condo now. After Faulkner's Pharmacy burned down, one of the fraternities on campus produced a film of "campus life" as their entry in that spring's Varsity Carnival. One scene showed a kid writing a check at Faulkner's Pharmacy, and when he laid it on the counter, it caught fire. The next scene was the local news film clip of the outside of Faulkner Drugstore burning. Remember the Varsity Carnival? Too un-PC to exist in any similar form today. Walking all over Austin before you were even a teenager and no one would bother you because there was no curfew. No seatbelts required and back of the truck was okay, we all piled in, grabbed our tubes, and went to the lake or to the coast. You didn't need a cell phone as a child to go play, and if you were gone all day - that was okay. As long as you rode your bicycle back home in time for dinner, you were OK. Being outside all day and going to anyone's yard to drink from the water spigot when you were thirsty was okay. Riding dirt bikes at 7 humps off of William Cannon, before the bridge over the RR crossing and all the stores and apartments. Aladdin's Castle in the mall. Kiddie Land Park on Barton Springs Rd., with the boats that floated around in a circle, little cars on the track, and you could ride a Shetland pony. Kiddie Acres off McNeil Dr. and Howard Lane. Balcones Woods or Jollyville Rd was considered a road trip. AstroTurf at Memorial Stadium. When I was a kid, we used to go down on the field after UT football games. The place would be crawling with kids playing with those little plastic footballs. I sold programs for the Boy Scouts, and got in free to the UT football games. I made about $15 a game, which was good money back in the early ‘70’s. Back in the day, Memorial Stadium was open until like 10 or 11pm. Students and faculty could go in and jog the track. We used to go in late and ride our bikes around the track if no one was around. Watching Dan Love (and then Cactus Pryor) host the Darrell Royal Show. Dan Love lived a few houses over on Shoal Creek, and I went to school with his son, Noel. Tom Dohr and Phil Miller. Conqueroo. Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids. Rusty (Wier), Layton and John, Hill on the Moon, Uncle Walt's Band (Walter Hyatt, David Ball, Champ Hood – 2 of the 3 are dead), Vince Bell, Steve Fromholz (he died), Stevie Ray (dead) at the Rome Inn, Texas Opry House with Good Golly Big Wally, Poodie and Schroeder, the Dougboy, Slow Movin' Jose, Michael Brovsky, Willie's Picnic at Dripping Springs. BoPeep. Kiddie City. Remember when the Austin Public Library actually had a bookmobile? Now there's something you don't see anymore. Big O = Oscar Snowden. "If you didn't buy it from the BIG O, I KNOW you paid too much". Big O and the bus station and Ted’s Greek Restaurant were torn down to make way for the Frost Tower. Willie Kocurek – “You don't need money, just a little bit a month!”. "Where there's a Willie, there's a way." "and if Willie says it's so, [all together now] IT'S SO.". Willie went to UT Law School when he was in his 70’s. You would see him walking around in a black suit with his trademark red bow tie. Betty Mayfield. Cactus Pryor. Maharani’s. Snyder-Chenard's. Leon’s. Scarboroughs. Handy Andy. Piggly Wiggly. Woolco’s. Capital Saddlery on Lavaca and 17th - Charlie Dunn making boots in the back and owner Buck Steiner of Steiner Ranch fame working up front! Capital Saddlery moved out on 183, and somebody bought the cool old building, and turned it into a $4 million residence. It looks like a 14th Century Venetian whorehouse. I crashed a SXSW Games of Thrones party there, and met Peter Dinkledge - "Tyrion Lanister." I had no clue who he was since GOT wasn't hot yet. Charlie Dunn was Capital Saddlery’s custom boot maker. Every star in Nashville use to come down to have Charlie Dunn make their boots. Jerry Jeff Walker made Charlie Dunn famous by writing a song about him. Reds grocery on 1325. The toy department of Scarbroughs on Congress – they always had big Christmas displays in the window. St. El-Motel on S. Congress where all the prostitutes hung out - “An hour or a lifetime”. Lone Star Courts. Bluebonnet Courts. Petrified Forest Motel. In 1984, I walked into Reynolds-Penland (which was later The Gap, on the corner of 24th and Guadalupe) and asked if they had any knit ties. The clerk snottily replied, “No, sir. The closest thing we have to knit ties would be real ties.” That was the last time I darkened their door on the Drag (though when R-P went out of business when I was in law school, I bought a lot of suits from the Congress Avenue location, chuckling the whole time). When you could actually get into Austin City Limits and they gave you all the free Lone Star you could drink. I had the incredible duty of handing out free Lone Stars to all of the incoming patrons. I also had to hold back one keg for the band after they finished their taping. I got to meet all of my heroes when I brought the keg backstage – Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, Johnnie Cash, Ray Benson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Ray Price, Van Morrison, Asleep at the Wheel, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt. For a kid just going through