Austin, Texas

Barton Springs Pool
2100 Barton Springs Rd.
512/476-9044.
Admission charged.
Daily 5am-10pm. Lifeguard on duty March-mid-November. Call for hours.
This huge natural spring-fed pool is a favorite summertime attraction. Each day approximately 32 million gallons of water from the underground Edwards aquifer bubble to the surface. At one time the water powered several Austin mills. In the early 1900s when the city dammed Barton Creek, the sides were lined with concrete to form a pool which is more than 1/4 mile long and 125 feet wide. The water is a constant, clear, invigorating 68°F. Part of Zilker Park, it is considered a premier swimming location.

State Capitol.
11th St. and Congress Ave., Austin,
512/463-0063.
Bus: Yellow, orange, Red, Blue 'Dillo lines
Free admission
Mon-Fri. 7am-10pm; Sat., Sun. 9am-8pm; call for dates and times during legislative sessions.
Austin's downtown is dominated by its Renaissance Revival-style capitol building, constructed in 1888 of Texas pink granite. When the old state capitol building burned in 1881, it cleared the way for a grander structure, reminiscent of the Washington Capitol. Austin's capitol is taller, of course (it's the largest state capitol in the country). A restoration process and refurbishing of the grounds was begun in 1990 and completed in 1997. An underground annex was added, and the wrought iron fence topped with gold Lone stars, restored. The original fence was needed in the 1880's to keep cattle off the grounds.
The underground addition was built by chiseling away 700,000 tons of rock. The entire structure covers 3 acres of ground. The cornerstone alone weighs 16,000 pounds.

Check to see which legislative sessions are open to the public, so that a visit to view this impressive building can be combined with a sample of Texas government in action.

Charles Moore House.
2102 Quarry Rd., Austin
512/477-4557
Tours by appointment.
Admission charged.
Charles Moore, had a great effect on post-modernism in the architectural field. He designed this one with Arthur Andersson. The house has been favorably compared to such architectural treasures as Monticello and Wright's Taliesin. The house was preserved following Moore's death by the Charles W. Moore Foundation. which arranges with the present owners for tours and fund-raisers. The rooms are alive with vivid colors, and contain folk art from around the world.

Driskill Hotel
604 Brazos St., Austin
512/474-5911.
Bus: Red and blue 'Dillos
A monument to Richardsonian Romanesque style, this delightful - and some say haunted - grande dame is embellished with stone busts of its original owner, cattle baron Jesse Driskill, and his sons. Two-story porches with Romanesque Revival columns surround the arched entrances. Over the years, countless legislators, lobbyists, and social leaders have held court behind its limestone walls

Duck Tours
Tours depart from the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau Visitor Center
200 W. 26th St., Austin
512/477-5274.
Fee Charged
Austin Duck Adventures operates authentic amphibious military landing vehicles, also known as "ducks," that take visitors around the land-based sights, then splash into Lake Austin for a relaxing cruise. You'll see the State Capitol, Governor's Mansion, University of Texas-Austin campus and, of course, Lake Austin from a duck's perspective.

Elisabet Ney Museum
304 E. 44th St
512/458-2255
Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm
Bus: nos. 1 or 5
Free admission
This was the home and studio of German-born sculptor Elisabet Ney in the late 19th century. In the former loft and working area, visitors can view plaster replicas of many of her pieces. Ney created busts of Schopenhauer, Garibaldi, and Bismarck before she was commissioned to make models of Texas heroes Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston for an 1893 Chicago exposition. The studio also contains many of her marble portrait sculptures. William Jennings Bryan, Enrico Caruso, Jan Paderewski, and four Texas governors were among the many visitors to her Austin studio.

French Legation Museum
802 San Marcos
512/472-8180
Tours Tues-Sun 1-5pm
Go east on Seventh St., then turn left on San Marcos St.; the parking lot is behind the museum on Embassy and Ninth.
Bus: 4 stops nearby (at San Marcos and 7th.)
Admission charged. 5 and under free
The oldest residence still standing in Austin was built in 1841 for Count Alphonse Dubois de Saligny, France's representative to the newly formed Republic of Texas.
In the back of the house, considered the best example of French colonial-style architecture outside Louisiana, is a re-creation of the only known authentic Creole(early French) kitchen in the United States. A shop focuses on Texas history from the time of the republic to the present.

