Austin, Texas

The Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League play Triple-A baseball in nearby Round Rock, Texas. Note: Although Reggie White's 92 has not been worn since Reggie had it, the number will not be officially retired until a ceremony during the 2005 season. Among the professional sports teams in Austin are the Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League and the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League. E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!. Although the Libertarians remain a third party, the party is very active in the Austin area, and two past Libertarian presidential candidates, Ron Paul and Michael Badnarik have come from the vicinity of Austin. Fly, Eagles Fly, on the road to victory!. The combination of economic conservatism with political liberalism has also made Austin an active area for the Libertarian Party. Hit'em low, hit'em high, and watch our Eagles fly!.

However, two of its three congressional districts are presently held by Republicans; this is largely due to the 2003 redistricting, which left Austin with no congressional seat of its own. Fight, Eagles Fight, score a touchdown 1, 2, 3!. Of Austin's six state legislative districts, three are strongly Democratic, one strongly Republican, and two are swing districts (one presently held by a Republican and the other by a Democrat). Fly, Eagles Fly, on the road to victory!. Overall, the city leans to the Democrats; in the 2004 presidential election, John Kerry defeated George W Bush by a wide margin in Austin. The Eagles are well known for their famous fight song, Fly, Eagles Fly:. Congressional districts to dilute its influence vis a vis the suburbs. To a limited degree the division between Democratic and Republican precincts coincides with the aforementioned divisions between supporters of environmental regulations and supporters of unfettered urban growth. The fans have since been rewarded with the winningest NFL team in the past five years, while the New England Patriots have gone on to win three Super Bowls in that same period, including one over the Eagles themselves.

One consequence of this is that the central city has been gerrymandered by the Republican-controlled state legislature into several U.S. The Eagle fans had no trouble filling the Vet and providing sellout after sellout. As a result of the major party realignment that began in the 1970's, central Austin became a stronghold of the Democratic Party while the suburbs tend to vote Republican. He chose Philadelphia since New England was having difficulties selling out games and avoiding local blackouts. Austin is well known as a center for liberal politics in a generally conservative state, leading some conservatives to deride the city as the "People's Republic of Austin." Austin's suburbs, especially to the west and north, and several satellite municipalities, however, tend towards political conservativism. Owner Jeffrey Lurie actually investigated buying the New England Patriots in the early 1990's. The city council has in the past tried to mitigate the controversy by advocating smart growth, but growth and environmental protection are still the main hot-button issues in city politics. These fans were put together from the radio station WIP and did not represent the general opinion of Philadelphia fans.

The political controversy that dominated the 1990s was the conflict between environmentalists, strong in the city center, and advocates of urban growth, who tend to live in the outlying areas. A minority of Eagles fans wanted Ricky Williams and when the Eagles announced that McNabb was drafted, 30 or so fans present at the New York City draft booed the decision. The main political actors within Austin city politics are interest groups such as the pro-environmental Save Our Springs Alliance, the Austin Police Association, Austin Toll Party and the Austin Business Council. Another example of what Philadelphia fans have to offer is the drafting of star quarterback Donovan McNabb. Austin remains an anomaly among large Texas cities in that the council is not elected by districts, and there has been a strong effort to change the election system to one of single districts. He laughed it off and pointed to the few culprits saying "You're not getting anything for Christmas". Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan, with a runoff in case there is no 50% majority winner. As Olivo recounts, a few fans threw snowballs at him after he reached the endzone.

Austin is administered by a city council of seven members, each of them elected by the entire city, and by an elected mayor. A skinny, 20 year old Frank Olivo who was in the stands came to the rescue. The Zilker Tree is lit in early December along with the "Trail of Lights," an Austin Christmas tradition. The background story is that the original Santa was drunk and unable to perform. The "Zilker Tree" is a Christmas "tree" made of large lights strung from the top of the Moonlight Tower that stands in Zilker Park. Perhaps the most famous (many would say infamous) example of the legend of Eagles' fans is the Santa Claus Incident, during which a few angry fans booed and threw snowballs at a man dressed as Santa at a game in 1968. The towers were prominently featured in the film Dazed and Confused. But the Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 27-10 on January 23, 2005 in the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia, to advance to the Super Bowl XXXIX, where they were defeated by the New England Patriots, 24-21.

