Austin, Texas, was a bustling city in the 1960s. It was known for its vibrant music and arts scene and its growing technology industry. The University of Texas at Austin was a significant presence in the city and was home to many influential musicians, artists, and writers. Austin was also the site of several important political events during the 1960s, including creating the Texas Democratic Party’s “Texas Two Step” primary system and the passage of the city’s first land development code.
The civil rights movement was a social and political movement that sought to end discrimination and segregation against African Americans in the United States. The movement significantly impacted Austin and other cities across the country during the 1960s. In Austin, the movement was led by organizations such as the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Austin Youth Council. These organizations worked to end segregation in schools and public facilities and to ensure that African Americans had equal access to education, housing, and other opportunities. During the early 1960s, students protested segregated lunch counters, restaurants, and movie theaters. After the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations, the barriers gradually receded. However, discrimination persists in areas such as employment and housing. In 1968, African Americans won a school-board seat and, in 1971, a city-council seat in the town, regaining a foothold in the local political leadership.
Some stunning historical photos show Austin, Texas, in the 1960s.
#1 Customers and parked cars in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken stand, Austin, 1960
#2 La Fiesta Mexican Food Dining Room, Austin, 1962
#3 Isamu Taniguchi at Oriental Gardens, 1969.
#4 Children, aged about 10-13 play flag football at the Pan Am Recreation Center, 1966
A few boys have jerseys that say "Pan Am Aces" on the front; the rest play in plain clothes. A boy in the foreground raises a cup and looks at the camera. The boy next to him leans forward, ready to catch a pass thrown by a boy in sunglasses. Other children stand around casually. The game is not in full-play.
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#5 Town Lake’s First Tree, 1966.
#6 View of Municipal Auditorium from across the Lake, 1969
#7 All Tied up on Zilker Kite Field, 1969
#8 An actor and actress in costume for a production of “Once Upon a Mattress” at Zilker Hillside Theatre, 1967
#9 Floorcraft Carpets, 1105 West 41st Street, Austin, 1964
#10 The premiere of the movie Batman at the Paramount Theater in Austin, 1966
#11 Young men display their competing cattle side by side in front of a barn, 1965
#12 Entire congregation of the Seventh Day Adventists pose together outside church, 1965
#13 Young female students observing a kettle in a cooking class at Anderson High Schoolm, 1960
#14 University of Texas Tower, 1969
#15 El Matamoros: Wedding Reception, 1965.
#16 The exterior of a home perched on a hillside, Austin, 1961
#17 Home with Pool, Austin, 1960
#18 A pond surrounded by trees near a tall, postwar building, 1969
#19 The exterior of the Nash Philips-Copus realtor office, since demolished, on 6010 Brooks Street, 1964
The office is a stone building with windowed entrance way, where a zig-zag roof awning can be seen. A side walk leading from the parking lot can be seen in the right side foreground, along with a small, grassy lawn, palm trees, and large boulders. The company name can be seen both on the side of the building to the right of the entrance and on a tall sign that stands to the left.
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#20 The Greek revival styled interior of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority house located at 2622 Wichita Street, 1960
#21 Terminix Pest Control, 1961
#22 The TV Motel, located at 1905 South Congress Avenue, Austin, 1961
#23 A large, two-story, white house in a late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century American style, Austin, 1960
#24 A shallow fountain pool at University of Texas’s engineering science building, 1967
#25 Austin Municipal Airport, 1961
#26 Austin Municipal Airport Courtyard, 1961
#27 Austin National Bank, 1963
#28 The exterior of a rustic, country themed restaurant called, The Barn, located at 8611 Balcones Drive, 1963
#29 Bill Youngblood in Front of Terminix Sign, 1961.
#30 Building on the Colorado River and Palmer Auditorium, 1963
#31 Drive Up Food Stand, 1961.
#32 A group of students in a classroom, 1962 Boys sit at desks and girls stand against a wall behind them.
#33 A grocery store called Town and Country, located on St. Johns Avenue, Austin Texas, 1963
#34 Aftermath of Fire at Hancock Recreation Center, 1965.
#35 The Austin Ballet Society at the Municipal Airport, 1962.
#36 Austin High [School] R.O.T.C., 1968
![Austin High [School] R.O.T.C., 1968](https://www.bygonely.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Austin_1960s_3.jpg "Austin High [School] R.O.T.C., 1968")
#37 Austin Municipal Airport, 1962
#38 Austin, TX taken from the southeast. US-81 and the Holly St., 1967
#39 The cast of actors performing Brigadoon as the summer drama at the Zilker Hillside Theater in Austin, 1964
#40 Exterior view of the Carver Branch Library, later part of the Carver Museum, 1960
#41 City of Austin Auditorium, 1967.
#42 Congress Avenue with Capitol in snow, 1967. The street is slushy with dirty snow that hasn’t been plowed, and cars parked along the side of the streets are covered in snow.
#43 Construction of Austin Municipal Airport, 1960.
#44 Construction of the control tower at Mueller Municipal Airport in Austin, Texas, 1960
There is scaffolding around the concrete interior support structure, and board formwork is in place for pouring a flared level near the top of the tower. In front of the tower, the scalloped metal terminal roof is under construction, and there are several wooden construction shacks in foreground
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#45 Copy of Photograph of 1919 Texas State Capitol, 1967.
