Fun facts about Austin

Texas proud/ Austin proud

Austinites love the quirkiness of their hometown—but that didn’t just happen in recent times. Here are some historic fun facts about the Hill Country city that make it even more special in the minds of its residents:

• Beginning in 1937, Austin’s new Congressman Lyndon Johnson made sure the country’s first public housing project was built here.

 

• Texas has the nation’s largest herd of whitetail deer, many of them still roaming in suburbs around Austin.



Texas Capitol
by Larry Burmeier

• The dome of the Capitol stands seven feet higher than that of the nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C.

• Central Texas is bat heaven: More species live in Texas than in any other part of the United States.

• Austin’s Austex Chili factory invented the tamale-making machine, and in 1911 it was the only one in the country.

• Austin streets were first paved with brick in 1905 rather than the usual paving material of the time, creosoted wood blocks.

• Austin enacted Blue Laws in 1879 to prohibit businesses from opening on Sundays; and while they were at it, city leaders outlawed boxing matches, bear and bull fights, and kite flying.

It’s easy to see how the city got its motto, “Keep Austin Weird.”

Read more stories about Austin at Striped Pot.
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