At night, parts of Austin are lit with "artificial moonlight." Several "Moonlight Towers", built in the late 19th century and recognized as historic landmarks, illuminate the central part of the city. The year after that, the Eagles hosted the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field, but the Panthers advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII by the score of 14-3. The iconic Pennybacker Bridge, also known as the "360 Bridge," crosses Lake Austin to connect north and south Loop 360. The next season, the Eagles hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Veteran's Stadium and were substantial favorites, but lost 27-10. In the summer, the colony has up to 1.5 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats; in the winter they migrate to Mexico. Louis in the NFC Championship Game. The Congress Avenue Bridge houses the world's largest urban bat population. In 2001, the Eagles fell to the Rams 29-24 in St.

In 2004 the city was named #1 in Moviemaker Magazine's Annual Top 10 Cities to live and make movies. By this time the Eagles were well known for their futility in National Football Conference Championship games since the 2001 season. Austin hosts the annual Austin Film Festival, as well as the South by Southwest Festival, which draw films of many different types from all over the world. This made him the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 30 or more TD passes and fewer than 10 INTs in a given season. It is also home to several other entertainers including Sandra Bullock and Willie Nelson. McNabb had his finest season to date, passing for 3,875 yards and 31 touchdowns, throwing only eight interceptions. Austin is home to several well-known directors, including Robert Rodriguez, Richard Linklater, and Tim McCanlies. Their final two regular-season games thus rendered meaningless, the Eagles sat out most of their first-string players in these games and lost them both, yet still finished with a 13-3 record, their best 16-game season ever.

The University of Texas has an outstanding Radio, Television, and Film (RTF) department [1] (http://rtf.utexas.edu/) and, partly because of this, Austin has been the location of a number of movies, including Man of the House, Secondhand Lions, Waking Life, Spy Kids, Dazed and Confused, Office Space, The Life of David Gale, "Miss Congeniality", and Slacker. Their 12-7 victory in this game gave them homefield advantage throughout the playoffs (exclusive of the Super Bowl) for the third year in a row, the team having previously clinched their fourth straight NFC East division title, their fifth consecutive postseason appearance, and a first-round bye in the playoffs. The proliferation of technology companies has led to the region's nickname, "the Silicon Hills," (Austin was originally "Silicon Gulch", but it seems that San Jose, Ca. already has that distinction) and has spurred rapid development that has greatly expanded the city to the north and south. Owens would end up with exactly 1,200 receiving yards and 14 touchdown receptions, although his season ended prematurely with an ankle injury on December 19, 2004 against the Dallas Cowboys. Other high-tech companies in Austin include Apple Computer, Vignette, AMD, Intel, Cirrus Logic,Samsung and National Instruments. The 2004 season began with a bang as Owens caught three touchdown passes from McNabb in their season opener against the New York Giants. Austin's biggest employers include the State of Texas, the University of Texas, Dell, IBM, and Freescale Semiconductor (spun off from Motorola in 2004). No doubt with the latter two facts in mind, the Eagles actively pursued — and ultimately got to trade for — premier wide receiver Terrell Owens, whom the team acquired in a controversial three-way deal involving themselves, the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, on March 16, 2004.

As a result of the relatively high concentration of high tech companies in the region, Austin was strongly affected by the dot-com boom in the late 1990s and subsequent bust, although recovery is proceeding rapidly. The Eagle receivers even went through both September and October without a TD catch — the last time an NFL team had done that was in 1945. The metro Austin area also has much lower housing costs than, for example, Silicon Valley. They achieved both of the above despite getting only five touchdown catches all year from their wide receivers, which tied the league low since the regular-season schedule was lengthened to its present 16 games in 1978 (this record would be broken in 2004 when the New York Giants' wide receivers caught only two touchdown passes). Thousands of graduates each year from the Computer Science and Engineering programs at UT provide a steady source of young, talented, and driven employees. In their opening game of the 2003 season the Eagles were shut out 17-0 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first regular-season game ever played at Lincoln Financial Field; by reaching the conference championship game in the same year as this defeat, they became the first team in modern history to get that far in the postseason after having been shut out at home in its first game. Austin is the center of a high-technology region known as Silicon Hills. The 2003 team lost its first two games, both at home — but then proceeded to become the first team ever to make the playoffs after doing this in a non-strike year.

