People Watching: Orange

Today is theme day for City Daily Photos around the world. The theme is 'people watching.' I gave this one a lot of thought and decided that I would capture some people in a public place, unawares. My apologies to the guy in the baseball cap: he doesn't know he's being photographed. The barista at Halcyon is mostly hidden and the gal on the far right is obscuring herself and the gal behind her while she examines a newly purchased item of orange clothing. Of course, today is the first University of Texas football game of the season and (burnt) orange is the school color. Hence this coffee shop study in orange...from shelf decor to cap to painting to that gal's purchase. When I people watch, one thing I notice is everyone's fashion. This weekend a lot of it will be orange!

Fly Away

I have never been to the Hangar on 4th and Colorado but I really like the logo. That's the Austonian looming in the background.

Sit and Sip

The Halcyon Coffee Shop at Fourth and Lavaca has some colorful seats ready for you outside on the warehouse dock.

Mutual Support

This mural is on the outside of Ginger Man at its new Lavaca location. It is famous for a wide selection of beers on tap and a comfy UK-style atmosphere with darts and such. It made way at its old 4th Street location for a condo building which has yet to break ground. We would still consider this part of the Fourth Street/Warehouse District.

Warehouse District...Above the Fray

The Warehouse District along Fourth Street (this is the block between Lavaca and Colorado) is a bustling area of cramped sidewalks and old tall loading docks and stairs that make a mockery of handicapped access but is 'grandfathered' and preserved as bars and businesses. This photo is shot from above at the Headliners Club atop the Chase building. The red building is Oil Can Harry's, a gay bar as long as I remember. The gap between the buildings on the nearest (north) side of the street is Cedar Street Courtyard which has a stage with live music most nights. (Fourth was, I believe, Cedar Street in the old named for tree scheme before numbers). Also along the street are Qua (a bar with a nautical theme and velvet ropes that I've never bothered with because I'm not in the beautiful set and don't pretend to be); 219 West (a nice place for drinks and snacks); Fado (an Irish place for Guinness and Shepherd's Pie); and Halcyon (a great place for coffee and sandwiches as well as alcoholic drinks).

Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

A new place called Péché has opened up over on Fourth just east of Cedar Street courtyard. They have absinthe fountains and lots of people were having the green drink because they were included in the freebies in this opening event to benefit the March of Dimes. They were passing around samples of their pommes frites and other French bistro offerings. I'll be back to try the moules and croque madame. Since Capitol Brasserie was sold and became a pretentious Asian restaurant and bar I've missed a spot for that kind of fare. We'll see if this place can take its place. Somehow Bess (Sandra Bullock's sort of bistro) has never caught my fancy entirely. We are sort of lacking in places for stuff like this in Austin.

The Irish Angle

The Warehouse District has, at its heart, a part of Fourth Street where the sidewalks career up to the dizzying heights of old loading docks. The Irish Pub and Restaurant Fado flies its flags (I'm guessing that's the Irish flag whipped around the pole in the wind) in the shadow of Frost Bank Tower. Food here is good basic fare and, of course, Guinness is on tap.

Coffee? Or Something Stronger?

On Fourth Street at the northeast corner of Lavaca there is a Coffee/Bar (and /Lounge it would seem). Meaning they don't just have coffee, but a full bar. And you can lounge. They have free Internet, I think, though I've never used it there. They recently remodeled and shrank the inside dimension to give over space to another bar but I was assured that the panini plates wouldn't change and they are stellar. This stretch of Fourth Street between Lavaca and Colorado is a lively one with several bars (Cedar Street is an outdoor stage) and restaurants. This is definitely 'warehouse district' as the Halcyon and other businesses on that side of the street are ten feet above street level on old loading docks. The name Halcyon gives them lots to live up to, but I think they succeed!

Austin is Known for...Music

Meet Margaret Wright. She can be found just about any place in Austin on any given night, tickling the ivories and singing standards and show tunes. But I admit that I did not expect to see her playing a keyboard smack in the middle of a disco dance floor with lights underneath and a mirrored ball above. In a gay bar (Rain, 4th St. downtown in the Warehouse District). I have seen Margaret play a piano worth six figures at a magnificent home full of antiques and decorated elaborately for Christmas. At at lots of other venues, private homes and private clubs especially. She belted out "Summertime" last night. We were headed a bit later to the new Austin Music Hall to see the Zachary Scott Theater's "Porgy and Bess" so that was appropriate.

I really think that when people think about Austin they think about the music they love. They think about SXSW, Austin City Limits and ACL festival, Antones and many clubs with their favorite music live. Our tastes are a bit old-fashioned (cabaret, jazz, the rock of our youth). Our first date was at Armadillo World Headquarters. Listening to the Louisiana blues country style of Marcia Ball (no relation) and the Misery Brothers.

So, it's not the lakes, hill, the Capitol or the UT tower. It's music. And in spite of the whining about smoking bans and cost of living for musicians, it's still there. And maybe not just what you expect on any given night!

This is City Daily Photo's Theme Day. These other sites signed up to show you what their city is known for.
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