When did old Austin die?

[DCA_HORN 725]

I'd argue when the built the Frost tower. What say you?

[52-80 19379]

When 5th Street became the new 6th Street or whatever

 

But the frost tower is a good milestone

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

When driving through the trail of lights was banned.

 

When Bergstrom AFB closed and Mueller moved to ABIA.

 

When the porno theatre on south congress closed.

 

When One Guy From Italy bolted from campus.

 

 

 

[Armybrat 41320]

When Charlie Whitman did his evil work.

[formermav43 4607]

It began approximately 5 years after you moved there.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9483]

When the Armadillo World Headquarters closed (four years before I got here).

[Grippe 323]

When Leslie passed away.

[StruggleBus 3922]

15-20 years ago

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Like the death of any old town, the rise  of the university probably did it to you.

[Armybrat 41320]

38 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

When the Armadillo World Headquarters closed (four years before I got here).

No, when Wilson took over the old National Guard armory/rollerskating rink to crank up the AWH.

[Macanudo 13256]

I blame John Mackovic.

[Armybrat 41320]

When Deloss fired Abe.

[Your Mom 4956]

1 hour ago, formermav43 said:

It began approximately 5 years after you moved there.

This is one correct answer.  The other is that your version of old Austin died when you turned 30. 

My dad and his friends bitched all through the 80’s about old Austin dying.  I enjoyed my version of old Austin in the 90’s and started my bitching in the mid-2000s. My kids currently are enjoying enjoy their version of Austin very much but will be bitching about it by the 2030s. 
 

Austin evolves to tune of the young people.  You can call that “old Austin dying” but it’s really just you getting old.  

[deadshank 24654]

Who gives a shit?

[Armybrat 41320]

Even Jacob Harrell got tired of the new Austin and moved to Round Rock.

[Deej 77671]

1 hour ago, Grippe said:

When Leslie passed away.

Wrong. It died when dumbasses in this town made that piece of shit a local celebrity. 

[Longhorn 145]

When car dealerships/service were replaced by Whole Foods and REI at 5-6 and Lamar.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

It dies when you move out. And moving to the RR, CP, Buda, etc burbs counts too.

[Orange&White 5563]

2 hours ago, formermav43 said:

It began approximately 5 years after you moved there.

100% this

[Somnio 751]

I'll use 9/11/2001 as the date it, along with pretty much the entire world "died".

Nothing has ever been the same.

[utee94 16066]

it died when they changed the name from Waterloo.

[Guest Lobo]

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.  

[XYZ 2154]

Late 90s. Dot com boom.

[Eastwood 4394]

Old Austin died and New Austin is already dead, too. Austin is just another big city, now.

[Neonmoon 38130]

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 

[Armybrat 41320]

nOOb

[CrownKing 55]

When Liberty Lunch ,Waterloo Brewery, original Gingerman, etc we’re forced to close to build high rises. 

[CHEF DIESEL 126]

Michael Dell killed old Austin.

[tbone_ 14410]

The internet killed it. It kills everything.

[bolverk 30231]

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.

[Doc Reeves 6434]

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 

[Dbeasy 15526]

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.

[Guest Lobo]

44 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

nOOb

Sorry we all didn’t have access to the land bridge good sir. 

[Somnio 751]

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!

[Paco 1948]

Coincidence? I think not.

[justhookit 4205]

When Cedar Door moved from the Lamar/1st location. 

[ClubWhatever 12277]

1 hour ago, CHEF DIESEL said:

Michael Dell killed old Austin.

I agree with this.  Dell (the company) was the worst thing to happen to Austin.

[ButtFumble 5246]

Sematech

[Bevo 13825]

1 hour ago, CHEF DIESEL said:

Michael Dell killed old Austin.

This is my opinion as well. After Dell, Dallas and Houston students could then stay in Austin because there were jobs here.

[CooterBrown 18272]

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.

[Red Five 41596]

When Southpark Meadows became a shopping center.

[Guest Lobo]

Yeah, but it was a shitty venue to begin with.  Along your line of thinking, the Backyard was a much bigger loss to the music scene.  

[Txzen 513]

It started a little before, but definitely the year Aquafest stopped was the beginning of the end. 

[Red Five 41596]

I know. But turning a place I used to go and get fucked up and listen to good music, into a fucking shopping mall, just seemed like the right example.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11856]

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...  

[Junior Miller 1502]

3 hours ago, Somnio said:

I'll use 9/11/2001 as the date it, along with pretty much when AMERICA "died".

Nothing has ever been the same.

 

[Junior Miller 1502]

4 hours ago, Deej said:

Wrong. It died when dumbasses in this town made that piece of shit a local celebrity. 

I remember seeing him about doing his crazy thing but didn't know anything more than that. What made him a piece of shit?

[Deej 77671]

I once saw him talking at a woman and her daughter of about 8 or 10 years old while he was hanging brain. Real classy. 

[Armybrat 41320]

When The Id opened on the Drag.

[Degenerate Gardner 4132]

Coincidentally or not, around the time Circle C went in.

Of course I defer to Armybrat who is a much better authority on Austin during Pangea.