Austin was also the longtime home of the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn. With this duo leading the way, the Eagles won the NFC's Eastern Division for four straight years beginning in 2001, also reaching the conference title game each year, but lost this game on the first three occasions. Bush. Their next period of prominence, which is still current, has come under the tutelage of head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb, who was the first player ever drafted by Reid, in 1999. Johnson and George W. In 1991, the Eagles became the first NFL team since 1975 to rank first in the league in both rushing and passing yardage allowed, but neglected to reach the playoffs despite a 10-6 final record. Former residents include Lyndon B. A period of decline set in after this, which ended in 1988 when they made the first of three straight playoff appearances under coach Buddy Ryan, but did not win a postseason game in any of those years.

Famous Austin residents include cyclist Lance Armstrong, businessman Michael Dell, tennis player Andy Roddick, actors Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey, musician Willie Nelson, and directors Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez. He had signed a "lifetime contract" with Jerry Wolman, who had owned the club at the time he was hired; on May 1, 1969, Wolman sold the team to Leonard Tose, whose first official act as owner was to fire Kuharich, who continued to draw a salary under the contract until his death. Out of the total population, 16.5% of those under the age of 18 and 8.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Kuharich was the team's head coach from 1964 through 1968; in the latter year he became the target of demands by fans that he be fired, who used the slogan "Joe Must Go" as their ralling cry (the 1968 Eagles lost their first eleven games and finished 2-12). 14.4% of the population and 9.1% of families are below the poverty line. In a bizarre coincidence, former Eagles head coach Joe Kuharich died on the same day as the above game. The per capita income for the city is $24,163. Starting in 1978, the Eagles qualified for the postseason four consecutive times, including making their first Super Bowl appearance ever following the 1980 season, but they lost, 27-10, to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV, played on January 25, 1981.

$30,046 for females. The following year the Eagles finished just a half-game behind the New York Giants for first place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 10-4 record, but would not seriously contend again until soon after Dick Vermeil became the head coach in 1976. Males have a median income of $35,545 vs. The Eagles won this game, 17-13 over the Green Bay Packers, which was played at Franklin Field on December 26, 1960. The median income for a household in the city is $42,689, and the median income for a family is $54,091. Their next appearance in a league championship game would take place in 1960, with quarterback Norm Van Brocklin and linebacker Chuck Bednarik leading the offense and defense, respectively (Bednarik was also the last NFL player to play both offense and defense, lining up at center when the offense had the ball). For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 105.7 males. But then things quickly turned around: Led by running back Steve Van Buren, the Eagles reached the NFL title game in each of the last three years of the 1940s, winning two of the contests.

For every 100 females there are 105.8 males. The Eagles struggled mightily at first, not even so much as managing a single winning season until 1943, when they temporarily merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers to form a team known as "the Phil-Pitt Steagles" (this unusual arrangement being due to World War II). The median age is 30 years. Neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regards the two franchises as the same, citing the aforementioned period of dormancy; however, some observers believe the two teams should be treated as one. In the city the population is spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who are 65 years of age or older. Bert Bell and Lud Wray, co-owners of the Frankford Yellow Jackets, an inactive NFL franchise since midway through the 1931 season, were granted permission to reactivate the club on July 9, 1933, under a new name, the Philadelphia Eagles. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 3.14.
.

32.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The team was founded in 1933 by co-owners Bert Bell and Lud Wray. There are 265,649 households out of which 26.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% are married couples living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% are non-families. The Philadelphia Eagles are a National Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 30.55% of the population are Hispanic American or Latino of any race. Buck Shaw (1958-1960). The racial makeup of the city is 65.36% White, 10.05% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 4.72% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 16.23% from other races, and 2.99% from two or more races. Nick Skorich (1961-1963).

The population density is 1,007.9/km˛ (2,610.4/mi˛). There are 276,842 housing units at an average density of 425.0/km˛ (1,100.7/mi˛). Joe Kuharich (1964-1968). As of the census² of 2000, there are 656,562 people, 265,649 households, and 141,590 families residing in the city. Jerry Williams (1969-1971). At about 780 feet above sea level, it is a natural limestone formation overlooking Lake Austin on the Colorado River approximately 200 feet below its summit. Ed Khayat (1971-1972). A popular point of prominence in Austin is Mount Bonnell. Mike McCormack (1973-1975).

The total area is 2.67% water. Dick Vermeil (1976-1982). 651.4 km˛ (251.5 mi˛) of it is land and 17.9 km˛ (6.9 mi˛) of it is water. Marion Campbell (1983-1985). Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 669.3 km˛ (258.4 mi˛). Buddy Ryan (1986-1990). According to the U.S. Rich Kotite (1991-1994).