undergrad, I was in heaven. ACL was on campus at 26th and Guadalupe before it moved to 2nd St. When Pflugerville was nothing more than a high school, a traffic light, a tavern, a church, a firehouse, a post office, and a couple hundred rednecks.. Perfectly clear, blue skies, green horizons, open roads, and a few hundred thousand less hipsters (sniff, sniff). George Muller & Ellen Bayer.. When the Lady Longhorns ranked #1 in the country going into the NCAA basketball tournament four years in a row in the mid-80's, running the table in '86 and capturing the NC. Clarissa Davis was AWESOME!. When we played the Aggies every Thanksgiving – after turkey, you could flop on the couch and watch a doubleheader – Texas v. Texas A&M, then Dallas v. Detroit. I miss beating those Aggies on a regular basis. Gilbert Shelton is generally regarded as Austin's first modern poster artist because of his extensive work with The Vulcan Gas Company, including the logo and the grand opening poster. Gilbert is best known today as the creator of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Wonder Wart-Hog, and Fat Freddy's Cat. Shelton was also an editor of the University of Texas student humor magazine, the “Texas Ranger.”. The trees and the moonlight tower that came down with the Memorial Stadium expansion. The hippies protested by climbing up into these hundred years-old oaks, and Frank Erwin ordered the workers to cut down the trees with the “dirty hippies” in them so that they would fall to their deaths, with tons of oak wood pounding them into the concrete. They don’t make bloodthirsty curmudgeons like Frank Erwin anymore. People called Frank Erwin Special Events Center the Super Drum, because it looked like a Super Drum. UT did NOT like everybody calling it the Super Drum! Then the people who worked there called it the “Frank Erwin Center for Entertainment and Sports” a/k/a “FECES” for the acronym. UT didn’t like that either. Max, the flower vendor, later City Councilman – he could balance and twirl a carnation with the best of them on 6th & Congress. Crazy Carl Hickerson–Bull took up this talent, and ran for mayor and governor a few times. He had a bumper sticker that said “I’m Crazy Too, Carl”. Peter Pan Golf is still there, with the scary looking Peter Pan statue, and the ragged-out dinosaur. The liquor store is gone - they don't serve booze at McDonalds. Playland Amusement Park - using that word at its loosest – used to be just up Lamar, with the tired old Shetland pony. Kiddie Acres had the old glue-pot Shetland and the funky old rides – after they moved it out to Howard Lane. The giant Terminix bug – the frat boys would always steal the Bug (which wasn’t easy to do since it weighed about two tons and was welded to the top of the pole). The Terminix bug was bought by Eddie Wilson of Threadgill's fame. Eddie also had all the old Armadillo artwork, and the Jake's sign and their shuffleboard table, and the Stallion sign. Eddie sold all of his stuff at auction after Threadgill’s South closed. I hope he made a fortune. The Triple J liquor store, where if your parents were in the car, they would sell you what they sent you in for. The J stood for Jamail. The Jamails were members of the Lebanese family that owned many of the bars, liquor stores and real estate around town. Eeyore's when it was still fun at Eastwoods Park when it was started by my UT English professor, Dr. Jim Ayres. Somebody carved a stump in the park to look like some stoned Indian shaman.. Howards Nursery on Koenig Lane shut down after 50 years. Now it's an apartment building. Harrell's Service center on Burnet Road closed. They could fix ANYTHING. And it was an old timey hardware store that had obscure parts and appliances. If they didn’t have it, they could find it for you. The Magic Mushroom on Riverside. Norman Walsh Service Station on East Ave and 7th. Leonard East Poultry on East Ave and 6th. Tips Engine Works. W F Smith & Son Machine Shop. Torn Machine Shop. Modern Supply Machine Shop. B Dalton’s. J R Harris clothing store. Griffins Western Wear. Reese Lumber Co. Bo Peeps. Hemphills Bookstore. University Meat Market on 25 & Guadalupe. Billy Disch Marine on 183 north of Burnet Rd. Once you passed that store, you were immediately in the country and out of Austin. It was right next to the Glastron Boat manufacturing plant. You could smell burning fiberglass for miles around. Motorcycle Flat Race Trace at Burnet Rd and 183. Sears and Montgomery Ward Stores on Congress. Sears at Hancock Center. Grand Silver Stores on Congress Ave. The Terrace Motor Hotel on S. Congress that Willie Nelson was a part owner. That's where they had the Austin Opry House. The Texas Music Hall – Willie played there a lot. The Commodore Perry Hotel downtown. The Chariot Inn on IH35. Disc Records in Highland Mall. Mehl's Motel - on the old Dallas Highway called Lamar (It might still be around). Crest Hotel - it's called “Line” now. Gondolier on Town Lake - it's an apartment complex now - no gondoliers left. Petrified Forest Motel on Guadalupe - now a Walgreens, but they still have pieces of the old Petrified Forest Motel embedded into the foundation. Terrace Hotel. Wentworth’s. St. Matthews Church at Chapel Hill - Somebody bought the church, and turned it into a McMansion. Chapel Hill is still a great place to watch sunsets (and the eclipse). Commodore Perry Boat (we used to call it “Commode Door”). KNOW AM radio station – first radio station I listened to. Professor Moon’s house at the base of Mt. Bonnell. Seahorse Car Wash. Physical Sites: Cave at the bottom of the quarry at Highland Park Elementary. Cave in the side of the hill at Northwest Park. They filled it up with cement so we couldn’t go in it any more. We would climb down that cave, and return home all slimy, so the parents put a stop to it. Cave up by Balcones Drive and Hart lane. This cave was big enough for us to go in. We were using a garden hose instead of a rope to go down, I got into the third chamber, which was about 20 feet down when I ran out of hose. Big problem: unlike the other chambers, this one had water on the walls, and some really slick algae. And that stuff was getting all over the hose, which made it harder to climb out. After several futile and unsuccessful attempts, I was tiring, and realized that I was trapped, and nobody knew where I was. Sheer panic set in. I don’t know if it was adrenaline or what, but I summoned all my strength for one last attempt. Even though the walls were slicker than snot on a doorknob, I was able to get a handhold into the second chamber, which was much drier, and pulled myself up. I just left the hose there, and vowed to never cave without somebody else was with me. Being trapped in that cave was a frightening experience. I have gone back to try to find it again, but the Mopac construction changed the configuration of the Balcones and Hart Lane intersection. I suspect they filled it in during construction. The treehouse on top of the hill at Allen Memorial County Park had a fantastic view of the city. When I looked for the treehouse, it was gone. The treehouse at Great Northern and White Rock Drive next to the railroad tracks. Much making-out was done there. When I came by one day, and saw that this magnificent oak tree with our treehouse was mowed down, and was upside down - roots up, to make way for MoPac, a lot of my childhood was ripped away. Fields, woods and railroad track north of 183 and west of Balcones Research Center (where we hunted dove and beers). Robert Mueller Airport where we used to walk out and look at the planes taking off and landing from the balcony. Seeing the jets landing right over your head on Airport Blvd. Stone quarry at Braker and 183 for swimming. Some church bought it, and you can’t go there anymore. Party Barn (off of City Park Road). Western Auto (where HEB is now). Jack Morton's Men’s Wear. Allandale Cafeteria (later Poncho’s). Minimax. Austin Army Navy (and that huge pair of Levis hanging on the wall). The Army-Navy store was at 6th & Colorado until American National Bank built that gold office building on that block. They moved over to about the 400 block of Congress, on the west side, and kept the name but quickly became an almost exclusively Levi-Strauss store. The old Academy Surplus store was on the east side of Congress about 300 block. Remember very well seeing Max Gotchman walking out the front door, chewing on his 3 inch cigar, stretching his back, looking up and down the street and going back in. Cadeau (on the Drag). Circle Stereo. Gibson’s Discount Center. Hand Andy Grocery. Bishop's Barber Shop. Checker Front Grocery Store (later Minimax). Sansing's Highland Park Pharmacy. Winn's Five and Dime store. Hyde Park Pharmacy. JR Reed's on Congress (test-driving all the 45s and buying one). Kash-Karry Grocery. Lariat Ranch Wear (South Congress). Maya (one of the first upscale hippie ready to wear). Magic Mushroom (in Dobie Mal). Rooster Andrews (Guadalupe). Rylander’s Grocery. Sage. Shopper's World. Snyder Chenard’s. Stripling Blake Lumber. Calcasiue Lumber Company. Summer's Rexall. Utotem(s). Ballard’s. Lucy In Disguise. Cheapo’s. Maya Star. Randall’s on 35th St. Girls running around pretending they were riding horses. Packs of them.. Favorite torture of obnoxious kids at Lamar - Indian burns, nipple cripple, headlock, noogies, swirlies, towel snapping in the locker room, wet willies, Hertz donut, flat foot, shoe lacing, Kanchos, full moons, t!tty twisters, Russian haircuts, dunny flushing, tighty whiteys, Cleveland steamers, wedgie the geek. Shoot the Bull with Schlitz malt liquor tallboys and making out with Sherrie. Boones Farm Apple or Strawberry Wine, when the drinking age was 18. Drinking Pink Cold Duck at a party, and having a technicolor yawn the next morning. Lots of guys in college wearing Army jackets everywhere. Dad telling me to go get a switch off a tree so he could "spank" me. Dad telling me, "this is hurting me more than it's hurting you." He lied. Hard pews in church and itchy wool pants. Flying kites with tails made out of scrap sheets.. Driving home at 100 mph after seeing the movie “Vanishing Point.” Butterflies in the stomach, and no appetite when I first met Loretta. Wanting to be Dirty Harry. Driving on 183 at 135 mph in John Moore’s Porsche when it was only a two-lane road. Why am I still alive? Strait Music Company. Sound Warehouse. AutoShack. Sound Exchange. Davis Hardware. Waterloo I miss old Austin (sniff).