General Land Office
The only surviving government building from Austin's first 30 years was designed and built in Gothic style by its German-born and -trained architect, Conrad Stremme. This 21/2 story structure of stuccoed stone and brick was opened for business in the spring of 1858 as the first home of the Land Office.
Writer O. Henry worked as a draftsman here and used the building as the setting for two of his short stories. In 1989 the legislature approved a $4.5 million renovation project to restore the building to its 1890s appearance. The structure now houses a permanent exhibit on the history of the Capitol and has space on the second floor for traveling exhibits. E. 11th and Brazos Sts., Austin.

George Washington Carver Museum
1165 Angelina St
512/472-4089
Tues-Thurs 10am-6pm, Fri-Sat noon-5pm
Bus: 2 and 120
Free admission
The many contributions of Austin's African-American community are highlighted at this museum, the first one in Texas to be devoted to black history. Rotating exhibits of contemporary artwork share the space with photographs, videos, oral histories, and other artifacts from the community's past. Cultural events are often held here, too. The museum's collection is housed in the city's first public library building, opened in 1926 and moved to this site in 1933. The newer George Washington Carver branch of the public library is next door.

Governor's Mansion.
In an 1856 letter to his wife, the mansion's first resident, Governor Elisha M. Pease, described the view from the balcony, writing that all he saw were the recently constructed Capitol (which later burned), the Baptist church, open prairie all the way to the Colorado River, and a few head of cattle grazing on Congress Avenue. Every sitting governor since then has lived on the second floor, witnesses to the ever-changing views. The beautiful mansion is in the Greek Revival style, with keyhole molding and fluted Ionic columns in front. Free public tours are given every 20 minutes, 10-11:40 AM, weekdays, except state and federal holidays. 1010 Colorado St., 512/463-5516. Free. Weekdays 10-5.

Guadalupe Street. Known locally as "the Drag," this bustling area bordering the west side of the University of Texas campus is lined with record stores, trendy boutiques, and restaurants. It's a great place for window-shopping or people-watching.

Jack S. Blanton Museum Of Art. A fragment of this museum's stellar collection is housed in two campus locations. The original Huntington space houses more than 12,000 drawings, etchings, and engravings, a mere fraction of which are displayed on the attic-like second floor. The main downstairs gallery features rotating exhibits of large sculptures, canvases and installations. The rest of the museum, in the August Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, showcases a world-class collection of Latin American art and antiquities as well as Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures. The Old Masters collection includes works from Ricci, Passeri, and del Piombo; the 20th Century collection includes works from Thomas Hart Benton, Franz Kline, and Marsden Hartley. 23rd and San Jacinto Sts., 512/471-7324. free. Mon., Tues, Wed., Fri. 9-5, Thurs. 9-9, weekends 1-5.

Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library And Museum
The largest presidential library in the nation is on the grounds of The University of Texas. The building is the repository for all 45 million documents produced during the LBJ administration and contains many exhibits on Johnson's life, family, and presidential years, as well as information on the assassination of JFK. There's also an art gallery with changing exhibitions. 2313 Red River Rd., 512/916-5136. free. Daily 9-5.

MEXIC-ARTE Museum
419 Congress Ave
512/480-9373
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm; Sat 10am-5pm
Bus: Red 'Dillo
Admission charged.
The first organization in Austin to promote multicultural contemporary art when it was formed in 1983, MEXIC-ARTE has a small permanent collection of 20th-century Mexican art, including photographs from the Mexican revolution and a fascinating array of masks from the state of Guerrero. It's supplemented by visiting shows, including some from Mexico, such as a major retrospective of muralist Diego Rivera. The museum also programs an average of two music, theater, and performing arts events each month and runs mural tours to Mexico.

