Rediscovering Austin

I still miss the dragon

Several months ago, instead of the sign for this shop, there was a giant dragon head sticking out of the corner of the building. Sadly, rents went up in this stretch of SoCo and Dragonsnaps had to relocate. However, Mi Casa took up the challenge of keeping the storefronts unique, and added this fabulous mural to the building. Unfortunately I could not find information on the artist of this mural, but it actually spans both sides of this corner lot.

Sorry, We're Open

This is the sign for Magnolia Cafe on SoCo, home of the best Hibiscus Mint tea in Austin. Well, servers of the best, anyway -- I believe they use the same tea brand as Texas French Bread. :D Magnolia features an Austin-eclectic menu, much of the same sort of foods as Kerbey Lane (albeit each with their own individual flair). As a matter of fact, I really couldn't tell you which of the two restaurants I prefer over the other - Magnolia just has the benefit of being closest to the local yarn shop at which I teach classes. For decor/ambience - 4 out of 5 stars. For food and price - 5 out of 5 stars.

Flower for your thoughts...

Among the unique signs on SoCo stands this one for a gift shop called Prima Dora. With everything from books to cards to shoes to mattresses, it is sure that you will find the odd little gift here for even your most hard-to-shop-for friend. Their parking lot also serves as a staging area for several First Thursday merchants on, of course, the first Thursday of every month.

By the by, in case you couldn't tell, that tulip is over 10 feet tall.

Feeling a little peckish

If you're looking for a good burger, Fran's is an excellent place to stop. Once owned by Fran and Dan (of Dan's Hamburgers, natch), it is now just Fran's - and the happy carhop is more than willing to help out.

Urban cowboy

Well, it's actually the sign decoration for uncommon OBJECTS (for some reason I wanted to type Urban Outfitters, but they're not cool or local enough to have a store on SoCo). This place is a mix of a garage sale, antique store, and flea market gone wild. If you're looking for unusual decorations or housewares, I highly recommend you stop in here. If you're looking for that one 1952 Royal Crown bottlecap to fill out your collection, you may find it here as well -- but I warn you, you'll have to spend a lot of time browsing through the 18 different vendors' items.

It's a bird, it's a plane! No, it's a...zebra?!?

This fancy lady sits atop the intersection of two stores on SoCo - Electric Ladyland and Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds. (Actually, it is just one store...although I can vouch for two storefronts, I have only ever visited the latter). I believe the former is vintage clothing, while LDD is mainly given over to costumes of all sorts, mainly vintage and certainly wild. Since it has been so long since my last trip into the store (which was at least a decade ago, when I was in college) I cannot vouch for the separate-ness of the two any longer. However, it is still a fun place to wlak by, and perhaps this Hallowe'en I may even venture forth once more into the store labeled Austin's Favorite Vintage Clothing/Costumes by the readers of the Austin Chronicle.

At any rate, the Carmen Miranda-esque zebra perched atop the building draws your eyes to the stores from quite a distance away. Perhaps it is this fantastic creation that has inspired the heights of oddity in the local decorations.

Signs of South Congress

This is the first in a series of photos showing off the understated beauty of the shops on South Congress. These shops are all in buildings with historical significance to the city, and each one tries to outdo its neighbors with creative signage.