The new W Austin hotel recently opened two blocks from our downtown apartment. We’ve been watching the progress since moving here in late October. The construction workers were amazingly busy for the last few weeks and I was amazingly distracted while watching from my home office window. But all was ready for opening day.

The W employees are very friendly and happy to give you a tour. The first floor is a series of intimate rooms called the Living Room. Most of the rooms have fireplaces surrounded by cozy couches with lots of pillows. Waiters and waitresses are quick to ask for drink or food orders. According to their web site, the Atmosphere is Casual Sophistication. Indeed.

 

The appropriately-named Red Room.

The Record Room, complete with a floor-to-ceiling wall of vinyl LPs. One of the employees said they are still building up their collection and many of the records on the wall are cheap, lame albums such as Sesame Street Live which will soon be replaced.

The Front Porch, with windows which open onto Lavaca and Second Streets.

The W Austin is a beautifully-decorated, upscale hotel. But we Austinites are really waiting for what’s on the other side of the block: the new Austin City Limits studio which will be opening in February!

The Buford Tower is across the street from our apartment building. After we moved in October, Bill and I were surprised to discover that this tower chimed at the top of the hour. Well, technically the chimes started at three minutes past the hour and rang every hour from 6:03 AM to 9:03 PM. We did not find this listed in our lease.

 (Since I’m sure you want to know: the tower plays the full hour sequence of Westminster Quarters followed by Big Ben notes to mark the hours. There are no chimes on the quarter, half or three-quarters hours.)


Then Daylight Savings Time ended. Uh oh. Sure enough, the chimes started at 5:03 AM the next morning. Usually we heard that first round of chimes but managed to get back to sleep. We grumbled and grumbled, but figured You Can’t Fight City Hall. 

Last Monday, two City of Austin trucks were parked at the base of the tower. Were they  just collecting garbage? Or perhaps trimming the tree branches which block our shortcut to the hike-and-bike trail? No…they were adjusting the chimes to start exactly on the hour!! Three cheers for the City of Austin!! The chimes were now less than one second different from my atomic clock!! And they didn’t start until 7:00 AM!!

But now the chimes were followed by exactly TWENTY minutes of Christmas carols! Not quiet gentle Jesus-in-the-manger songs but REALLY LOUD bells. I could now sing along to seasonal standards such as DECK THE HALLS, WHITE CHRISTMAS, CAROL OF THE BELLS, SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN and more. Yes, the same tape played every hour, ending with the 10:00-10:20 PM sequence. This could be a VERY LONG (AND LOUD) CHRISTMAS SEASON.

Sometime on Saturday. Bill and I realized that we hadn’t heard the chimes all day. We stepped outside and heard the carols playing very, very faintly. Ever since then, the chimes still ring every hour and are followed by twenty minutes of carols…but we can’t hear them in our apartment!

We don’t know what happened, but here are our theories:
a) one of the speakers is broken.
b) the city received a complaint (perhaps the unknown VIP in the office building next door?) and turned the volume down. 
c) someone in our building remembered they had a BB gun.


But whatever happened…please, City of Austin, DON’T FIX IT!

Our neighborhood in downtown Austin is hard to delineate, so in this entry I’m just writing about the streets on our immediate block….Colorado Street on the west, Second Street on the north, Congress Avenue on the east and First Street / Caesar Chavez on the south. 

Our building shares a block with the 100 Congress office building. Now 100 Congress should not be confused with 100 Congress Plaza. As everybody knows, 100 Congress is on west side and 100 Congress Plaza is on the east side of Congress Avenue. The front entrance to 100 Congress is nice but unassuming. A police officer usually guards the parking garage entrance on Second Street so Bill and I think that Something Very Important must take place inside. Some of the apartments in our building directly face 100 Congress. Fortunately our apartment is on the other side so the office workers have to look in other people’s windows instead.

Our apartment lobby exits onto both Colorado and Second Streets. The Austin Children’s Museum is right across Second Street (see my previous entry for an in-depth discussion of downtown construction):

The Austonian condominium building is next to the museum on Second Street. This 55-story building is the tallest in Austin. Bill and I toured the building before it opened, back in those lazy pre-downsizing days. The view from the exercise room on the top floor is spectacular and would motivate anyone to exercise. New restaurants are planned for the first floor but none have opened yet.

