Congress Avenue
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In his original 1839 plan for the Capital City, Edwin Waller, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and Austin's first mayor, designed Congress Avenue as Austin's most prominent street. Known for many years as "The Avenue", the street has been the scene of many important social, political, patriotic, religious, and military events. Early structures along Congress Avenue included government buildings, hotels, saloons, retail stores, and restaurants. By the late 1840s it was a well-established business district. The mid-1870s saw the introduction of gaslight illumination and mule-drawn streetcars, as well as construction of a new Travis County Courthouse at Eleventh Street. The present Capitol was built in 1883-88. Bricks replaced the original dirt street in 1910, and trolley cars operated on the avenue until 1940. Economic progress and modernization altered the avenue's appearance over the years, but it remains the city's most historic and identifiable street. In recognition of its architectural and historical significance, Congress Avenue from First Street to the Capitol was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Edwin Waller laid out Austin in 1839 as capital of the Republic of Texas, he made Congress Avenue the city's grand central street, and "The Avenue" soon filled with government buildings, hotels, saloons, and shops. It witnessed gaslights and mule-drawn streetcars in the 1870s, the rise of the great 1888 Capitol at its head, and brick paving and trolleys in the twentieth century. Recognized for its history and architecture, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Why it matters
Congress Avenue has been the civic and ceremonial spine of Texas's capital for nearly two centuries, mirroring the growth of the state itself.
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Related people
- · Edwin Waller
Related events
- · Founding plan of Austin (1839)
Themes & tags
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