This Week in Downtown

Thursday March 11, 2010

Thank you for reading This Week in Downtown from the Downtown Austin Alliance!

For a full listing of events or please visit our online calendar.  Click here to submit an event. 

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DAA Events

March 25: DAA Issues and Eggs - Downtown Austin Plan

Mar 25 March 25: DAA Issues and Eggs - Downtown Austin Plan

7:45 AM - 10:00 AM

304 East 7th Street

512-381-6270
www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/#dntnplan

The Downtown Austin Alliance invites you to attend an Issues and Eggs Breakfast Forum on Thursday, March 25, focusing on downtown development regulations proposed in the Downtown Austin Plan.

As a part of Phase II of the Downtown Austin Plan, city staff and consultants have released draft development regulations that use the current Zoning Ordinance as a base, and adopt regulations that address three key deficiencies: sustainability, uses, and urban design. These standards will build on the Austin Design Commission's "Urban Design Guidelines" and will set the stage for specific regulations that affect downtown. Proposed development standards address:
- Building massing (setbacks, stepbacks and tower spacing)
- Pedestrian-oriented ground level uses and architectural treatments
- Parking: design and access
- Service and loading

Please join us on Thursday, March 25 for an extended Issues and Eggs where we will review the recommended changes, ask questions and provide feedback to the Downtown Austin Plan team. Your feedback is important to us, and to the future of downtown.

For more information on the Downtown Austin Plan and to download the February 2010 presentation on proposed development regulations, click here.

DAA Issues and Eggs: Proposed Downtown Development Regulations

Thursday, March 25, 2010
Check-in: 7:45 a.m.
Breakfast and Discussion: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
St. David's Episcopal Church, Sumner's Hall
304 East 7th Street
Austin, TX 78701

Please RSVP by Monday, March 22 by emailing rsvp@downtownaustin.com or calling 512-381-6270.

The DAA encourages you to use public transportation. Plan your route using Capital Metro's Trip Planner. Parking is available at the St. David's Garage.



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In the Galleries

2010 SXSW Film Poster Show

Mar 12-Mar 13 2010 SXSW Film Poster Show

Austin Museum of Art - 823 Congress Ave.
Eric Garcia
512.495.9224
www.amoa.org

AMOA-Downtown Community Room, Free This juried exhibition celebrates how designers distill filmmakers’ stories down to images that both inspire and intrigue at a glance.

Opening reception Friday, March 12, 4:30-6:30 pm Tickets $10; Free for AMOA & AIGA Members & SXSW filmmakers Presented by AIGA Austin

The Smithsonian Grant Program, funded by the MetLife Foundation, is a proud sponsor of these public programs.



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On Stage and Screen

Long Center Presents: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty: Tea for Three

Mar 9-Mar 13 Long Center Presents: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty: Tea for Three

P.O. Box 301449, Austin, TX 78703
info@thelongcenter.org
512-457-5100
thelongcenter.org

Emmy Award-winning actress Elaine Bromka reveals a gallery of intimate portraits of three remarkable, radically different First Ladies--Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford. We discover each at a threshold moment in her life, and learn the personal cost of what Pat Nixon called "the hardest unpaid job in the world."


Esther's Follies

Mar 11-Mar 13 Esther's Follies

: PM

525 E. Sixth Street
Shannon Sedwick
(512) 320-0553
esthersfollies.com

Laughing heals all that ails you! So, treat yourself to a Texas-sized dose of Esther's Follies' ...Keeping You in Stitches, Even Without a Public Option!

Master Magician Ray Anderson makes a splash with his mesmerizing levitation illusion, WET! The Esther's Cast continue to rip comedy gold straight from the headlines in their up-to-the-minute, side-splitting, fast-paced musical comedy sketches, including The Esther's Follies' Health Care Revue, The Toyota Recall Blues, and Rick Perry's Anti-Washington Rag, "Five Flags Over Texas!"

Regular Showtimes: Thursday at 8pm Friday at 8pm & 10pm Saturday at 8pm & 10pm

Tickets: $20 general admission; $25 reserved seats

Call (512) 320-0198 for information, show buyouts and private parties!


Conspirare Youth Choirs--Invitation to the Voyage

Mar 14 Conspirare Youth Choirs--Invitation to the Voyage

7:00 PM

St. Martin's Lutheran Church, 606 W. 15th Street
Conspirare
512-476-5775
www.conspirare.org

The words of French poet Charles Baudelaire and the music of Romantic composer Henri Duparc meet in the beloved French art song “L’invitation au Voyage,” the inspiration and framework for this unique spring concert.

Also featuring music by David Childs, Imant Raminsh, and Eleanor Daley.

G.A. $12 Adult; $6 Ages 6-17; Free to Ages 5/under (free ticket required--please call to order).

Tickets: http://conspirare.frontgatesolutions.com/ or (512)476-5775.


Live From the Plaza: Aimee Bobruk

Mar 19 Live From the Plaza: Aimee Bobruk

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

City Hall Plaza - 301 W. 2nd Street


www.cityofaustin.org/music/live.htm

Free lunchtime concert by Aimee Bobruk!