Neill-Cochran Museum House
2310 San Gabriel St.
512/478-2335
Wed-Sun 2-5pm; free 20-min. tours given
Bus: Yellow 'Dillo, UT shuttle
Admission charged., children under 10 free
Abner Cook, the architect-contractor responsible for the governor's mansion and many of Austin's other gracious Greek revival mansions, built this home in 1855. It bears his trademark portico with six Doric columns and a balustrade designed with crossed sheaves of wheat. Almost all its doors, windows, shutters, and hinges are original:which is rather astonishing when you consider that the house was used as the city's first Blind Institute in 1856 and then as a hospital for Union prisoners near the end of the Civil War. The beautifully maintained 18th- and 19th-century furnishings are interesting, but many people come just to see the painting of bluebonnets that helped convince legislators to designate these native blooms the state flower.

Old Bakery and Emporium
1006 Congress Ave
512/477-5961
Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; first 3 Sat in Dec 10am-2pm
Bus: Red 'Dillo
Free admission
On the National Register of Historic Landmarks, the Old Bakery was built in 1876 by Charles Lundberg, a Swedish master baker, and continuously operated until 1936. You can still see the giant oven and wooden baker's spade inside. Rescued from demolition by the Austin Heritage Society, and now owned and operated by Austin's Parks and Recreation Department, the brick-and-limestone building is one of the few unaltered structures on Congress Avenue. It houses a gift shop, selling crafts handmade by seniors, a reasonably priced lunchroom, and a hospitality desk with visitors' brochures.

Paramount Theatre
713 Congress Ave
512/472-5470 (box office) 512/472-5411
Bus: Red and Orange 'Dillo lines
The Marx Brothers, Sarah Bernhardt, Helen Hayes, and Katharine Hepburn all entertained at this former vaudeville house, which opened as the Majestic Theatre in 1915 and functioned as a movie palace for 50 years. Restored to its original opulence, the Paramount now hosts Broadway shows, visiting celebrity performers, local theatrical productions, including an impressive Kids Classic series, and, in the summer, old-time films. There are no formal tours.

Texas Memorial Museum
2400 Trinity St University of Texas 512/471-1604 Web site Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm
Bus: no. 27
Free admission (donations appreciated)
During a whistle-stop visit to Austin in 1936, Franklin Roosevelt broke the ground for this museum, built to commemorate the centennial of Texas independence. Whatever your age, you'll probably remember going on a class trip to a place like this, with dioramas, stuffed animals, and other displays detailing the geology, anthropology, and natural history of your home state.

In addition to the requisite child-pleasing dinosaur displays (including footprints outside the building), three things make this museum well worth a visit: an intriguing exhibit on the history of firearms; the original zinc goddess of liberty that once sat on top of the capitol; and a good gift shop, with lots of ethnic crafts and educational toys.
more info

Treaty Oak
503 Baylor St Between W. Fifth and Sixth Sts
512/440-5194
Bus: Silver 'Dillo
Legend has it that Stephen F. Austin signed the first boundary treaty with the Comanches under the spreading branches of this 500-year-old live oak, which once served as the symbolic border between Anglo and Indian territory. Whatever the case, this is the sole remaining tree in what was once a grove of Council Oaks:which made the well-publicized attempt on its life in 1989 especially shocking. But almost as dramatic as the story of the tree's deliberate poisoning by an attention-seeking Austinite is the tale of its rescue by an international team of foresters. The dried wood from major limbs that they removed has been allocated to local artists, who are creating public artworks celebrating the tree. You can also buy items such as pen sets, gavels, clocks, and wooden boxes made out of the tree's severed limbs, as well as less expensive mementos. The proceeds go to the forestry unit of the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department.

Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum
605 Robert E. Lee Rd
512/445-5582
Wed-Fri 10am-4:30pm; Sat-Sun 1-4:30pm (Sat 10am-4:30pm June-Aug)
Bus: nos. 29 or 30
Admission charged, children 6 and under free
This is a very user-friendly museum, one for people who don't enjoy being cooped up in a stuffy, hushed space. An art instructor at the University of Texas for 40 years, Charles Umlauf donated his home, studio, and more than 250 pieces of artwork to the city of Austin, which maintains the lovely native garden where much of the sculpture is displayed. Umlauf, whose pieces reside in such places as the Smithsonian Institution and New York's Metropolitan Museum, worked in many media and styles. He also used a variety of models; you'll probably recognize the portrait of Umlauf's most famous UT student, Farrah Fawcett. With advance notice, the museum can arrange American Sign Language tours for the deaf and "touch tours" for the blind.
more info

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 was the 36th president of the USA. A jovial native Texan, LBJ balanced the John F Kennedy campaign ticket with a southern political presence. Supported by Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady, the museum contains information 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.

The Texas Memorial Museum
A building filled with displays of Texas' natural and social history. Exhibits focus on geology, paleontology, anthropology and natural history. There is even a pterodactyl skeleton.

The Archer M Huntington Gallery at UT
This is one art museum in two buildings: the Harry Ransom Center (HRC) on the West Campus and the Art Building on the East. The collection focuses on 20th century North American and Latin American art and on drawings from the 15th century forward.

Women & Their Work Gallery
1710 Lavaca St 512/477-1064
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat noon-4pm
Bus: Red 'Dillo Free admission
Founded in 1978, this gallery is devoted to more than visual art. It promotes and showcases women in dance, music, theater, film, and literature. The gift shop has a great selection of unusual crafts and jewelry created by female artists.
more info

Zilker Park
2100 Barton Springs Rd., 512/499-6700.
April-October
The city's largest public park connects to Town Lake's popular hike and bike trail. Free rides are offered on the miniature Amtrak train that circles the park's perimeter.
 

Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Rd.
512/477-8672.
Admission Free.
Across from Zilker Park, this 26-acre garden of horticultural delights includes butterfly trails and Xeriscape (a water-conserving method of landscaping) gardens with native plants that thrive in the arid southwestern climate.

Texas State Capitol
Like a pink mirage in the city center's sea of green, the (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 (as its proud staffers are only too happy to tell you) ranks as the seventh largest government building in the world. Someone actually went to the trouble to measure the building from the basement floor to the top of the Liberty statue, and at 311ft (93m), it's taller than the national capitol in Washington, DC.

The capitol's rotunda features terrazzo seals of the six nations whose flag has flown over Texas. Inside the building you'll find the standard assortment of the state's top brass, including the chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives and the offices of the governor.

Governor's Mansion
The lovely Greek Revival structure (1856) is a few blocks west of the Capitol. Under Texas law, the governor is required to reside here when in Austin. It's open for tours daily except during state holidays, official functions and whenever the governor's feeling private.

East 6th Street
Along with adjoining Congress Ave, this central historical thoroughfare has been the focus of Austin's downtown area for more than 100 years, with many of the buildings holdovers from the late 19th century. When the Texas State Capitol was completed in 1888, Congress Ave stole the spotlight from East 6th St (then known as East Pecan) and the latter went into a lengthy period of decline that left it a virtual skid row by the 1960s. In the late '60s, local entrepreneurs took to restoring the area's aged Victorian and Renaissance Revival structures, and by the mid '70s, East 6th was jumping again as the city's main live-music and entertainment district. Since then, the party's just kept getting bigger, the lights brighter and the string of clubs and bars between Congress and Sabine - in the area known as the Strip - have been the main propellant in Austin's current rise to 'hipster' fame. On weekends, the Strip is cordoned off for pedestrian traffic only and the revelers take to the streets in droves. If you want to experience the Austin you've read about in Rolling Stone, this is the place to go.

