I Wish I Had A Job

Came across this guy on the bridge over Lamar just south of 5th street.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

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Brown-Dumas Blacksmith Shop

From the plaque:

At the turn of the 20th century, the Brown-Dumas Blacksmith Shop was an integral part of Austin's thriving commercial core, where dirt streets and horses and buggies dominated the scene. Built circa 1905, the Brown-Dumas Blacksmith Shop is the only remaining structure of its era near this important intersection of Congress Avenue and West 2nd Street (originally known as Live Oak Street). The Austonian developer recognized the significance of this early brick commercial structure and resolved to incorporate it into the high-rise condominium tower.

The blacksmith shop was in serious disrepair when acquired in 2006 and restoration of the building was to be no small feat. Having stood vacant, abandoned and vandalized for many years, only portions of the buildings perimeter walls remained intact and the roof framing was caved in. Prior to the start of the preservation effort, the fragile and damaged structure collapsed during one of Austin's extreme wind storms in November 2006. Following the collapse, it was necessary to disassemble the building entirely, document the historic components, and store the materials offsite.

The Austonian remained true to their commitment to restore the facade. Plans were drawn up to reconstruct the historic storefront at the base of the new tower, using original materials and recreating the remains of the original signage found on the brick. As a result, the historic Brown-Dumas facade will live on as a reminder of the scale and construction of early 20th century buildings in downtown Austin.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

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Buford Tower & Kitchens Memorial Chimes

"On Town Lake at Cesar Chavez Street and Colorado stands the Buford Tower, its few brick stories dwarfed by nearby office buildings. Its appearance gives no clue to its current use and only scant evidence of it's original purposes. Here stands a relatively short tower flanked by flower beds and parking spaces and fronted by a semicircular drive. The setting is a small lakeside park. The acute observer might notice a fire hydrant next to the structure. The hydrant is a clue to the building's past. It was constructed in 1930 as a practice facility for the city's firemen.

The tower consists of six one-room brick stories with internal metal stairs. There is a basement in which practice fires could be built. Firefighters could practice aerial ladder work, flood the upper stories, scale the walls and conduct rescue drills through the windows. The tower was burnt regularly for 43 years until 1974 when it was abandoned in favor of a new facility in a location away from the downtown area.

For four years following its abandonment the tower, undisturbed by regular human activity, stood with it's paneless windows wide open and became a six story pigeon coop. It's condition, to say nothing of it's appearance, deteriorated.

In 1978 the wife of the tower's builder led a camping under the aegis of the Austin Chapter, National Association of Women in Construction, to restore the structure. The restoration included the installation of a carillon and the tower assumed a new function. It went from blazes to birds to Back within the decade. The carillon is capable of a variety of melodies and can be programmed to chime the hour or half hour.

On August 23, 1978 the old fire practice tower officially became the James Buford Tower and Kitchens Memorial Chimes. Captain James L. Buford was an Austin firefighter who was killed during a heroic rescue attempt and Rex D. Kitchens was the tower's builder."

CREDIT: - Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 06, Number 02, Summer 1988, J. P. Bryan, editor, Journal/Magazine/Newsletter, 1988; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45434 : accessed July 29, 2011), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation, Austin, Texas.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

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Night Wing

The Austin Chronicle describes the Night Wing Bat Sculpture as a "beautiful chunk of public art".  It is located in the small triangle across from the Austin American Statesman complex at the intersection of South Congress and Barton Springs Road.

From the plaque:

Nightwing

by Dale Whistler

The following donors gladly give the City of Austin this Great Bat, honoring Austin's most famous part-time residents, the Bats of the Congress Avenue Bridge:

Austin American Statesman

Austin Energy

Embassy Suites Hotel

Hyatt Regency Austin

Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas

The Downtown Trust

Additional support provided by

Archilume, Inc.

Black & Vernooy, Architects

Clean Cut Landscaping

June 1998

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

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Balcones Canyonlands Preserve

Balcones Canyonlands Preserve includes more than 24,000 acres in western Travis County off Loop 360 and is devoted to the protection of endangered species and their habitat.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

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Arthouse at the Jones Center

Arthouse at the Jones Center is the oldest statewide visual arts organization in Texas and is devoted solely to contemporary art.  It is located downtown at 700 Congress Avenue.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

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Moontower

This is one of the 14 (I think) moontowers still located and in use in Austin.  This one is located at 9th and Guadalupe.

From Arguendo & Dixi's Daily Austin Photo

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