Sixth Street (Austin, Texas) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Sixth Street Historic District
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Historic buildings lining Sixth Street
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 Location in Texas
Location in the United States
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| Location | Roughly bounded by 5th, 7th, Lavaca Streets and I-35, Austin, Texas |
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| Built | 1839 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Early Commercial, Classical Revival, Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 75002132 |
| Added to NRHP | December 30, 1975 |
Sixth Street is a famous street and fun entertainment area in Austin, Texas. It's right in the heart of downtown Austin. Long ago, Sixth Street was called Pecan Street. This was because Austin used to name its east-west streets after trees. North-south streets were named after Texas rivers, and they still are!
A special part of East Sixth Street, about nine blocks long, is known as the Sixth Street Historic District. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. This area became a major trade and business center in the late 1800s. Most buildings here are two or three stories tall. They are built with stone in a style called Victorian commercial architecture. Many of these buildings were already standing by the 1880s. Some famous ones include the Driskill Hotel (built in 1886) and the Scarbrough Building (built in 1910).
Since the 1970s, the area around 4th and 6th Streets has been a big entertainment spot. East 6th Street, between Congress Avenue and Interstate 35, is full of places to visit. You can find many bars, clubs, and music venues. Many of them have live music playing throughout the week. On weekend evenings, and sometimes during football games or holidays, traffic is stopped on East 6th Street. This lets people walk freely and safely to all the fun places.
East Sixth Street, sometimes called "Dirty Sixth" by locals, hosts many exciting events every year. These include music and film festivals like South by Southwest. There are also big biker gatherings, such as The Republic of Texas Biker Rally. Plus, the popular Pecan Street Festival happens here.
The part of Sixth Street west of Lavaca Street is called the West 6th Street District. This area is also growing into its own entertainment spot. It focuses more on live music for people who love that kind of scene.
History of Sixth Street
Austin was planned using a grid system by Edwin Waller. Congress Avenue ran north-south through the middle. In 1839, the Bastrop Highway, which connected Austin to older towns, came into the city along Pecan Street. The stagecoach used this route when it arrived in Austin in 1840. It stopped at the Bullock Hotel, which was built in 1839. This hotel quickly became a very important meeting place in Austin.
The town grew quickly along Congress and Pecan Streets. Pecan Street was a great spot for development. It was far enough from the river to avoid floods. It was also flat enough for wagons and people to travel easily. Between 1850 and 1860, Austin's population grew a lot. Pecan Street soon had many businesses for travelers, like wagon yards and places to keep horses. Austin's first bridge was built in 1865 to cross Shoal Creek on Pecan Street. However, this narrow bridge, built by the United States Army, was only for people walking.
The American Civil War slowed down Sixth Street's growth in the 1860s. But the years after the war were very important for Sixth Street as a business center. When the railroad arrived in 1871, it helped Sixth Street even more. Many important businesses moved there to be close to the train station. Land along the street became very popular. Soon, two and three-story stone Victorian buildings replaced smaller wooden ones. In 1887, a new, wider bridge was built across Shoal Creek. This bridge was wide enough for wagons. This West Sixth Street Bridge is still used today and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the late 1880s, Congress Avenue started to become more popular for shopping. The new Capitol building was being built at the end of Congress Avenue. Many businesses that served city residents and the state government moved there. However, Sixth Street continued to be important for offices, warehouses, and businesses that used the railroad. It also served farmers and other travelers. In 1886, the famous four-story Driskill Hotel was finished. It was called "the finest hotel south of St. Louis." A cattleman named Jesse Driskill built it in a Romanesque Revival style.
The Scarbrough and Hicks department store opened in 1893. In 1909, they built Austin's first modern skyscraper at the same spot. This was the eight-story Scarbrough Building. In 1911, George Littlefield built a nine-story brick and stone building for his American Bank.
Sixth Street became a very diverse area in the late 1800s and early 1900s. People from many different backgrounds owned businesses there. For example, a black doctor had an office on East Sixth Street. Many businesses were run by black families and served Austin's black community. Lebanese businesses also started appearing in the 1890s. The Joseph family, one of the first Lebanese families in Austin, still has a business on East 6th Street. By 1940, people from black, Jewish, German, Chinese, and Mexican-American communities owned businesses on Sixth Street.
After World War II, East 6th Street became less important for big businesses. More second-hand stores and discount shops opened, serving people with lower incomes. Some buildings became empty. In the 1950s and 1960s, more pawn shops, loan companies, and bars opened. This made the area feel less lively. However, many small businesses, run by their owners, kept the area going.
One of the last people to live on Sixth Street was an architect named David Graeber. He bought a building at 410 E. 6th Street and lived there with his family until he passed away in 2010. This building was the last one on Sixth Street used only as a home. It even had an indoor swimming pool!
The Ritz, a historic theater, opened in 1929 at 320 E. 6th Street. Over the years, the Ritz was a movie theater, a music hall, a club, and a comedy house. In 2007, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema moved its downtown movie theater to the Ritz. They worked to bring the Ritz back to life as a movie theater.
Since 2014, cars are not allowed on Sixth Street in the entertainment district from Thursday evening to Saturday night. This rule helps keep people safe, especially after a car incident during the SXSW festival.
Pecan Street Festival: A Celebration of History
By the 1970s, Sixth Street was not doing well. Many buildings were empty. A group of Austin residents, called the Old Pecan Street Association, decided to help. They wanted to fix up the old buildings and bring life back to downtown. They needed money for these repairs. So, they decided to start a street fair.
In 1978, the first Pecan Street Festival was held. It featured local food, art, and bands. It quickly became a popular community event that celebrated Austin's culture and creativity. Because it was so successful, the festival now happens twice a year, in spring and fall. It honors Sixth Street's original name, Pecan Street. In the past, over 300,000 people have attended the festival. In 2010, it brought about $43 million to the local economy!
Images for kids
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O. Henry Hall, a historic building on West 6th Street.
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The Richmond Kelley Smoot House.
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The West Sixth Street Bridge, still in use today.
