Quote:
Originally Posted by StoOgE
North Loop has come and gone a few times as well.
Then there is NE Central with Carousel, North Burnet has some spots still, and the far far East (Govalle) is the new hot spot.
I think if you've been in Austin long enough you've come to expect change to be the norm.
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What made Austin fairly unique, along with a small group of cities is that our entertainment venues were centralized in the core, not spread out around the city. That is the point I'm trying to make and that we are losing. I don't want to be like most other cities in that respect. It means we've lost an important part of our city's culture.
I'm not saying that there shouldn't be entertainment areas around the city, but SXSW wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Downtown as an entertainment central hub. A centralized heart where people went to have a good time regardless of what part of Austin they live in. I want to be able to go to as many bars and clubs as I can without having to get into a car. That's how it was and granted still is to an extent, but for how long? I have no idea what is up north in terms of hot spots other than the Domain area and not likely to ever check them out because it's too far and not convenient from my perspective. We shouldn't just say well let's just build highrises DT because that is where they belong without making sure we continue to keep and nurture music/entertainment venues DT. I was asked how to implement a requirement a few posts up, I think it was by ATX if I'm not mistaken, well like any ordinance or requirement, have a certain amount of ground or second floor space specific designed for music/entertainment uses. I see a lot of restaurant or retail with projects but unless that includes entertainment venues as part of the definition, then there can only be so much "retail or restaurant" space to the point of oversaturation. It shouldn't be that hard to incorporate a mixture of uses such as music venues into highrise developments.