Do you remember these clubs and bars?.

Seeing Stevie Ray at the Rome Inn?
The Chequered Flag at 15th and Lavaca. Folk music club in the late 60's. The Misfits, The Next, The Skunks, Joe King Carrasco, The Big Boys, F-Systems, Television, The Stains and the Dicks at Raul’s on the Drag. Randy “Biscuit” Turner of Big Boys fame - he had like this reverse mohawk where he cut a groove in the center of his head of hair and had a Hotwheel car glued in the center! RIP Biscuit.
The Jade Room was very formal, run like a tight ship by its owner/manager, Marge Funk. It used to be an old Checker front grocery store at 15th and San Jacinto, and played dance music. The dance floor was tiny. Next door was the original Buzzy Buck's Pizza Kitchen. It’s a parking lot now.
The New Orleans Club.
Emmajoes – lot’s of folk music.
Bubble Puppy and the 13th Floor Elevators at Vulcan Gas Company on 3rd & Congress
Roky Erikson playing at Rare Earth.
Lightnin’ Hopkins and Muddy Waters at Castle Creek.
The Armadillo World Headquarters. Need we say more?
The Skyline Club way out on N.Lamar. Elvis played out there in the ‘50’s, then Soap Creek Saloon moved there after they left Westlake Hills. Soap Creek Saloon used to be up on top of the hill off of Bee Caves Road just west of Walsh Tarlton Rd. overlooking a shopping center now. It used to be Griffith’s Party Barn. Old man Griffith took care of horses, and you could ride in the pasture overlooking Austin.
Soap Creek played some of the best bands of all time - Doug Sahm, Joe Ely, Steam Heat, Paul Ray and the Cobras, Freda and the Firedogs, the Uranium Savages, Greezy Wheels, Gatemouth Brown, Joe Ely, Delbert McClinton! They filmed “Outlaw Blues” there. The owner of Soap Creek was George Majewski, and the Uranium Savages made merciless fun of him. Freddie King and Johnny Winter both played there.
Liberty Lunch – used to be an old lumberyard; partially indoors and partially outdoors. Allen Ginsburg spoke poetry there once. It was the first place in Austin that had reggae bands and World Music. It got torn down for the new City Hall, or for some high-tech company.
The Austin Coliseum "B29 Hanger" next to the RR tracks on Riverside Drive. They used to have a livestock show there every year. Later, they had concerts. It was the first time I saw the B-52s. Ironic in the B-29 hanger.
Lake Austin Inn.
Dessau Hall.
Bull Creek Lodges – they had a Texas flag painted on the bottom of the pool. It is now County Line Restaurant.
Jake’s.
Tony's bar.
The Go-Go club on San Jacinto and 18th.
The 20-20 club.
Beerland.
Shorty's.
Ego’s Freddy, the manager at Scholz Garten who would walk around on his crutches from table to table to see how everyone was doing.
The Posse West. The Posse East is still around.
Duke’s Royal Coach Inn – a lot of punk bands played there.
Henry’s Bar & Grill.
The Chaparral.
The 183 Club.
The Still.
Ted’s Tagata Lounge.
Hector’s Taco Flats – “Over 3000 Tacos Returned”.
Bull Creek Party Barn.
Electric Lounge.
Sco-Pro Lounge.
The Nexus
Pete's On the Drag
Fritz's.
Lil Abner’s.
The Shorthorn - Shorthorn was a little south of the Stallion. Went there a few times in the ‘80s for Tommy Hancock and the Supernatural Family Band.
Red Rooster? It was in a house next door to the Stallion (north of it).
HiHo Supper Club The Flamingo.
The Beach.
The Round House was across from DPS, about where Cook Walden Funeral Home is today.
Harris Wayside Inn.
Ernie’s Chicken Shack.
The South Door.
Spellman’s.
Charlie's Playhouse in East Austin, 11th or 12th street (gasp, east of IH35) and dancing to the GREAT music and live performers. Our parents would have wrung our necks if they knew we were going to the “wrong” side of town.
Black Queen.
La Cucaracha.
Buffalo Gap.
The Lamplight.
The Gig.
Flight 505.
The Ritz Theater.
Brook's.
The Green Spot.
The Plantation.
Cannibal Club.
The North Forty.
The South Forty.
Chicago House.
Bevo’s.
Diamond Lil’s
Club Caravan - Villa Capri's nightclub. You could get a mixed drink if you joined the “club”. UT bought the Villa Capri, tore it down, and now it is the UT football team’s practice field.
When the old Antones was Shakey’s Pizza Parlor. Antones moved more times than the Cedar Door, and is now back on 5th St. The Cedar Door was a bar in a trailer on 1st St (before trailers were cool), because they lost their lease so much, they would just hitch it up and go to the next place. Cedar Door seems to be doing well at 2nd and Brazos by the Convention Center. They finally took the tires off.
Nobody went to the Office Lounge except Kappa Sigs and the UT maintenance crews. I remember the owner/bartender had terrible eyesight, and every once in a while, the frats would give him a $1.00 and tell him it was a $10, in order to get a little more beer money. We grabbed one of those orange booth chairs with the Longhorn logo, when they tore the place down. I have no idea what happened to it.
Louie's, across the street, was OK, but everybody went there.
The Posse West was as good as it gets on the first few warm days of spring.
The liquor store at Barton Springs and S. Lamar, where if your parents were in the car, they would sell you what they sent you in for. 
Mother Earth, when it was on 10th & Lamar just south of The Tavern. Mother Earth burned to the ground from arson in the late ‘70's.
Duke's Royal Coach Inn.
Steamboat 1874.
Le Dare - when it was owned by the “Le Dare” brothers.
Cody's at 183/Lamar.
Alamo Lounge.
Alliance Wagonyard
Ten cent well drinks at The Boathouse on Wednesday nights.
Watching the drunk guys fight at Cardies.
Watching the high guys fight at Sidepocket.
"Three for the price of one" Funerals and Hurricanes and Zombies and Deaths with a HUGE mound of salad or nachos at Chelsea Street Pub at Northcross Mall.
“Rocky Horror Picture Show” at midnight.
The Gold Mine Arcade.
Dirty 6th street was a bunch of liquor stores, pawn shops, massage parlors and finance loan sharks.
Cardis.
The Outhouse. That was a great neighborhood bar on 37th Street between Nasty's and Flamingo's. Flamingo's bought it and turned into a parts warehouse.
