While an architectural compromise is promising (and could set a precedent for future developments in older buildings that don't quite make the "historic" cut), dozens of members of Austin's queer community have reached out to Council Member Kathie Tovo, whose District 9 includes the area, to say the city can't afford to lose its unofficial gay district. The buildings, which date to the 1920s and 1930s, likewise don't qualify as landmarks on their own, per a city planning report presented to the city's Historic Landmark Commission.Ī proposed high-rise, one of many that have completely changed the neighborhood since 1990, would leave new (pre-pandemic) LGBTQ-friendly clubs Coconut Club and Neon Grotto looking for new homes, with Oilcan Harry's being offered a 25-year lease in a rebuilt space. That's not a long enough history for Austin's city code to spare the block that houses Oilcan's from demolition by designating it as a historic district. A new high-rise on Fourth and Colorado would be set back 5 feet from reconstructed facades of the original warehouse buildings (Provided by The city of Austin)īefore Oilcan Harry's opened in 1990, the blocks near Fourth and Colorado were home to Kansas, the Boathouse, and other long-gone gay bars at the edge of the then-emerging Warehouse District.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |