| When I first moved to Austin in the early part of | | | | daunting for a "regular South Austinite" like me. In |
| 2001, I was fortunate enough to find myself a place | | | | only six years, the South Congress Avenue I knew |
| South of Town Lake, just up the hill from the | | | | has changed. Someone finally opened a small market |
| Continental Club on South Congress, and I've been a | | | | that wasn't a 7-Eleven, Terra Toys lost their lease |
| South Austinite ever since. When Austin embraced | | | | and had to move to the suburbs, Factory People |
| the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan, they definitely had | | | | installed the cool of neo-Warholism, and the NYC |
| my side of town in mind, but I worry, as I drive | | | | black bled down the street to Blackmail boutique, |
| slowly down Travis Heights Blvd, taking care because | | | | Goody Two Shoes, and Wet. Just Guns went the |
| of the speed bumps, what effects the current surge | | | | way of the old West, and the old hardware store |
| in construction, both residential and commercial in my | | | | vacated, making room for a new age gift shop. |
| beloved neighborhood, will have on the future of the | | | | Capital Car Credit moved further south, and a four |
| weirder side of Austin. | | | | story ultra modern upscale structure is almost |
| In the early spring of 2001, when I resided in what is | | | | complete, including another pricey, but convenient and |
| now referred to by hipsters as "SoCo," the | | | | cool, neighborhood-style food market in which I'll |
| merchants along South Congress Avenue dreamed | | | | probably never shop. Just the other day, I heard |
| up a monthly event they called "First Thursday" in | | | | Rue's Antiques is closing, and I wonder what they will |
| order to bring in new business to the assortment of | | | | do with all the cool junk they used to sell. |
| funky Austin emporiums that occupied the blocks | | | | Real estate is slowly but steadily transforming the |
| bordered roughly by the Texas School for the Deaf, | | | | surrounding neighborhoods of cozy bungalows into |
| and Annie Street. Attended mostly by neighborhood | | | | models of urban art, architecture, and green building |
| residents at first, I quickly became a fan, and | | | | innovation, and I feel ambivalent about the change. |
| enjoyed my monthly stroll down the street with a | | | | On one hand, change is inevitable, although |
| group of comrades, taking full advantage of the fun | | | | sometimes it arrives more quickly than we could ever |
| and free beer First Thursdays offered. We enjoyed | | | | imagine, and I want to attempt to find some |
| street dancing to bands like The Gulf Coast Playboys | | | | connection between the old and the new, the past |
| and Ponty Bone, who played in roped off areas on | | | | and the present, and to adapt to the undeniable fact |
| the street or on the new patio at Guerro's Taco Bar. | | | | that Austin is becoming more urban and less weird |
| Artisans and vendors plied their wares, well-behaved | | | | every day. But have no fear, there are still pockets |
| dogs, hippies, and children were welcome, and a good | | | | of weirdness to be discovered, even though in less |
| time was generally had by all. | | | | concentrations than they were in the past, and I'll bet |
| Today, I make a point to avoid the entire area on | | | | my last dollar that they will never disappear |
| First Thursday because the traffic congestion has | | | | completely from Austin's heart and soul. |
| become a headache, and the crowds are too | | | | |