Uncle Nasty's was a rugby bar that has a wicked hip-hop Monday scene with cheap beer, pool and a decent patio. Wade breaking beer bottles over his head.
The Greenhouse .
The Backyard.
Angles.
The Lumber Yard.
The Silver Dollar - when you were broke, it was the place to go because of nickel beers and quarter pitchers.
Strange Brew.
Joe’s Generic Bar.
Hatties.
Momo’s.
Daisy Mae’s.
The Oasis on Ben White (not the one on Lake Travis). Black Cat Lounge Bar on Sixth Street. Remember sitting on those dirty black bleachers? Often served by Sasha Sessums - daughter of owner Paul, who was one of the warmest, funniest guys I ever met in my life. One of my saddest memories was when Paul died in 1999, when the van he was driving had a wreck and flipped over. The Black Cat also had free hot dogs until the health department shut that down. Sometime in the early 2000s, the Black Cat burned down, and nothing near as cool as that place has existed in Austin since. How many bars will book unknown bands just because they love the music and attitude of the bands playing? Some great and many horrible bands got their start/much needed momentum from the Black Cat including Joe Rockhead, Soulhat, Banana Blender Surprise, Last Chance, Flametrick Subs, Billy White Trio, Sister Seven/Little Sister/Patrice Pike, Two Hoots and a Holler, Chris Duarte, Ian Moore, E.R. Shorts, Sunflower, Pushmonkey, Dale Watson, and Steamroller to name a few. Patrice Pike was even on a REALITY SHOW! She shoulda won.
The Poodle Dog Lounge and the Horseshoe are no longer open, but with the smoking ordinance in place, they don't reek so bad. Same with Deep Eddie Cabaret and the Elephant Room.
The Back Room on Riverside (people called it the “Bath Room” because it was a real dive). The Back Room always had heavy metal bands playing. I saw the Ramones there on Halloween night. That show was so loud, I blame my hearing loss on it.
Pinball machines at ALL the clubs. Like the Chat 'N Chew, the Piss ‘N Wiggle, the Squat ‘N Gobble, the Nutty Brown Café, or the This IS It! Bar, or Mickey's Thirsty Time Saloon, or Ted’s Tagata Lounce, or Dee & Jim’s, or the G&S, or the Silver Dollar, where Arkie Blue and his Blue Notes play, or Red's Scoot Inn, or Dave's Dam Café.
The Doll House “Gentleman’s Entertainment” bar on S. Congress. When the Dallas Cowboys used to have training camp at St. Edwards, you could go watch Troy Aikman, Emmit Smith, Darrell “Moose” Johnson, Jay Novacek and Michael Irvin work out on campus. I saw Deion Sanders pull up in a pimped-out golf cart that had spinners and a monster sound system. Jimmie Johnson didn’t think too much of Deion Sanders showing off like that. You could then go to the Doll House next door, where Michael Irvin had his own table in the back. He was always covered up with about 5 blonde strippers. They were all hoovering coke.
My Oh My! Club on S Lamar.
The Cricket Club in the English Aire Apartments.
Big Gs in Round Rock.
Old Moosehead Tavern Dance Hall in Oak Hill.
Elm Grove Lodge Dance Hall on Bee Cave Road.
Hilltop Dancehall on old 183 North.
Doug’s Club on Barton Springs Rd.
Al Sax's Top Hat, Cinderella Club, Club 13, Windmill Club, 4 Palms – all on South Congress. One of them turned into Trophy’s (now C-Boys Heart & Soul), and another into Magnolia Café. Price's Hall on old Dallas Hwy.
Swingers A-Go-Go on Houston St. and N. Lamar (near McCallum). First called the Action Club, then turned into The White Rabbit disco, back when disco was popular. Then it became El Paso Cattle Co.
The Silver Arrow Disco beneath the Pathfinder Restaurant at Mopac and Greystone Dr.
Sunset Tavern on Hwy 183 North.
Avalon Club, Varsity Inn and Galaxy Club on North Lamar.
Bruder's Lounge on Burnet Rd.
The Terrace Motor Hotel on S. Congress that Willie Nelson was a part owner. That's where they had the Austin Opry House.
The Texas Music Hall – Willie played there a lot.
The Silver Dollar Saloon.
The Lumber Yard on Burnet Rd.
Dallas Night Club.
New West.
Louie’s Lounge.
Austin Rodeo.
South 40.
The Flying Circus.
Jovita’s.
Nero's Nook.
The Jade Room.
The Dam Saloon by Mansfield Dam had good bands.
The Vulcan Gas Co. at 4th and Congress.
The Sit-n-Bull.
Southpark Meadows.
Cameron Inn Lounge.
The Chapparal Lounge.
Big Gil's Dancehall on South Congress.
Austin Outhouse.
Blue Parrot.
Boondocks
Brass Key.
Waterloo Brewing.
Austin Music Hall.
The Bucket on 24th – lots of sorority girls going there to get drunk, and get picked up.
Cameron Inn on Cameron Road.
Canary Hut (on I-35).
Castle Creek.
Manor Downs.
The After Hours Club.
Chelsea Street Pub.
Codey’s.
Austex Lounge.
Donna's Lounge.
Saturday’s.
The SPCST.
Nickel Beer night at the Double Eagle.
Eli’s.
Sparky’s off of Burnet Rd.
TC’s Lounge.
Dog and Duck Pub
El Paso Cattle Company, the dance hall by McCallum
Hansel and Gretel's (now Trudy's) - infamous for serving underaged UT students
Jade Room Jake's - best shuffleboard on the planet.
The Keg
Little Wheel on Hwy 290 in Oak Hill.
Big Wheel on Hwy 71.
Nero's Nook on Ben White. New Orleans Club.
Poodle Dog Lounge on Burnet Road (now the Aristocrat).
Rome Inn (now Texas French Bread, which burned down).
South Door.
Steamboat Springs.
The Tap.
Three Points Tavern (out by the lake).
The Original Backstage at S Congress and Academy.
Town Pump Lounge.
Hill on the Moon.
Rivard’s Frontier Lounge.
The Gambit.
Romeo’s.
Emo’s.
Flanigan’s.
Room 710.
Dance Across Texas.
Atomic Café.
Cavity Club.
Chain Drive – gay bar that had no womans’ restrooms.
Blue Flamingo.
La Zona Rosa.
Club de Ville.
Chances.
Cave Club.
Raven's Garage.
Poodie's.
11th Door.
Waterloo Social Club.
One Knite.
Hall's.
Red 7.
City Coliseum.
Backstreet Basics.
Austin Country.
Dry Creek Tavern.
The Driftwood Icehouse.
Rick’s Cabaret.
Toad Hall.
O’Henry’s.
Banana’s.
The Hungry Horse.
Bonnie’s Place.
Club Foot.
Split Rail.
Element Nightclub.
The Paradox. 
Maggie Mae’s.
Toulouse.
The Filling Station.
Jalisco’s.
The Stumble Inn in Oak Hill.

