noun \rt\

Art
the conscious use of skill and creativeimaginationespecially intheproductionofaesthetic objects
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art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art 26 art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art art 27 art art art

Or Or maybe maybe

its the its the

art

What you can buy

...Howweexpressourselves

What you can admire Whats just there And no one expresses itself

Because art is...

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Better than SoCo

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A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.

Oscar Wilde

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South Congress History

Edwin Waller designed Congress to be Austins most prominent thoroughfare in the 1830s. However, Congress did not extend south of the Colorado River until 1852 when James Gibson Swisher donated land for a road that was both the postal route to Austin and the main highway to San Antonio. Growth along South Congress slowed during the 19th century; it was not until the completion of a concrete bridge in 1910 that South Austin had reliable transportation over the river. Rapid growth finally came to South Austin in the 1920s, as the streetcar was expended down South Congress. As hundreds of bungalows were built in South Austin, more commercial enterprises began appearing south of the river - especially on South Congress. By 1931, South Congress was finally paved all the way from the river to the railroad at present-day Ben White Boulevard. Many of South Congresss icons opened their doors between 1930 and 1960. The Austin Motel opened in 1938 and the Hotel San Jos shortly thereafter. The hamburger stand that would eventually become the legendary Night Hawk opened on South Congress in 1932. Another major development was the Twin Oaks Shopping Center at the northeast corner of Oltorf Road and South Congress. It was one of Austins first strip shopping

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venues when it opened in 1954. South Austin opened further during the 1950s, as the Congress Avenue Bridge was widened and the construction of Interstate 35 provided an alternative north-south route. During the 1970s, South Congress became a mecca for artists, musicians and their supporters. The legendary Armadillo World Headquarters opened at the corner of South Congress and Barton Springs Boulevard in 1970. Tourists traffic decline on South Congress with the rise of I-35 and many business fell into decline and disrepair. By the late 1980s, small eclectic retailers began popping up along the South Congress Corridor, attracted by cheap rent. The areas renaissance began at the intersection of South Congress and Monroe by putting their historic buildings to good use to attract eclectic retail business, arts and music venues and restaurants to the area. South Austins first skyscrapers appeared at South Congress and Riverside Drive when two new hotels opened. 1988 was a watershed moment for the area, as Kent Cole and Diana Prechter fixed a beat-up wood-frame building that had

operated as Flossies bar and the Austex Lounge, and reopened it as Magnolia Cafe South, a second location for their popular homegrown eatery famous for gingerbread pancakes and comfort food. Said they were attracted by the colorful people and cheap rent. Memories of drug dealers and prostitutes began to fade in the 1990s. Austin, a relatively small city for most of its history, suddenly enjoyed a tremendous economic boom that attracted new residents and drove an increased demand for older housing stock in the Travis Heights and Bouldin Creek neighborhoods. That in turn spurred massive renovation along South Congress and throughout old South Austin. The 1990s witnessed the redevelopment of the Austin Theatre, the H-E-B at Oltorf and South Congress and more. Perhaps the most ambitious renovation undertaken was the redevelopment of Penn Field from an industrial plant to a multi-use complex that includes office space, retail and residences. By the end of the decade, South Congress was well on its way to becoming a nationally-known shopping and cultural district.

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Austins Vintage Power

Janelle Erlichman

While some travelers seek museums or parks to get a sense of a city, I sniff out the stores. So when my sister moved to Austin this summer, I wasnt losing a sister, I was gaining new shopping grounds. Austin, city of live music, breakfast burritos and football obsession, offers the diligent shopper something besides the expected Gap, Tower Records and Urban Outfitters (though one can find those adjacent to the University of Texas). Just driving through the city, one stumbles upon almost as many vintage/ antiques/boutique shops as Tex-Mex hash houses. We drove into south Austin, landing on South Congress Avenue with its tacky signs and retro possessions crowding out of the storefronts. The shopping mecca -- known as SoCo -- is just over the famous bat bridge where Mexican freetail bats colonize in the crevices and then, at sunset, fly around much to everyones delight. My question: No gift shop? The whole South Congress Avenue strip is still spinning from a face-lift that transformed the area from shady to sunny. Instead of streetwalkers, there are actually people walking on the street. The shops are now flanked by the neon-signed, ultra-hip Austin Motel (So Close Yet So Far Out) on one side and the homegrown Frans Hamburgers, with its female guitar-carrying Big Boy-esque creature on the roof, on the other.

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In between, kitsch and charm: Mi Casa (1700-A/1714-B S. Congress) has more than 20 rooms brimming with furniture, folk art, antiques, jewelry, works by local contemporary artists, much Day of the Dead artistry, some Frida Kahlo shrines and chili pepper wreaths. Off the Wall (1704 S. Congress) offers everything from Elvis playing cards to a 1968 Texas highway map. Its one of those stores where you dont realize you need it until you see it. Tinhorn Traders (1608 S. Congress) is a study in random. A huge green 19th-century Pakistani door is for sale alongside a Dr. Linda D. Welch chiropractor sign. Dig in. New Bohemia (1606 S. Congress) looks retro from the inside out. Where did your old T-ball trophy go to die? The Thermos that came with your metal lunchbox? Your Twister spinner? All here. There are also racks of vintage clothes, boots and old suitcases. You wonder: Why did I give it away in the first place? Lone Star Illusions (1604 S. Congress) is an upscale Spencer Gifts. The boppin heads of Austin Powers, Capn Crunch, Mr. T and the Monkees offer perpetual greetings. Hello. Hello. Hello. Retro clocks (a martini with a swinging stem, Elvis with swinging hips, devil with swinging goatee), lava lamps and a glow-in-the-dark toilet seat line the shelves.

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 Allens Boots (1522 S. Congress) is not just boots. There are serious Stetsons, thick leather belts and all sorts of other western wear. But mostly the rows and rows of boots (turquoise, pink, red) catch your eye. Frye, Justin and Lucchese brands are available -when youre ready to drop a few hundred on your feet. Uncommon Objects (1512 S. Congress) -- the one with the big scrap-metal rabbit outside -- will get you all tingly if you love junk. We had this exact [fill in the blank]! people exclaim as they run their hands over extinct toasters and souvenir glasses. Visitors inspect boxes of old family photos on the off chance theyll recognize someone. Costume jewelry (including a $145 tiara), cowboy boots (still pricey, even used) and half a mannequin are also on offer here. Yard Dog Folk Art (1510 S. Congress) specializes in folk, outsider and self-taught art of the American South. Merchandise varies from hazy paintings by former actress-turned-artist Pam Pauly, to cigar box tables, purses made out of Sprite, Pepsi and 7-Up cans, and painted wood cut-outs of Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard.

Rues Antiques (1500 S. Congress) doesnt try too hard. The store itself is old and boring, with the personality of a Wal-Mart, but its contents certainly rate higher than a bottle of Pert Plus or a bag of gummy worms. There are political campaign buttons, costume jewelry, dolls, doll furniture, books, magazines, old ads, movie and concert posters, postcards, photos, china, glassware, collectors plates, clocks, fans and celebrity stand-ups. Not to mention enough Texas stuff to make your head spin. Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds (1506 S. Congress) is what an acid trip on Halloween must feel like. The year-round costume shops boasts 8,000 square feet of floor-to-ceiling adult and childrens costumes and enough accessories to make you hide until Nov. 1: belts, boas, bow ties, sunglasses, fans, garters, gloves, hats, legging, leotards, parasols, socks, scarves, unitards, suspenders and tutus. You can dress as Madame de Sade, a whoopie cushion or a bunch of grapes.

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Art is not a thing; it is a way.

Elbert Hubbard

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