History of Austin

Central Library opens new chapter in Austin's long love affair with books

On October 28, the new Austin Central Library opened in the heart of downtown at 710 Cesar Chavez St. to great fanfare and delight among the growing community.

For Austin, the new Central Library is meant to serve as a front porch for the community at large. After years of planning and four years under construction, the new 200,000-square-foot library houses 351,588 items and has 589 seats scattered throughout the interior, an event area, designated parking spots for bicycles, an art gallery and children's space, an area for teens, reading porches overlooking Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake, an atrium, hushed reading rooms, a beautifully curated gift shop, a rooftop garden, and a soon-to-open cafe featuring recipes from cookbooks in the library's collection.

Libraries have a long, storied history in Austin. Home to the world-renowned University of Texas at Austin, the city has always had a reputation for recruiting and attracting a literate population. Increasingly, the Capital City has become a high-tech hub with major employers locating here due to an educated populace and an enjoyable lifestyle.

This new library is the latest in our city's storied love affair with books. In a digital age when more people seeking news sources in digital formats, Austinites continue to support homegrown shops like BookPeople and Malvern Books. As cities and towns across the country shutter libraries due to economic factors or lack of interest, Austin has made a library the literal and figurative center of life here.

Austin's first public library
In 1913, then Mayor A. P. Wooldridge called for a municipal library to serve the city of Austin. Then, as today, this matter was long debated, and ultimately approved with vital funds being raised to build a permanent library. The site of three churches at Ninth and Guadalupe streets was selected as the location of the first temporary library. Mayor Wooldridge petitioned the state legislature and funds were raised by door-to-door canvassing for a book collection.

By June 1932, according to public records, building operations for a permanent facility had begun. In documents provided by the Austin History Center, when the new library doors opened for "book disposition" there were "throngs" of people in attendance. According to records, more than a thousand books were checked out the first day, and officials stated that there "were plenty of good books for all types of reading."

Decades later, as the Austin population continued to grow along with the need for additional shelf space, the Faulk Central Library was recommended and approved by voters, and in 1979 officially moved next door to 810 Guadalupe St. The library was named after John Henry Faulk (1913-1990) a local radio show host and storyteller who brought forward the successful lawsuit that helped end the Hollywood blacklist during the McCarthy era.

Preserving Austin's history
Following the move of the central library to Cesar Chavez Street, the Austin History Center has plans to take over the now-vacant Faulk building. The AHC, currently housed at 810 Guadalupe St., is the go-to source for historical documents and information on Austin and Travis County. "We have family archives, records of local organizations, and historical documents donated by individuals," says Mike Miller, director of the AHC.

Moving into the former library would expand AHC's ability to accommodate visiting school groups as well as provide services for local historians and newcomers to the city wishing to research the history of their new city. Material available for research includes phone books, archived copies of the Austin American-Statesman dating back to 1871 when the newspaper was known as the Weekly Democratic Statesman.

As Austin continues its rapid growth, Miller feels that it is "important to maintain archival records in ensuring Austin's history doesn't disappear." There is not a concrete timetable for the move, and this will be determined by bond money approved by voters.

The next chapter
The new Central Library marks a new age for Austin's literary community. In addition to the new space, Austin Public Libraries is entering a new era. In August, it was announced that Roosevelt Weeks, formerly of Houston Public Library, would replace outgoing director Brenda Branch after 40 years spent with APL. As the organization's new head, Weeks is in charge of 416 employees working at 20 branches across the city.

Public libraries have always provided free and equal access to information in whatever format people are using at the time. Today's libraries are more than just books, they are community-centered spaces with state-of-the-art technology. Libraries of the future will adapt new methods of information delivery. Regardless of what the future holds, spaces like Austin's new Central Library will continue to help transform communities and contribute to an improved quality of life for everyone.

The new Central Library on Cesar Chavez.

Photo courtesy of Austin Public Library

The new Central Library on Cesar Chavez.

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Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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