Endurance by Jann Alexander © 2014
Endurance. That’s what it takes to evade the Vanishing Austin label in a city where development is on steroids. Local landmarks in Austin, Texas are nothing if not part of an endangered species. After a decade of rapid growth here, that’s meant higher high rises crowding out the rich local fabric of the city’s laidback roots, so the businesses that endure stand proud, if not as tall. Take Hut’s Hamburgers. Still serving Blue Plate Specials since 1969, Monday thru Friday All Day Long, in the shadow of all that’s high and shiny and new. And Hut’s is still thriving.
Hut’s Endures by Jann Alexander © 2014
Calling itself “an Austin tradition since 1939,” Hut’s serves its Blue Plate Specials in a humble deco-styled 1939 building on West 6th Street that’s seen many owners (and even a flood)—from Sammie’s Drive-in and Eli’s Lounge to Picante Mexican Restaurant. But since 1969, when Homer “Hut” Hutson moved his 30-year-old burger business in, grease and tradition remain on the menu along with the Specials. Despite high rises on the horizon, Hut’s continues to rise above it all. ♣
Visit Vanishing Austin. See all 99+ Austin gems I’ve photographed since 2004, and see which ones are thriving, surviving and gone—but not forgotten. Wondering where things stand, or don’t? Take a look at my Endangered Species of Austin poster, below. BUY NOW: $25.
Shop with PayPal: There are nearly 100 photographs in my ongoing Vanishing Austin series; many are lost, but many are survivors still. Admire them all in a slideshow, HERE. Prints start at $35.
You can marvel at what’s lost and what’s survived in my Endangered Species of Austin poster, featuring 16 Austin icons, and sized at a handsomely large 24 x 36,” available for $25, HERE.
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