Austin History
Austin has changed, a lot. Much of the history of Austin has been paved over in the name of progress. But for all that Austin has changed, there remains some remnant of the way things were. This section of Austin Explorer highlights historical sites in Austin. Not museums, but relics and ruins that might not have been fully preserved for posterity. These ruins provide two benefits. First, they usually require that the visitor get out outdoors and walk or bike around to see them. Secondly, they provide interesting backdrops for some of the lesser known stories of Austin's history
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Nau's Pharmacy
A neighborhood convenience store features one of the only authentic soda fountains in Austin. Haile Airport / Howard Nursery
After 94 years in business, Howard Nursery is closing down. The closing of this Austin gardening institution will also have ramifications for the remains of Haile Airport. Crockett Gardens
This oasis along modern day Lake Georgetown was a working vegetable farm and grew the first strawberries in Williamson County.
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O'Henry Hall was Austin's first permanent post office and also hosted the trial of noted short story author O'Henry on embezzlement charges.
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Recommended Item
Austin Then and Now (Then & Now)
by William Dylan Powell
List Price: $18.95
Our price: $11.55
Twenty-first century Austin has a reputation as a quirky, hip, culturally-diverse town that’s home to the world-famous South-by-Southwest music festival and the University of Texas Longhorns. It’s come a long way since Spanish explorers arrived circa 1709. Austin Then and Now rounds up all of the hot spots in a unique photographic history of Texas’ capital city.
• When Mirabeau Lamar succeeded Sam Houston as the President of the Republic of Texas, he moved the capital from Houston to Austin. The State Capitol that was eventually built in 1888 remains the largest statehouse in the U.S.
• Students will get a kick out of the side-by-side then-and-now photos of the University of Texas Tower and Main building — what was once a humble single building on 40 acres is now one of the largest public universities in the United States.
• Austin’s Driskill Hotel, one of the finest Victorian hotels in the west, has long been a destination for famous Texans. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson took Lady Bird to the Driskill on their first date!
• Austin’s most famous landmarks are featured, including the O. Henry House, the French Legation, the Governor’s Mansion, and other locations beloved by Texans.
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