ST-ELMO•TEL
An Austin Classic A play on its name/location, at St. Elmo St. at South Congress, in far South Austin. No longer here. Replaced with a multi-story condo project. Now in its place Continue reading ST-ELMO•TEL
Category: In and Around Austin
Butler Bricks – the bricks that built Austin
The brick company that has been in Elgin for years, actually started out at Zilker Park in Austin. BY PHOEBE ALLEN Michael Butler & the Butler Brick Legacy Irishman Michael Butler arrived in Austin in 1873 and began manufacturing mud bricks at the foot of East Avenue (now IH-35) on the north bank of the Colorado River. An 1875 flood resulted in his move to the south bank of the Colorado River – between Barton Creek and today’s South First Street and between the river and Barton Springs Road – at brickyards that remained in place until 1958. Butler bricks … Continue reading Butler Bricks – the bricks that built Austin
Replacing The Old Brackenridge Apartments On Lake Austin Blvd.
Sometime in the earlier part in the mid 1980s, I contracted to run the underground utilities (water, wastewater & drainage) for the New Brackenridge Apartments that were being built. The project involved the tearing down of the old wooden buildings that had far outlived their normal life. Then the site was prepared and prefabbed concrete modules built by the HB Zachery Company In San Antonio were brought in and stacked together like toy building blocks. It was a new building concept. The Zachery Company had just finished building the Palacio Del Rio, a high rise hotel on the San Antonio … Continue reading Replacing The Old Brackenridge Apartments On Lake Austin Blvd.
The Man in the Little 4 Foot Wide Watch Repair Shop
We were driving down Guadalupe by the State Hospital a while back. I glanced over to see something I hadn’t thought about in years. The tiny watch repair shop. As a small boy I had been there several times with my mother to drop off or pickup a watch. Back in an earlier day (the early 60s) watches needed repairing, cleaning or adjusting pretty often. I guess I was puzzled by not only how small the place was, but how the watch fixer was able to get into such a small place. Then one day we arrived at about the … Continue reading The Man in the Little 4 Foot Wide Watch Repair Shop
Is It A Lighthouse ?
This very unique water tower/standpipe is located on a hill top above Mansfield Dam, overlooking Lake Travis. I think it is sitting atop of McCormick Mt. Besides being a good looking specimen, it is special to me in another way. My company had the contract to build this structure in about 1986 or 1987. We hired a tank builder to actually construct the welded tank, while we performed all the associated work. It would have looked more like the last picture when we completed it (blue plain tank). One day, several years ago, I was driving down Highway 620 and … Continue reading Is It A Lighthouse ?
North Austin Water Reservoir
Not all Water Storage Facilities are Towers. They don’t really tower at all. This particular one only rises above ground level approximately 6′ but much more of it is below ground. It sets on the west side North Lamar at FM 2222, across the street from the Main Headquarters of Texas DPS. It is one of the older water storage and pumping facilities in use in Austin. The second picture is about the only clear view where one can see it. The rest of the perimeter has tall shrubs planted that obscures the view of it. Continue reading North Austin Water Reservoir
Martin Hill Reservoir – City of Austin’s Water Utility
West of Loop 1 at Shoreline Dr. (north end of Mopac) This is the largest steel potable water tank in the US. (or it was not long ago) It’s capacity is 34 million gallons. It is 260′ in diameter, 120′ high (in the center) and 80′ at the edges.It covers 53,000 sf in area. It is a landmark that can be seen for miles and miles away on approach into Austin by air. . I always wondered where the name Martin Hill originated. After posting recently about Austin White Lime, the name AF Martin jumped out at me, the original … Continue reading Martin Hill Reservoir – City of Austin’s Water Utility
Austin White Lime – Austin, Texas
Strange how much of it doesn’t look so much different 134 years later. I was informed that Austin White Lime ceased producing products in August 2024 and preparations are being made to get the property ready for its next life. HISTORY – Austin White Lime Company, Ltd. was founded in 1888 as Martin and Walker, with A.F. Martin serving as president and proprietor. Around 1891, the company become officially known as Austin White Lime Company, Ltd. The company quickly gained a reputation for manufacturing quality products and was recognized in prominent publications for that time. The Industrial Advantages of Austin, … Continue reading Austin White Lime – Austin, Texas
Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX)
Edwin “Ned” deSteiguer Snead(1929 – 2015) (The following is excerpted from his obituary) In 1992, at an age when most men are retiring, Ned created Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX). GREX is a rail services company providing the railroads with specialty equipment and innovative technological products and services to maintain and repair track all over North America. Much of the equipment that GREX uses was invented and patented by Ned, including the DUMP TRAIN, a train that unloads itself by way of a conveyor belt running the length of the train. Also unique to GREX is the SLOT MACHINE, ballast … Continue reading Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX)
Georgetown Railroad
This invitation I received was from a few years ago. (6 1/2 years ago) This is a very well run operation. By operating their own railroad, I’ve been told puts them in a very unique and enviable position in the crushed stone industry. When they ship products from their crusher to locales far away on GRR, they collect the lion share of the freight fee (something like 80%) since it is the point of origin. That’s just the way the system is setup. The story as I heard it, Mr. Snead tried to get various rail companies to service them … Continue reading Georgetown Railroad
Angora Chronicles 