| Congress Avenue | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. Registered Historic District) | |
 | |
| Location: | Congress Ave. from 1st to 11th Sts Austin, Texas, USA |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1839 |
| Added to NRHP: | August 11, 1978 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 78002989 |
| Governing body: | Texas Historical Commission |
Congress Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Austin, Texas. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. The street is a six-lane, tree lined avenue that cuts through the middle of the city from far south Austin and goes over Lady Bird Lake leading to the Texas State Capitol in the heart of downtown. Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in downtown Austin, Texas, in the United States The Texas State Capitol, located in Austin Texas, is the fourth building to serve as the seat of Texas government
Congress Avenue south of Lady Bird Lake is known as South Congress, often abbreviated to SoCo[1], and is an increasingly popular shopping and rental district. It passes the historic Travis Heights neighborhood, the Texas School for the Deaf, and St. Edward's University as it passes south out of town. Travis Heights is a Neighborhood in south Austin, Texas, United States, bounded by Lady Bird Lake on the north Interstate 35 St Edward's University is a small private Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located south of Lady Bird Lake in Austin Texas.
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History
Edwin Waller, the first mayor of Austin, designed Congress Avenue to be Austin's most prominent street. Judge Edwin Waller ( November 4, 1800 &ndash January 3, 1881) was an entrepreneur signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Early structures along Congress Avenue included government buildings, hotels, saloons, retail stores and restaurants. By the late 1840s "The Avenue" formed a well-established business district. The mid-1870s introduced gaslight illumination and mule-driven streetcars as well as construction of a new Travis County courthouse at Eleventh Street. Gas lighting refers to a technology used to produce light from gas usually methane but also including hydrogen and ethylene A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train Travis County is located in the US state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. The present Texas Capitol at the north end of Congress Avenue was built in 1888. The original dirt street was bricked in 1910. Trolley cars operated on the Avenue until 1940. A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train
Before Interstate 35 was completed in the 1960s, Congress Avenue was the primary road to reach Austin from the south. Interstate 35 in Texas (abbreviated I-35 or IH-35) is a major north-south Interstate Highway running from Laredo near the United States-Mexico Certain landmarks such as the Austin Motel identify the road as a major thoroughfare for travellers through the mid-20th century.
Route description
Congress Avenue begins at an intersection with Slaughter Lane near Interstate 35. Interstate 35 in Texas (abbreviated I-35 or IH-35) is a major north-south Interstate Highway running from Laredo near the United States-Mexico It heads to the north-northeast, diverging away from I-35. This portion of Congress from Slaughter Lane north to the Williamson Creek bridge is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation and carries the Loop 275 designation. The Texas Department of Transportation ( TxDOT, pronounced "tex-dot" is a Governmental agency in the U Loop 275 is a 9454-mile two-segment state-maintained roadway located in Austin Texas. After the intersection with Stassney Lane, the road heads to the northeast, now parallel to I-35. Congress Avenue passes under the U.S. Highway 290 freeway as it travels to the northeast. US Highway 290 (or US 290) is an east-west Highway located entirely in Texas. Continuing to the northeast, it passes by St. Edward's University before crossing over Lady Bird Lake (Colorado River) by way of the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. St Edward's University is a small private Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located south of Lady Bird Lake in Austin Texas. Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in downtown Austin, Texas, in the United States The Colorado River is the 18th longest river in the United States. The Ann W Richards Congress Avenue Bridge (formerly known simply as the Congress Avenue Bridge) crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas The street continues northeast through downtown Austin to 11th Street at the Texas State Capitol. The Texas State Capitol, located in Austin Texas, is the fourth building to serve as the seat of Texas government At the Capitol, it splits into a one-way pair, with the northbound lanes going around the east side of the Capitol, and the southbound lanes going around the west side. The street merges back to a 2-way street northeast of the Capitol and continues heading to the northeast. It continues for several more blocks before coming to an end at the University of Texas at Austin campus at Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. [2]
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge over Lady Bird Lake houses the world's largest urban bat population. The Ann W Richards Congress Avenue Bridge (formerly known simply as the Congress Avenue Bridge) crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in downtown Austin, Texas, in the United States When the bridge was refurbished in the 1980s, the new design created crevices underneath the structure that were ideal for bats to roost in. In the summer, the colony has up to 1. 5 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats. The Mexican Free-tailed Bat ( Tadarida brasiliensis) is a medium sized Bat. [3] The bats can be seen emerging by the thousands from under the bridge every evening throughout the summer, before they migrate to Mexico for the winter. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.
Recognition
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. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of
References
- ^ South Congress Austin Neighborhood.
- ^ Google Maps. Google Maps (for a time named Google Local) is a free Web mapping service application and technology provided by Google that powers many map-based services Overview map of Congress Avenue [map]. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving
- ^ Bat Conservation International page on the Congress Avenue Bridge Bat Colony.
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