William B Travis High School - Rebel Roundup Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Cranes dominate . . .through do nto skyline By DEE DEE HILL In 1982-83, construction was the best word to give a physical description of Austin. All through the city skyline cranes could be seen. Congress Avenue was undergoing a major facelift. Parts of the street were closed to only one lane of traffic each way because of the construction. Other areas that were under construction included Ben White near the I-35, land on Town Lake near Riverside Dr. and the corner of South 1st Street and Barton Springs Road. Most of the buildings that went up were apartments, condominiums and office space. ln the downtown area many stores either moved or went out of business due to the opening of more large malls and department stores. Scarbroughs' downtown store closed. The store was long a landmark on Congress Avenue. Several other businesses including Woolworths went out of business earlier to make room for new high-rises. On a nationwide basis, Woolco wentoutof businessin 1983, and the Austin stores closed. Austin was growing in size, both in population and in physical area. To help ease the growing pains several plans were proposed. The Austin independent School District held a S210 million bond election in February. About S134 million was to go for the building of one senior high school, three junior highs, and nine elementaries. Of the 13 schools proposed 11 were to be built in South Austin. The rest of the money would go towards renovations and improvements in all the AISD schools. Another proposal was the annexation of Oak Hill into the Austin city limits. ln the Fall of 1982, Austin voters unanimously passed a bond election which included money for parks, utility improvements, and im- provements in essential services such as police, fire and Emergency Medical Services. The passage of the bond election, coming after the defeat of several Austin bond elections in the previous 5 years, was a signal that Austin citizens were finally ready to deal with the inevitable growth of the city and give it some guidelines and directions. inthe bond election on September 1 1, money was also approved by voters to build a wilderness park in South Austin. The park was to be built on the 38 1!2 acres of land between Travis High School and St. Edward's University. Austin's East 6th Street continued to be the city's entertainment center. In the Fall of 1982 the area was so popular on weekends that sidewalks and traffic control became a headache, promoting the City Council to experiment with closing East 6th to traffic. The Council also banned open containers of alcohol in the area. New roads were built and the old ones were fixed up. Planning for the North and South extensions of MoPac continued. The Loop 360 bridge over Lake Austin was opened in December 1982. Improvements continued on I-35 South of Town Lake. The bridge over Woodland was expanded, and improvements were planned for the Oltorf and Woodward Street bridges over I-35. Condominiums continued to boom in the University of Texas area, and controversy surrounded UT's plans to expand into East Austin. On January 11, the 1983 Texas Legislature went into session. These sessions are held every other year. The 88th Legislature elected a new Speaker of the House, Gib Lewis. Lewis replaced Speaker Bill Clayton who had served as Speaker for four terms. Austin was once again transformed into playing its major role as the seat of the state government as politicians, legislators, lobbyist and citizens statewide swarmed into the Capital City, 0 A u tl n Changing with the times the years 1 A View of the State Capitol from Red Bud Trail in Westlake Hills contrasts with colorful Congress Avenue and the Capitol at night. As high-rise construction Doomed in downtown Austin, concerned citizens lobbied the City Council for height restrictions that would preserve views of the Capitol. Sen. Lloyd Doggett also introduced a bill into the 1983 State Legislature that would prevent state buildings from blocking the view. '70s , . ln 1978, farmers head for the grounds ofthe State Capitol in hopes of gaining government support. Today the Capitol is still a favorite place for organizations to meet in an attempt to gain influence.

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In December of 1959, the construction of lH-35 in the downtown area continues toward South Austin. The area being worked on is across the street from Brackenridge Hospital. if OS For the first time in recent mem- ory, there was a new way to cross the Colorado River. The Loop 360 Bridge, seen here looking north, opened in December, 1982, spanning Lake Austin with its unique suspension arches. The bridge brought South and West Austin nearer to North- west Austin. Prior to its opening, the nearest road crossings on this portion of the river were Mansfield Dam and Red Bud Trail below Tom Miller Dam on Town Lake. -011' , The Hill Country west of Aus- S tin frames the downtown sky- line, a view off Loop 360, the Capital of Texas Highway. Town Lake night reflections are of Austin's no-longer-used fire practice tower, sl-.- W .85 .yi i In 1961, a group of boys from a club once at Travis, the Key Club, works on clearing a walkway down Oltorf. The area across the street was once an open field.

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