According to the 2000 United States Census Bureau, Austin is located at 30°18'01" North, 97°44'50" West (30.300474, -97.747247)¹. Ray Rhodes (1995-1998). Ironically, the headquarters of his main opponent, Al Gore, were in Nashville, thus re-creating the old Country Music rivalry between the two cities. Andy Reid (1999- ). Bush. Herman Edwards. In 2000, Austin became the center of an intense media focus as the headquarters of presidential candidate and Texas Governor George W. Irving Fryar.

Initially the technology industry was centered around larger, established companies such as IBM, but in the late 1990s, Austin gained the additional reputation of being a center of the dot-com boom and subsequent dot-com bust. Ricky Watters. In the 1990s, the boom resumed with the influx and growth of a large technology industry. Andre Waters. In particular the preservation of Barton Springs, and by extension the Edwards Aquifer, became an issue which defined the themes of the larger battles. Troy Vincent. The growth led to an ongoing series of fierce political battles that pitted preservationists against developers. Charlie Garner.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the city experienced a tremendous boom in development that temporarily halted with the Savings and Loan collapse in the late 1980s. Bill Romanowski. This ultimately led to the present situation where the city touts itself as the "live music capital of the world.". Mark Bavaro. The best-known artist in this group was Willie Nelson, who became an icon for the local "alternate music industry." In the following years, Austin gained a reputation as a place where struggling musicians could come and launch their careers in informal live venues in front of receptive audiences. Bobby Taylor. In the 1970s, Austin became a refuge for a group of Country and Western musicians and songwriters seeking to escape the corporate industry domination of Nashville. Dick Vermeil.

The event is considered the most traumatic event in the city's history. Buddy Ryan. On August 1, 1966, Austin was terrorized by Charles Whitman, who shot and killed 16 people with a high-powered rifle from the clocktower of the Main Building on the University of Texas campus. Jerome Brown. Lyndon Baines Johnson, then a member of the House of Representatives, was instrumental in getting the funding authorized for these dams. Reggie White. In the 1930s, the original dam was replaced by a series of seven dams built by the federal government which created the string of reservoirs that now define the river's course through Austin. Mike Mamula.

In 1911, a streetcar line was extended into South Austin, allowing for the development of Travis Heights in 1913. William Fuller. The Littlefield Building at 6th and Congress also opened in 1910. Stan Walters. In 1910, the concrete Congress Avenue Bridge across the Colorado River opened, fostering development along South Congress. Leonard Tose. In 1893, the Great Granite Dam on the Colorado River was constructed, stabilizing the river's flow and providing hydroelectric power. Sonny Jurgenson.

In 1891, the Hyde Park neighborhood was developed north of the University as a streetcar suburb. Norm Van Brocklin. At the time it was billed as the "Seventh largest building in the world.". Chuck Bednarik. The Texas State Capitol was completed in 1888 on the site specified in the 1839 plan. Roynell Young. That same year, the first institution of higher learning, the forerunner of Huston-Tillotson College, opened as the Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute. William Thomas.

In September 1881, the city schools admitted their first classes. Byron Evans. After Texas was admitted to the Union in 1845, two statewide elections were held that attempted to move the capital elsewhere, but Austin remained the capital. Herschel Walker. Angelina Eberly fired a cannon at the men, who made their escape, only to be caught by another group of men who returned the archives back to Austin. Jim McMahon. Mrs. Keith Byars.

In the dead of night on December 29, 1842, a group of men was sent to take the archives of Texas from Austin to Washington-on-the-Brazos. Cris Carter. President Sam Houston had tried to relocate the seat of government from Austin to Houston, and then to Washington-on-the-Brazos. Randall Cunningham. In 1842, Austin almost lost its status as capital city during the event known as the Texas Archive War. Wilbert Montgomery. By the next January, the population of the town was 839 people. Bill Bergey.

In October 1839, the entire government of the Republic of Texas arrived by oxcart from Houston. Harold Carmichael. The original tree-named streets survive in nostalgic names, including Pecan Street, which is the name of a locally-produced beer. Mike Quick. The east-west streets were later renamed in a numbered progression, with Pecan Street becoming Sixth Street. Wes Hopkins. The east-west streets of the grid followed a progression uphill from the river and were named after trees native to the region, with Pecan Street as the main east-west thoroughfare. Seth Joyner.

