By Erika Kuehl | Opinion Editor
Waco has seen immense growth within the past few years — growth so noticeable the town you began your undergraduate degree in is not the same one you leave. In the past summer alone, the new Foster Pavillon has sparked expansion on the other side of I-35. Many may not know, however, that downtown Waco has been a hub of development since its inception.
The well-known and loved Austin Avenue has always been an integral part of downtown Waco. Dr. Stephen Sloan, director of the Institute for Oral History, said that Austin Avenue has always been an energetic street.
“It’s always been in the same place since it was conceived … in 1849, 1850 as kind of the central part of town,” Sloan said. “It’s increasingly now more important as an economic district, and it’s always been central as kind of a political district for Waco.”
The street was once home to an outdoor mall.
“They shut off Austin Avenue to vehicle traffic and try to create this kind of open air mall sort of environment where people would come down and walk from shop to shop across Austin Avenue,” Sloan said. “Generally, [it was] very unsuccessful as an attempt, and eventually they’ll open up Austin Avenue against traffic again.”
Since 1909, Austin Avenue has always been home to the beloved Baylor Homecoming Parade, as well as many others. The street hosted a myriad of events like the Cotton Palace Parade in the late 19th and early 20th century. After the tornado of 1953 caused tragic damage to Austin Avenue, city leaders had to rebuild and innovate in a journey of repair that wrapped up in the ’70s.
Iconic Waco photographer Fred Gildersleeve scrupulously documented Austin Avenue before the tornado. Geoff Hunt, audio and visual director of the Texas Collection and University Archives, said Gildersleeve, who came here in 1905, is one of Waco’s best known photographers.
“He took some of the first photographs from the air in the 1910s of Waco, and he took the first photographs by year of the Baylor campus,” Hunt said.
“If it wasn’t for Fred Gildersleeve’s photography and photography in general, we wouldn’t have the documentation that we have now,” Hunt said. “So it’s very important in that regard. And that goes for all photographers.”
Hunt said Gildersleeve’s photos have been paramount in the revitalization of downtown in recent years.
By looking at older images of the street, builders were able to redesign downtown Waco accordingly. Hunt said that architects have used old photographs of downtown to redesign the facades of many buildings in a similar fashion.
“With the the images of Austin Avenue, it made Waco realize that Austin Avenue has so much great potential and because it was the main thoroughfare in the city of Waco at one time, it could be that again,” Hunt said.