I miss old Austin (sniff).

Graduation!!

10th or 20th?

Jim Oakes and Mark Fugler. Best of times together for over 50 years!

Mixed memories of the Stallion Drive Inn eatery on North Lamar

Atmosphere and cheap food attracted hippies, bikers, kickers, families.

Michael Barnes Published 12:02 am CT March 21, 2018

Reader Gary Vliet asks of our Answered Answered project: “In the 1970s there was a great restaurant on North Lamar, the Stallion. Could you give a little history and when and why it closed?”

The Stallion Drive Inn Restaurant was located at 5534 Dallas Highway — now North Lamar Boulevard.

We know that the Stallion, which served comfort food such as chicken fried steak, veal cutlets, hamburgers, malts and liver and onions, went back at least as far as 1950. That’s because of a fine Neal Douglass photo taken Oct. 4, 1950. It was part of a strip of highway businesses — the Chief Drive-In Theater, which opened in 1947, road houses, diners — that served the new suburbs or Allandale, Crestview and Brentwood.

Still don’t know exactly when and why it closed. Hold that thought for another column.

“It was still open in the mid-1980s (‘83-‘85),” says beloved broadcaster Fred Cantu, “I used to join in as Sammy Allred did live radio spots for the Stallion when we did mornings at KTXZ’s ‘All Star Rock & Roll.’”

Two Facebook pages, “Old Austin Dives, Greasy Spoons, Etc.” and “Dazed and Confused/Keeping Our Austin Memories Alive w/Its Rich History,” regularly feature the Stallion. While some contributors relish memories of certain dishes as well as employees and guests, others walked away from the Drive Inn perplexed by the food, which included cream gravy poured over salad.

“I never figured out how they got the gravy to be that orange color,” posts Bubba Stark. “Great cheap food, though.”

The atmosphere sounds pure Austin

“I loved the Stallion!” posts Mark Lind. “The most eclectic mix of clientele of any restaurant in old Austin: hippies, bikers, ‘kickers,’ families, etc. Bar downstairs, restaurant upstairs. And a great neon sign.”

“It was good, cheap eating,” posts Frank Tomicek. “Had triple-patties there on many occasions with a three-buck pitcher of Lone Star. I miss that place.”

How The 1970s Defined Austin

austinmonthly.com/how-the-1970s-defined-austin September 2018

So, you’ve just moved to Austin, Texas. Congratulations. Despite the increasing taxes, traffic, cedar fever, cost of housing, and not-so-infrequent outbreaks of self-importance, it’s still an A-list destination. Even the briefest inventory would list a host of desirable amenities: the lakes, the Hill Country, the skyrocketing restaurant scene, the mystic waters of Barton Springs, live music seemingly on every corner, a pedal-to-the-metal tech-driven economy, neighborhood enclaves of hipster cool, Longhorn sports fandom, and more annual festivals than you can throw a wristband at. Great stuff, huh?

Unfortunately, you missed it. The real Austin, that is.

Better to hear it from me first, because you’ll hear it a lot. You won’t be in town long before grizzled old farts like yours truly—scientific name, Cootus armadillicus—will start bending your ear about the Armadillo, the $10-an-ounce pot, the beautiful waitresses at Les Amis, the dirt-cheap housing, the 35-cent tequila nights at Soap Creek Saloon with Paul Ray and the Cobras, the crispy tacos at “El Mat” (R.I.P. El Matamoros), and all the other gone-with-the-wind charms that embodied Austin in the glory years of the 1970s. Did I mention the $10 pot?

Before you roll your eyes too much, it’s important to understand that the template of the Austin you know today was forged by the forces that came to bear on the city during the ’70s. Joe Nick Patoski, the author and music historian, has a book coming out at the end of the year, Austin to ATX: The Hippies, Pickers, Slackers and Geeks Who Transformed the Capital of Texas, that elaborates on that very thesis.

“The alternative outside culture is what built modern Austin,” he tells me, “starting with hippies in the ’60s, the musicians who moved here in the ’70s, the film people and South by Southwest and Whole Foods that followed in the ’80s, and tech in the ’90s. Each element flourished because of what preceded it. Music couldn’t have happened without the hippies. Film couldn’t have happened without the music. Tech couldn’t be the economic engine that took over Austin without hippies, music, and film providing the foundation … Pretty much everything that’s happened since is tied into those basic building blocks.”

I got an earful about the scene developing in Austin early on. A native Texan, I was marooned at the University of Missouri in the early 1970s studying the arcane craft of journalism, freezing my ass off in the unaccustomed winters, pretending Taco Bell was real Tex-Mex, and trying in vain to get drunk on 3.2 percent alcohol content beer. (That’s the low-alcohol beer that 18-year-olds could buy—made you pee a lot, but it didn’t get you very loaded.)

Two West Texas buddies of mine, meanwhile, made a beeline to Austin and enrolled as happy-go-lucky Plan II liberal arts majors at the University of Texas. They rented a two-bedroom apartment a beer mug toss from the Tavern saloon at 12th and Lamar for $150 a month and proceeded to carve out, as Billy Lee Brammer put it in The Gay Place, “room enough to caper.” They began to mail me notes and missives, the exact contents of which varied, but could be generally summed up like this:

“Hey, dude. You’ll never believe it, we ran into Willie Nelson buying a six-pack of Lone Star at the U-Totem, and he told us to come check out his gig at the Armadillo tonight. Which we’re gonna do after we smoke some of this lid of reefer we just scored and then we’ll go check out the topless hippie chicks at Barton Springs. Wish you were here, you poor frozen bastard…”

Before long, I was. I transferred to the university in August of 1975 and began my 43-year slog toward old-codgerdom. (Someone once asked a long-established local musician if he’d lived in Austin his whole life. “Not yet,” he replied.)