Trees and benches line the sidewalks on both Second Street and Caesar Chavez. Bill and I know the timing of the crosswalk lights now, although we are not against jaywalking in a pinch. We feel very safe walking around our neighborhood after dark. People are always walking to and from restaurants or clubs. The attendants for the Austonian’s valet parking are usually looking up and down Second Street as well.

I am purposely leaving out the best parts of our neighborhood: the hike-and-bike trail and the rest of Second Street. I promise to add more entries soon!

Lots of construction in downtown Austin right now…

For Bill and me, the most disruptive construction is on the corner of Colorado and Second Streets. The City of Austin is doing some major sewer/water work right outside our building’s lobby. This was already in progress when we moved downtown. Pulling out of our parking garage can be a challenge, especially during rush hour. Crossing the street is challenging too, because the crosswalk path changes almost every day. We hear digging, scraping and backup beeping even up on the 20th floor. Last week our building had no water for 12+ hours but fortunately I did not work from home that day. That evening we also learned that each apartment has a PA system.

The new W (Westin) Hotel and condo building is two blocks from our apartment. The streets around this block are often closed. A few weeks ago, the barriers on the Second Street side were removed, revealing trees, sidewalks and most importantly, parking spaces. We can now see furniture and lamps inside some of the lower hotel rooms. According to the local newspaper, the complex will have two swimming pools: one for use by hotel guests and condo owners, and one for only condo owners. We can see both pools and a few trees on the roof but can’t tell which pool is which. I was surprised to read on Westin web site that the hotel is scheduled to open on December 9th. I guess they will just keep working on the 20 floors of condos after the hotel opens.

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The smaller black-box building in front of the W will be the new studio for Austin City Limits. In addition to the TV show, other acts will be booked in the space. Shows by Diana Ross, John Melloncamp, Willie Nelson and others have been announced for next year. See the schedule at  http://www.acl-live.com

A few blocks up Congress Avenue, the Texas State Capitol is undergoing renovations. When I took this picture two weeks ago, the capitol dome was still surrounded by scaffolding but most of it is down now. The Texas State Legislature starts a new session in just a few weeks so I’m guessing the work will be completed soon. The Legislature meets every other year in Texas. I am curious to see if downtown will seem more crowded in January once this session starts.

A new Federal courthouse is being built next to Republic Square Park. I think this building will be a mid-rise…just four or five stories tall. A crane provided additional entertainment at last weekend’s Farmer’s Market (which, by the way, I love living near):

Mixed-use development is planned for the tract surrounding the Seaholm Power Plant. Looking east from our window, some infrastructure work seems to be underway. Seaholm was the site of this year’s Zombie Ball…so sorry I had to miss that! See the history of the site and future plans at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/seaholm/powerplant.htm

Thanksgiving Day 2010 started bright and early at 7:00 AM…with loud speaker announcements from across Lady Bird Lake for the 20th annual Turkey Trot. Bill decided at the last minute to run in this five-mile race. (I passed, since the turkey was not going to cook itself.) We estimated that there were at least 16,431 participants*…a fairly big turnout even by Austin standards. I watched the start of the race from our balcony. It took almost 20 minutes** for everyone to get past the start line.

After the band went by, we expected to see a few rows of cadets. We were shocked to watch 1,900 cadets, 20 horses, 1 covered wagon, 1 cannon and 0 cheerleaders*** following the band. Each brigade chanted as they marched along. The line stretched 12+ blocks from the lake up to the Capitol grounds. It was a very impressive sight…even to us Longhorn fans. 

Thanksgiving Day 2010 was indeed a day to be thankful. I am thankful for my family and friends, near and far. I am thankful for good health and the opportunity to live in a beautiful city. And I am thankful for the turkey which gave me several excuses to have a very relaxing day!

 Estimate Sources:
* Bill’s race number.
** Balcony observation.  
*** Austin American-Statesman and ground-level observation.

Now that I can actually find my way to and from our building, I feel it’s time to blog about having a car in downtown Austin. 

Dealing with Austin traffic was one of my biggest concerns about moving downtown. Bill and I still drive north on MoPac to work most mornings. The morning commute is easy and less than 20 minutes from parking garage-to-parking garage. No problem.  

