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When did old Austin die?


DCA_HORN

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You could also add 1993/94, SXSW blows up from the modest regional music conference to an international destination.  It's at this time, the conference takes over the convention center and nearly 100 venues around town, adding an ability to host thousands of more attendees.  The Film and Interactive portions are added (though small at first, they set the stage for the cultural and celebrity spectacle we know it as today).  And the first corporate activations, simply called "Sponsorship Bars" adjoin themselves to the festival.  The town was already radically difference than it was 20 years prior to this, but IMO this is what begins Austin as a year-around destination because people that come to the expanded SXSW from all over the country and world see our city during this period of SXSW, and begin coming at other times a year.  And of course, some eventually move here as well.  It's their year-around desire to visit Austin that builds up the rest of our convention business, demand for big music is taken note of by a group called CSE who puts on the first ACL Music Festival less than 10 years later.  And a number of other big draws for out of town guests.  The whole platform goes from being "shit for Austin, by Austin" to "everybody come and host your shit here and we'll let some of the locals in."  The expanse/evolution of SXSW, not really its founding, about 25 years ago really begins to turn the tide for at least who lives here and the fact that I can't get anywhere in this town 42 out of 52 weekends a year because everybody has a festival with street closures now.  But as said above, we're also all just getting old.  

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It has definitely died for each generation as the poster above alluded to, but it actually died in the 90s . (I was there was the death rattle). You can see the population steadily increase over the years, adding about 100K per decade, but doubled that in the 90s. And then 150 in aughts and 200 in teens. 
 

What changed in the 90s? The rise of SXSW. Non texans began to flood to this festival yearly. Non Texans liked what they saw in Austin. Non Texans started to move here in droves. Non Texans started to move business here in droves because of friendly taxes. 
 

The rise of Michael Dell helped this as well giving Texas a “Silicon Valley” vibe 

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Just now, BurntEyes said:

I tend to agree with this sentiment that the mid to late 90s created a huge influx of non-Texans, non-Muscians, non-hippies and Suburban dwelling folks.

That pretty much sums up the beginning of the end of Austin being a poor college kid and "government" town. I got here in 1996 and certainly didn't perceive Austin as a "tech center" -- my previous perceptions were shaped by visits to friends who were students at UT & St. Ed's or were who just simply slackers. Those trips were usually during Spring Break so the early years of SXSW were a big part of it. That said, the rise of the Dellionaires and the dot.com bubble quickly changed all that by the end of the decade and my completion of grad school.

For me though, I could still abide by Austin's growth and subsequent changes until about 6-8 years ago. It could be because of my turning middle aged or Austin hit a tipping point and just became a big city.

The year I moved here, the 5-county metro area hit 1 million for the first time. The last Census estimate put us at 2.3 million and we're now bigger than Kansas City, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. Those are all places I grew up thinking as "big cities" because they had NFL teams and Austin certainly wasn't in that league in my mind's eye growing up, but I don't feel like we're quite as generic yet.

The thing is though that this growth rate isn't recent. Going back 100 years, Austin has doubled in size every 20 years. It's just that the number of warm bodies needed to achieve that pace has increased exponentially.

I honestly love my job and don't want to give it up, but if I could do this thing elsewhere I'd probably take that leap and cash out on the $225k in equity I've got in my house to live in a cheaper town with cooler weather and unique local culture. Unfortunately, everyone else is looking for the same so those places are few and far between.

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2 hours ago, BurntEyes said:

The day Mad Dog and Beans closed.

When Eddie sold the Showdown.

When Jack sold Caine and Ables.

When Liberty Lunch closed.

When Black Cat closed.

When Antone's moved from the drag.

Charlie Strong

2006, after we won an MNC and I moved to Chicago.

1996 which was 5 years after I moved there.

2006 is the correct answer 

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I know the exact day - May 30, 1990. What was the cataclysmic event? I moved to Dallas. The whole city went to hell for 28 years. Mass hysteria. Whining. Traffic. Homeless tents. Hipsters. Heads with large bumps on their foreheads running for city council. Disgraceful cheating scandals of Austin pitching and cycling legends. The Domain. The death of AquaFest. Crooked developers with council members in their back pockets. Texas pre-game tailgating with more interest in the partying than the team. The list is endless.

But order will be restored. I’m back and I’m getting the band back together.

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I will say if you really ponder the last 20 years the changes have been mind boggling.

If in the year 2000 you would have told the average Austinite that literally hundreds of mid and highrises would have sprouted throughout the city, a massive toll road network would be built, the brand new airport would've already had to have been expanded, Circuit of the Americas,  Austin FC,  another million people would reside here by 2020 they would've said you were a fool!  Unpossible!  That's crazy talk!

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I’d argue austin is better than ever. Been here since 1990. You’re either growing or stagnant/dying. I much prefer the former. Sure we’ve lost some music venues but we’ve gained many others. We’ve lost restaurants and gained 100x more and a lot more variety. My only real regrets are the traffic and that we’re past the point of mom and pop restaurants being able to make a go of it in a brick and mortar. At least there’s the trailer option I guess.

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1 hour ago, Somnio said:

I will say if you really ponder the last 20 years the changes have been mind boggling.

If in the year 2000 you would have told the average Austinite that literally hundreds of mid and highrises would have sprouted throughout the city, a massive toll road network would be built, the brand new airport would've already had to have been expanded, Circuit of the Americas,  Austin FC,  another million people would reside here by 2020 they would've said you were a fool!  Unpossible!  That's crazy talk!

Well, when you put it that way...  

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