An optional $6.50 lunch special will be offered by Z Pizza. Free parking in the City Hall garage 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

All performances are also broadcast live on cable Channel 6 and on the internet at http://www.cityofaustin.org/channel6.


Long Center for the Performing Arts Second Anniversary Party

Mar 27 Long Center for the Performing Arts Second Anniversary Party

8:00 PM

701 W. Riverside Dr.
The Long Center
512-474-5664
www.thelongcenter.org

Tickets to the Second Anniversary Party at the Long Center for the Performing Arts are now on sale to the public. The evening, themed "Shades of Purple," will kick off with a VIP sponsor event on the West Lawn featuring Austin's own Ray Benson and friends and dinner by the bite catered by the Four Seasons Austin. The public is invited to the evening's centerpiece entertainment, a concert by Hall & Oates, followed by several after parties throughout the Long Center. All attendees are encouraged to dress in shades of purple to celebrate the theme of the evening.

The keystone event of the evening is the concert by the legendary rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates in the main Dell Hall. All of Austin is invited to attend the concert, followed by several amazing after parties with food, drinks and great entertainment throughout the building--from a tent on the West Lawn, to the Kodosky Donor Lounge, to the breathtaking views from the City Terrace, to the intimate Rollins Studio Theatre. This multi-faceted evening of entertainment is truly not to be missed.



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Street Closings

Mar 17-Mar 21 Street Closing: SXSW




From 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday March 17 until 7:00 a.m. on Sunday March 21, E. 6th Street will be closed between Brazos and the southbound IH-35 access road.
- Exception 1: The street will be open on Thursday and Friday, from 6 a.m. until 10 a.m., to accommodate rush hour traffic.
- Exception 2: Delivery vehicles will be allowed on the street until 5 p.m.

From 6:00 a.m. on March 18 until 7:00 a.m. on March 21, Red River will be closed between E. 5th and E. 10th. Except for E. 6th, all east-west cross streets will remain open.

From 6:00 a.m. on March 18 until 7:00 a.m. on March 21, the following streets will be closed between E. 5th Street and E. 7th Street:
- Sabine
- Neches
- Trinity
- San Jacinto

From 6:00 a.m. on March 18 until 7:00 a.m. on March 21, the following lanes will be closed:
- One lane on the north side of E. 5th, between Brazos and Red River
- One lane on the south side of E. 7th, between Brazos and Sabine


201 Street Closing: Fado's St. Patrick's Day Festival




From 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday until 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, W. 4th Street will be closed between Colorado and Lavaca.



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Ongoing Construction

092 0 Ongoing Construction: West Fifth Street - 400 block




Beginning August 29, construction of the Federal Courthouse will close:
- The parking lane and one travel lane on the south side of West 5th Street, between San Antonio and Nueces
- All lanes of San Antonio, between W. 5th and W. 4th
- The parking lane on the west side of Nueces, between W. 5th and W. 4th
- The parking lane on the north side of W. 4th, between San Antonio and Nueces Street.

Closures, except that of San Antonio, are expected to last 34 - 36 months. San Antonio will be permanently closed and will become a plaza between the Courthouse and Republic Square.


201 Ongoing Construction: Brazos Streetscape Project




During the week of February 22, the Brazos Street contractor will begin the next phase of the street improvement project*. At that time, the contractor will close the two westernmost traffic lanes of the 100 and 200 blocks of Brazos and begin demolition of the existing pavement. When demolition is completed in those two blocks, crews will move northward to continue demolition.

As the demolition crew complete a block and move northward, another crew will come in behind them to repave the street, build a new sidewalk, and install landscaping and street furniture.

Before progressing north of Sixth Street, the contractor will come back to Cesar Chavez and complete the east half of each block. All work south of Sixth Street will be complete around Summer 2010. Work will then progress to the north half of the project toward 11th Street.

*Although the first phase of the project, utility relocation has been largely completed, contractors still have some finish work to do, and drivers will continue to see lane closures on other blocks of Brazos for the next four to six weeks.


200 9 Ongoing Construction: West Third Street - 300 block




Construction of the W Hotel has closed two lanes of W. Third, leaving two travel lanes open.


200 9 Ongoing Construction: East Cesar Chavez




Construction on underground utilities on East Cesar Chavez, near the Four Seasons Hotel, will begin on Sunday, Nov. 1. The work is being performed for the new construction of the Four Seasons development. There will be no full street closures, however, there will be temporary lane closures and changes to lane configurations and left turn capabilities. Drivers can expect traffic delays in the area for approximately two months. Traffic control directional signs will be placed for drivers throughout the project. Work will be conducted in three phases.


201 Ongoing Construction: Second Street Streetscape Project




Work will begin on the south side of 2nd Street between Colorado and Congress and eastbound traffic in this block will be detoured.

This project will reconstruct Second Street from Colorado to Congress and add a 32-foot-wide sidewalk along the north side and an 18-foot-wide sidewalk along the south side of Second Street as currently exists from San Antonio to Colorado.

This project will also reconstruct Colorado from Cesar Chavez to 3rd Street and install an 18-foot wide sidewalk along the east side of Colorado from 2nd Street to 3rd Street. The project is scheduled for completion by November of 2010.



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