The evening commute is another story. MoPac is backed up both north and south for several hours starting at 4 PM. The drive back south on MoPac takes at least twice long as in the morning. Bill has tried a few different routes, going down side streets instead of taking the highway. He says that traffic is still slow on these alternate routes. So we’re trying to be on the road before 4 PM or staying up in north Austin until after rush hours are over. 


[For non-Austinites: MoPac is a limited-access highway named for the Missouri-Pacific railroad. Tracks still run between the north and south lanes and trains are often chugging along beside your car.]



I was also worried about the parking garage logistics since I have never lived in a high-rise before. The garage is on floors 2 through 6 of this building, although recycling bins and a Lamborghini take up much of the space on the sixth floor. Each floor has a few reserved spots near the elevators…for an extra monthly fee which we are not paying. We expected to be banished to Floor 5 but, much to our surprise, it’s fairly easy to get a parking spot on a lower floor. We have only lost our cars once. Actually, I lost both cars. (Have I mentioned that moving was traumatic?) Bill walked down through the parking garage until he found them both again. I am pleased to report that we haven’t lost a single car since implementing our high-tech Car Tracking System:

Last week we closed on our northwest Austin house, so now we are actually spending time in downtown Austin. The weather has been lovely with cool mornings and warmer afternoons. Bill and I have been taking advantage of this perfect weather to walk / run on the hike-and-bike trail around Lady Bird Lake. We are noticing some “regulars” on the trail now…and soon other people may be saying the same about us!

More birds are floating on the lake this week. I assume these are ducks migrating south for the winter. I’ve spotted white cranes and even a few swans. I am curious to see if more birds arrive in the coming weeks, and if they stay here for the winter or continue south. The flocks of birds seem to be able to avoid getting hit by the many crew teans that are still practicing. Some of these teams are already on the lake before sunrise…brrrrrr!

Since I was working from home (aka “The Apartment”) on Thursday, I watched a little of the Veteran’s Day parade. I love parades. This one formed on the bridge and marched up Congress Avenue to the Texas state capitol. I was hoping to take a photo of the local chapter of the Korean War Veterans to show my father but I did not see them in the parade.

Fall also means football in Texas. We went to TWO football games last weekend. Actually, the  Westwood vs. Anderson high school playoff game on Friday evening was my suggestion. (I  need to clarify that this is not because I like football. I had completely forgotten about the UT home game on Saturday.) Fortunately we decided to drive to the high school game over at House Park, which is about two miles from our apartment. A cold front with some rain blew through right before kickoff and the temperature dropped by more than 20 degrees. We were freezing and left after half-time. Westwood lost their game…and so did UT on Saturday evening.    

p.s. to my friends in the Northeast: Yes, fall is just starting here. The leaves are beginning to turn.  Nighttime lows are in the 50s and daytime highs are in the 70s.

As Austinites already know, food trailers are very popular here. The first Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival was held Saturday at Auditorium Shores across the lake from our apartment. We headed across the bridge to eat a late lunch there. 

 We made a quick loop around the grounds and picked the trailer with the shortest line (well, almost… I vetoed Man Bites Dog). So Turf N Surf Po Boy it was. 

The twenty-minute wait (and this was a short line!) was plenty of time for Bill to decide on the shrimp po’ boy and for me to pick the mango-pulled pork wrap. Both were very, very good. We consulted our Trailer Food Dairies guide to find out where this trailer is usually located. Hmmm…Second Street and Congress Avenue…just one block away from our apartment! Obviously we haven’t spent much time downtown yet. 

The Gypsy Picnic was getting too crowded so we didn’t linger. Several friends said they tried to go later in the afternoon but gave up. Here’s what the grounds looked like around 1 PM…and it only got worse as the day went on. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the organizers were surprised by the high turn-out and some trailers ran out of food. 

After lunch, Bill and I headed back across the bridge to Second Street to check out Barkitecture. (www.austinbarkitecture.com/)  Dog-related activities were underway, including a silent auction of designer doghouses to benefit local animal organizations. Since we had just been eating trailer food, these doggy trailers caught our eye:

 

So now I have two items on my downtown To Do list:
1. Try nearby food trailers.
2. Take a photo of that bulldog in the baby stroller who lives in our building.