Austin was smaller, saner, and far more comprehensible in 1975. The population was a smidge over 250,000 in 1970; today, it’s a little more than 950,000 and climbing by an estimated 150 people a day. The metro area, which includes Cedar Park, Georgetown, and Round Rock, is growing even faster.

In the ’70s, the city proper was roughly bounded by U.S. 183 on the north side and Stassney Lane on the south. Across the river (then known as Town Lake) to the west lay a few outlier neighborhoods; the rest was the province of ranchers and the semi-mythical breed of hardscrabble settlers called cedar choppers. The late, great Molly Ivins said the motto for South Austin should be “A Great Place to Buy Auto Parts.” Uber-trendy today, South Congress was home to feed stores, junk shops, and lots of junkies and ladies of the night. The then–San José Motel was a hot-pillow joint that, it was said, rented rooms by the hour.

The foreboding barrier of I-35 walled off the black and Hispanic neighborhoods of East Austin, which is a shame because you could get an amazing plate of migas at Cisco’s or slip into a blues joint like the IL Club, Ernie’s Chicken Shack, or Charlie’s Playhouse. While terra incognita to most white college students, the communities were alive with black and Chicano activism. The Brown Berets, personified by activist Paul Hernandez, protested powerboat races at Festival Beach, which helped set the template for future protests against symbols of environmental racism on the East Side. There was the frequently aflame Holly Street Power Station and a sprawling petroleum tank farm that leaked dangerous chemicals into the local groundwater, which inspired the formation of other activist groups like PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources). Brown and black protesters joined forces to address looming gentrification, the Ku Klux Klan, and police shootings.

The economy was predicated on state government (then entirely run, as it had been for nearly a century, by Democrats); the complex of higher education institutions, including UT, Huston-Tillotson, St. Edward’s, and Concordia; and the federal payroll that bankrolled Bergstrom Air Force Base. The arrival of IBM in 1967, followed by Tracor, Texas Instruments, and Motorola, represented the first seedlings of what would become a mighty forest of tech industries 30 years later.

It was a young person’s town—not just the students, but also the state workers, the flyboys from Bergstrom, and the growing influx of artists who all gave the city a youthful cast, which still resonates.

Young people played a major role in changing the complexion of the city for keeps—literally. Thanks largely to the lowering of the voting age to 18 in 1971, people of color like Richard Moya, Wilhelmina Delco, and John Treviño began showing up on the commissioners court, the school board, and City Council. The so-called “Hippie Mayor,” a 30-year-old former UT student activist named Jeff Friedman, was elected in 1975, making him the youngest mayor in the city’s history. As most cities at the time were, Austin was riven by factions supporting and opposed to the Vietnam War. The Capitol grounds and UT’s campus were the scenes of massive antiwar protests and marches.

Then another seismic, age-related event occurred in 1973—the drinking age in Texas dropped to 18. The number of clubs catering to the new clientele—most of them featuring live music—exploded.

The capital city had always had music venues, dating back at least to 1852 with the Austin Saengerrunde German singing society. Eighty-odd years later, Kenneth Threadgill’s Depression-era gasoline station out on the Dallas Highway, as North Lamar was referred to back then, became the creative home to Janis Joplin, a UT coed who played her autoharp and sang “Silver Threads and Golden Needles.” There was a Chitlin’ Circuit stopover on the East Side called the Victory Grill, opened by a World War II vet named Johnny Holmes, and the Skyline Club, a classic roadhouse north of town where Hank Williams played his last gig. Honky-tonks like the Broken Spoke and Big G’s were a staple.

But in the ’70s, there was an infusion of rock clubs like the One Knite and Mother Earth, singer-songwriter hotbeds such as Castle Creek, Soap Creek Saloon, lovingly known as the “honky-tonk in the hills,” and many more. In 1975, Clifford Antone took over an old department store space across from the Driskill Hotel on Sixth Street and birthed Antone’s, his eponymous and enduring “Home of the Blues,” thus beginning a run that continues to this day. Once a run-down stretch of Mexican beer joints, shoeshine parlors, haberdasheries, and boarded-up storefronts, “Dirty Sixth” is today an entertainment destination in part because of the late club owner’s vision.

 Here’s the thing—two pivotal developments during the decade in question cemented Austin’s image. One was the broadcast debut, in 1976, of the music series Austin City Limits, on the city’s PBS affiliate KLRN (now KLRU). More on that in a minute. The preceding watershed moment came on Aug. 7, 1970, when a handful of visionaries opened a hulking, abandoned ex–National Guard armory on Barton Springs Road that they re-christened Armadillo World Headquarters.

In its decade-long, up-and-down history, AWHQ became—accurately or not—virtual shorthand for the entire Austin music scene. It was envisioned as an incubator for all the arts, including art galleries, a recording studio with video production facilities, live theater, dance, etc. But it was as a music venue that it achieved its enduring fame.

The bookings at the ’Dillo were breathtakingly eclectic, from Count Basie to Frank Zappa to Parliament/Funkadelic to Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys to a skinny kid from Jersey named Bruce Springsteen, who made his AWHQ debut in March of 1974 with local western swing band Alvin Crow and the Pleasant Valley Boys as his opener.