#46 East 6th Street at Neches, 1968. Humpty Dumpty Grocery at 419 East 6th is shown in the photo
#47 Austin High School Rio Grande Campus from the corner of 12th Street and Rio Grande Street looking north, 1960s
#48 Fiskville Stage Stop, 1966.
#49 Front exterior of Governor’s Mansion, 1967
The building has a dark downspout on this side of the building. The mansion was built by Abner Cook in 1855 and was continuously occupied since 1856. The occupant here in 1967 was Governor John Connally. The mansion was declared a Texas historical landmark in 1962 and a national historic landmark in 1970.
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#50 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 1968
#51 Governor’s Mansion. d1964
#52 The entrance to the Texas Governor’s Mansion at 1010 Colorado Street, 1964
#53 Texas Governor’s mansion with limousine underneath attached carport, 1965
#54 Two men in the control room of the Holly Street Power Plant, Austin, Texas, 1963
#55 Inter-playground table tennis tournament at Austin Athletic Center, 1961.
The bleachers are full of women and children watching. The first organized recreation center in Austin was the privately owned Austin Athletic Club, built in 1923, by William T. Caswell. In 1931. Mr. Caswell sold the club to the City of Austin for "a small remuneration". The name of the center was officially changed to the Austin Recreation Center in 1970. After substantial damage, due to the Memorial Day flood of 1981 that center was closed after the existing center was built and opened in 1986.
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#56 A man at Manor Downs holding a lead for a dark horse who is trotting in front of him, 1967
#57 Interior of St. David’s Episcopal Church, 1963.
#58 Interior of the Carver Branch Library, 1967
#59 Lobby at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel, located at 701 Congress Avenue in Austin, 1960
#60 Looking north on Congress with Capitol in view. 1961.
#61 MKT Northbound Texas Special, 1965
#62 Mr. Taniguchi and Mr. Robinson in the Oriental Garden, 1969.
#63 Two actresses on stage during a theatrical production of “Music Man” at Zilker Hillside Theater, 1969
#64 The Music Man at Zilker Hillside Theater, 1969.
#65 Oriental Garden – Zilker Gardens, 1968.
#66 Oriental Gardens – I. Taniguchi, 1968
#67 Garden architect and builder Isamu Taniguchi kneeling at Oriental Garden, 1968
#68 Pan American Recreation Center] Hillside Program, 1968.
![Pan American Recreation Center] Hillside Program, 1968.](https://www.bygonely.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Austin_1960s_37.jpg "Pan American Recreation Center] Hillside Program, 1968.")
#69 Performance at the Zilker Hillside Theater, 1963
#70 Railroad tracks near Austin, 1966.
#71 Saengerrunde Halle and Scholz Garten, 1965.
#72 Saengerrunde Halle and Scholz Garten beer garden at 1607 San Jacinto, 1965
#73 St. David’s Episcopal Church looking towards the altar, 1963
#74 Exterior of St. David’s Episcopal Church taken from across the street at the intersection of San Jacinto and East 7th, 1965
#75 St. David’s Episcopal Church, 1965.
#76 Sweetheart Pan American Invitational Softball Tournament, 1961.
The Pan American Recreation Center was opened in June 1942 as the first Latin American Recreation Center in Austin and run under the auspices of the Federated Latin American Club and directed by the Austin Recreation Department. The name "Pan American Recreation Center" was chosen by the executive committee during a center naming contest. On September 7, 1956, a new Pan American Recreation Center was formally dedicated at 2100 East 3rd Street, just west of the old location and where it currently exists today. The building adjoins Zavala School and was built at a cost of $155,261. The Hillside Theater was later built and completed in June 1958.
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#77 The Texas State Capitol building in the late 1890s or early 1900s taken from the balcony at 1006 Congress Avenue, 1962
#78 Garden architect and builder Isamu Taniguchi posing on the rocks at Zilker’s Oriental Garden, 1968
#79 A Tiny Tot Christmas Party at Hancock Recreation Center. Santa Claus hands out candy canes to a group of children, 1966
#80 A group of children playing a game. They are in a large circle, holding hands, with two adult instructors, 1966
#81 A trio of Mexican mariachi musicians at the Pan American Recreation Center, 1965
The mariachi wear sombreros and patterned panchos. The two mariachi on the right and left play six-string guitars while the middle mariachi plays the Mexican vihuela. The mariachi mouths are open in mid-song. The Pan American Recreation Center was opened in June 1942 as the first Latin American Recreation Center in Austin and run under the auspices of the Federated Latin American Club and directed by the Austin Recreation Department. The name "Pan American Recreation Center" was chosen by the executive committee during a center naming contest. On September 7, 1956, a new Pan American Recreation Center was formally dedicated at 2100 East 3rd Street, just west of the old location and where it currently exists today. The building adjoins Zavala School and was built at a cost of $155,261. The Hillside Theater was later built and completed in June 1958.
![Pan American Recreation Center] Tiny Tot trip to Hillcrest Farms, 1968.](https://www.bygonely.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Austin_1960s_76.jpg "Pan American Recreation Center] Tiny Tot trip to Hillcrest Farms, 1968.")