The original north-south grid was bookended by West Street and East Street (now I-35). Keith Jackson. The exception was the central thoroughfare Congress Avenue, which leads from the far south side of town over the river to the foot of the hill where the new Texas State Capitol was to be constructed. Clyde Simmons. The grid survives nearly intact as the streets of present-day downtown Austin. The north-south streets of the grid were named for the rivers of Texas, following an east-west progression from Sabine Street to Rio Grande Street (Red River Street being "out of order" to the west of Sabine Street). Eric Allen. A grid plan for the city streets was surveyed by Judge Edwin Waller (after whom Waller Creek was named). Ron Jaworski.

In 1839, Waterloo was chosen to become the capital of the new Republic of Texas, and the town was renamed Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin. 99 Jerome Brown. Austin, the "father of Texas", negotiated a peace treaty with the local Indians at the site of the present day Treaty Oak after several settlers were killed in raids. 70 Al Wistert. They founded the village of Waterloo along the banks of the Colorado River. According to local folklore, Stephen F. 60 Chuck Bednarik. The first Anglo settlers arrived in the area in the 1830s when Texas was still part of Mexico. 44 Pete Retzlaff.

In the late 1700s the Spanish set up temporary missions in the area, later moving to San Antonio. 40 Tom Brookshier. Before the arrival of European settlers, the area around present-day Austin was inhabited for several hundred years by a mixture of Tonkawa, Comanche, and Lipan Apache Indians, who fished and hunted along the creeks, including present-day Barton Springs. 15 Steve Van Buren. Austin is served by the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Brian Westbrook. Edward's University. Darwin Walker.

Other institutions of higher learning include Austin Community College, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson University and St. Jeremiah Trotter. Austin is home to The University of Texas at Austin, the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. Lito Sheppard. It is also the self-proclaimed "live music capital of the world," with a vibrant live music scene revolving around many nightclubs on 6th Street and a yearly film/music/multimedia festival known as "South by Southwest." Austin City Limits, the longest-running concert music program on American television, is videotaped on the University of Texas campus. Corey Simon. Residents of Austin are called "Austinites" and include a heady mix of educators and their students, politicians and lobbyists. Jon Runyan.

The lakes also provide venues for boating, swimming, and other forms of recreation within several parks located on the lake shores. Todd Pinkston. To help control this runoff and to generate hydroelectric power, the Lower Colorado River Authority operates a series of dams that form the Texas Highland Lakes. Terrell Owens. Because the hills to the west are primarily limestone rock with a thin covering of topsoil, the city is subjected to frequent flash flooding from the excessive runoff caused by thunderstorms. Donovan McNabb. The eastern part of the city is flat, whereas the western part and western suburbs consist of scenic rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. Michael Lewis.

The city is also situated on the Balcones Fault, which, in much of Austin, runs roughly the same route as the MoPac expressway. Jevon Kearse. Town Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are all on the Colorado River. Dhani Jones. Additionally, the foot of Lake Travis, including Mansfield Dam, is located within the city's limits. Hugh Douglas. Long. Brian Dawkins.

Austin is situated on the Colorado River, with three lakes within the city limits: Town Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Walter E. Sheldon Brown. Its original name is honored by local business establishments such as Waterloo Ice House and Waterloo Records. David Akers. Austin. Steve Van Buren (1965) - 1944-1951. Lamar renamed the city in honor of Stephen F. Pete Pihos (1970) - 1947-1955.

In 1838, Mirabeau B. Earle Greasy Neale (1969) - 1941-1950. Austin was founded in 1835 and was first named Waterloo. Tommy McDonald (1998) - 1957-1963. The Austin metropolitan area is one of the fastest-growing in the United States and is home to more than 1.2 million people. Sonny Jurgensen (1983) - 1957-1963. Austin is the county seat of Travis County and is situated in Central Texas. Mike Ditka (1988) - 1967-1968.

Census 2000, Austin has a population of 656,562 people, making it the fourth-largest city in Texas (behind Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio), and the 16th largest in the United States. Bob Brown (NFL) (2004) - 1964-1968. As of the U.S. Bert Bell (1963) - 1933-1940. The City of Austin is the capital of the state of Texas, within the United States of America. Chuck Bednarik (1967) - 1949-1962. Kwangmyong, Korea.

Old Orlu, Nigeria
. Edmonton, Canada
. Xishuangbanna, China
. Taichung, Taiwan
.

Saltillo, Mexico
. Oita, Japan
. Maseru, Lesotho
. Lima, Peru
.

Koblenz, Germany
. Adelaide, Australia - 1983
.