But the most consequential booking in the Armadillo’s history occurred on Aug. 12, 1972, when a guy named Willie Nelson appeared to play before an eclectic crowd of snuff-dipping rednecks, hippie girls in granny dresses, blue-haired Presbyterian church ladies, and agreeably stoned UT potheads. Willie was a Nashville songwriter of much renown, although he couldn’t get arrested as a concert headliner outside of Texas. But as soon as he saw the musical and cultural fusion happening in Austin, he knew he had found a home.

“Being a natural leader,” Nelson told biographer Bud Shrake, “I saw which direction this movement was going and threw myself in front of it.”

The late singer-songwriter Steven Fromholz summed the scene up nicely for the Austin Chronicle some years back: “You had rednecks and you had hippies and they were all there for one reason: They loved to get loaded and listen to music and we were doing something they all liked. It was kind of crazy.”

Willie didn’t snap his fingers and spark the musical fusion of country, rock, blues, and folk that became known by the singularly clumsy monikers of “progressive country,” “redneck rock,” or “cosmic cowboy.” But he, along with the likes of Asleep at the Wheel, Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, and Ray Wylie Hubbard, came to embody it, and the Armadillo was Nelson’s launchpad. (As the ’70s waned, hippies in cowboy boots yielded to sharp-dressed cats and kittens who shook their tail feathers to the R&B grooves of Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lou Ann Barton, and more.)

More than anything, the Armadillo created an instant community. Imagine being the only long-haired boy or bohemian girl in, say, Lufkin or Beeville or Muleshoe. It’s small-town Texas in the ’70s and you’re hassled by the cops, disdained by everyone else. It’s lonely. Suddenly one night, you arrive in Austin and walk into a music venue where 1,500 screaming fans are pounding Lone Star beer and raising the roof to Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. “Lord have mercy, Baby Jesus!” you exclaim in wonder, “There’s thousands of us!” Just like Willie, you finally find a home.

National artists (and generous press coverage) spread the word about the rapturous, Texas-size fan reaction they received at the Armadillo and other clubs in Austin. That, in turn, helped grow the local scene. Thus, “The Live Music Capital of the World.”

But it took Austin City Limits to bring the city to the world. Still going strong after 44 years, the show began as a 1974 pilot program featuring—who else?—Willie Nelson. A mere 50 PBS stations agreed to air the first season in 1976. In the years since, it has featured generations of American musical artists of consequence. Like the town it calls home, its lineup changed and grew more diverse over the years, with more music genres and artists of different stripes appearing. In early July of this year, Grammy-winning R&B star Miguel taped an episode and recounted the number of times he had watched the show growing up and what it meant to him to be standing “on this legendary stage.”

The TV show (and its internet simulcasts) conveyed to viewers everywhere an idealized vision of the city, especially when it was still filmed at KLRU’s Studio 6-A on the University of Texas campus, its original home. In 1999, I wrote a book, Austin City Limits: 25 Years of American Music, and I tried to give a sense of the allure the show projected: “Thanks to ACL, when people around the country think of the Texas capital, they don’t envision billionaires like Michael Dell or pontificating state politicians. They think instead of Stevie Ray Vaughan or the Neville Brothers or Emmylou Harris playing on a hillside above a glittering skyline … Nothing the city has ever generated, promoted, or exported has come close to creating the indelible civic identity that Austin City Limits has conferred upon its hometown.”

So now here we all are in the Lord’s Year 2018. Stuck in traffic together, looking for the newest Next Big Thing. But, paradoxically, for everyone who is just moving here, these are the new good old days. Every generation that arrives in Austin recalls their personal heyday as the golden era, and you, newbie, will too.

Mark this dinosaur’s words: One day many years hence you’ll be sitting at the bar in your favorite watering hole and the fresh-faced stranger on the next stool will innocently allude to some trendy new spot, band, or gathering.

“Aw, hell, kid,” you will find yourself saying. “That don’t hold a candle to (fill in the blank: your cherished and probably long-vanished club, restaurant, festival, etc). You shoulda been here way back in 2018. I hate to tell you, but you really, really missed it, amigo…”

And in that moment, you, my friend, will become a true Austinite. 

Anderson High School - L.C. Anderson opened at its current location on Mesa Dr. in 1973. The school is named for Laurine Cecil (L.C.) Anderson who served as principal of Prairie View Normal Institute (now Prairie View A&M University), founded the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas (CTSAT) and served as principal of the original Anderson (then E.H. Anderson) from 1896 to 1929.

McCallum - On Sept. 8, 1953, McCallum High School opened its doors for the first time. The school was built to help relieve overflow from Austin High and address growth in north and northwest Austin. It was named after AISD's first high school superintendent, A.N. McCallum. In 1994, McCallum motioned to make its campus the home of AISD's Fine Arts Academy. Currently, the Fine Arts Academy is open to all students in AISD who wish to attend, given that they are accepted following an admissions process. Current fine arts strands include visual arts, dance, theatre (acting/performance and technical), cinematic arts, voice, and instrumental music (band, orchestra, classical guitar, and collaborative piano).

Anderson High School - For over 80 years, from 1889 to 1971, L.C. Anderson thrived as the premier school on Austin’s East Side. In 1971 the school was ordered closed by a federal judge as part of desegregation and a new, integrated L. C. Anderson High School was opened in 1973 at the current site. The Original LC Anderson HS had an eighty-two year history of excellence in academics, fine arts, college and career preparation and athletics. Even though the school was closed, the graduates of the Original LC Anderson High School have alumni chapters in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Southern California/Arizona/Nevada.

Anderson Yellowjackets uniforms