Congress Ave Bridge
What's so special about this downtown bridge? Bats! The bridge's 1980 reconstruction created crevices beneath the bridge that somehow caught the attention of a homeless colony of Mexican free-tail bats. Each year they fly in from central Mexico, arriving in March and departing in early November. In June, each female gives birth to one pup, and every night at dusk, the families take to the skies in search of food. The spectacle of 1.5 million bats flitting forth at once looks a lot like a fast-moving, black, chittering river. It's become an Austin tradition to bring along a six-pack and cheer the bats as they head out to feast on an estimated 30,000lbs (13,500kg) of insects per night. Bat Conservation International has volunteers on hand and holds programs throughout the bat season. Congress Ave Bridge crosses the Colorado at the southern end of downtown.

Breweries and Vineyards:

Celis Brewery
2431 Forbes Dr
512/835-0884
Tues-Sat 2 and 4pm, Fri also at 5:30pm.
Shop Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm
Take U.S. 290 east, just past the intersection with U.S. 183. Turn left at Cross Park Dr. and take it north to Forbes Dr.
Free admission
Tours, followed by samplings featuring highly prized Belgian beers. Pierre Celis found in the spring-fed water and limestone terrain of the Austin area a perfect way to reproduce the "white" (wheat) beer that had been brewed for 500 years in his native Belgian town of Hoegaarden. The brewery was built around two huge, hand-hammered copper drums that Celis imported to give his beer the desired flavor. Clint Eastwood helped to develop the brewery's Pale Rider Ale.

Fall Creek Vineyards
2.2 miles northeast of Tow
For the most scenic route, take Hwy. 71
915/379-5361
Special tours can be arranged through the Austin office (512/476-4477).
Mon-Fri 11am-4pm for tasting and sales;
Sat noon-5pm tours, tasting, and sales;
Sun noon-4pm tasting and sales
Closed Sun Dec-Feb
Free admission
The wines sold at this 65-acre vineyard, praised by critics around the country, reward the long drive up to the northwest shore of Lake Buchanan. An opportunity to sample the full range of award winners, including carnelians, Rieslings, and zinfandels.

Hill Country Cellars
1700 Hwy. 183 North Cedar Park
512/259-2000
Tasting room open Fri-Sun noon-5pm; winery tours Sat-Sun 1, 2, and 3pm
Take U.S. Hwy. 183 North about 1/2 mile past FM 1431
Free admission
Here the visitor can enjoy the fermented product of the grapes grown on the premises of this vineyard/winery, about 20 minutes northwest of Austin. A 200-year-old native grapevine is the centerpiece of the picnic area, where various seasonal festivals are held.

Slaughter Leftwich Winery
4209 Eck Lane
512/266-3331
Tastings Sat 1-5pm (call to check wine availability and hours)
Eck Lane is off R.R. 620, 1 mile south of Mansfield Dam on the right
The Slaughter Leftwich vineyards produced the first chardonnays in the high-plains region of Texas near Lubbock. Fortunately, there is a Leftwich winery in Austin, near Lake Travis. The winery and tasting room are in a native stone structure, built to resemble those popular in the last century

Arts and Entertainment:

Ballet Austin
(512/476-2163)
Features five productions each season, including the holiday classic, Nutcracker, at the Performing Arts Center and Bass Concert Hall, adjacent to the Huntington Art Gallery.

Austin Symphony
(512/476-6064)
Founded in 1911, is the city's oldest performing arts group. The concert season runs from September to April at Bass Concert Hall, and holiday Pops Concerts are offered at Palmer Auditorium.

Austin City Limits
6th floor lobby, KLRU Studio
2504-B Whitis St.
512/471-4811
Every Friday, get a behind-the-scenes look at the longest-running music showcase on television.

Palmer Auditorium
The plan to renovate Palmer Auditorium into a gem of a performing arts center is a key part of the City's bold initiative to create what Mayor Kirk Watson has called "a Great Urban Park" on the banks of the Colorado River.

ARTS* Center Stage
Created in 1997 to address the scheduling gridlock that Austin performing arts groups are facing has created a plan to renovate Palmer Auditorium into a performing arts center that is accommodating and affordable to local performing arts organizations of all sizes and disciplines.

Austin Chamber Music Center
512-454-7562
A teaching and performing group which features an Intimate Concert series open to the public but held in elegant private homes. .