The Drag

This stretch of street is definently for the UT students. And that said, I realize I would not have fit in at UT. Most of the clothing stores are selling stuff which look like it came from an episode of ‘beverly hills 90 210′. circa 1992.
When I was in college, a clothing store trip was the local resale store – or walmart if we were lucky. What class would you possibly wear diamond studded earrings or a backless dress with 6 inch heels to? I’ve yet to figure this out.
Horrible fashion sense aside, I like the CVS store and the Which Wich shop on this street. They always provide good service.
My only big and gennuine complaint is the TONS of homeless and/​or mentally ill men who automatically swarm to you like locusts. Whether it’s money, food, or ‘help’ (aka drugs’) they will just start comming up to you the moment you step on the drag and look like a target.
And considering all of this, I don’t think it’s a bright idea for anybody to go walking around like they have money to burn. Or alone. Since APD doesn’t really do anything other than catch and release them again, dress wisely and don’t walk alone. Be aware of surroundings.

I remember most notably arcades (Le Fun and Eistein’s), addicts, homeless people you got use to — Asian guy I remember, Alfs, Scientology, breakfast taco stands, musicians, Molefi — selling incense, oils and talking about African stuff, Tower Records, Dobie Mall (arcade-​animé-​independent movies), Used Records — Sound Exchange, The Hogg (independent movies-​Kung Fu flicks), and the energy was so indie in the 90’s. Austin is no longer weird… it’s corporate food empire! Everywhere I go I see more restaurants, shopping, food and more food, Where are the hangouts on the Drag? Where are the places now that you would see weird on the Drag?

Yeah. Go there to eat. It’s not a tourist place. It’s a student place. No real original cool stores. Sweated my ass off looking for cool shops. Well at least I lost a few pounds sweating.

I remember going down there, playing video games in the middle of the night, eating at Conan’s, getting a «reading» by a Scientologist lady, getting ripped off by junkies, drinking coffee at Quackenbush, distributing rave flyers, checking out the Gawd Complex, buying used CDs… hanging out. I used to like this area a lot.

Wandering down the drag when I was in college was a completely different scene. As you can see from other reviews, there are quite a few landmarks that simply no longer exist on this notorious stretch of Austin. It still has some flavor, just a different flavor.
My favorite memory on the drag was when a guy approached me with his hands out, which I figured was a panhandler. After responding to him that I did not have any change, he got very upset and said, «What the hell man, I am NOT asking you for any change! Didn’t you hear me?».
I was a bit startled by his reaction as I sure didn’t expect that. I asked him what he said and he stated, «Do you have any pocket lint?» As he asked, he showed me a growing ball of pocket lint that he was accumulating.
Impressed, I quickly reached into my pocket, gathered up any lint that I had, and contributed to the small (but growing) collection. I often wonder about that lint ball, and if it ever grew to become a substantial monument. Those were the days.

Its part of the tour we gave our friends from california. We had a hell of a time finding parking but soon learned of a free parking garage located on San Antonio and a short walk to the drag after… sure beats walking around looking for parking!
Our friends were able to grab lunch with us, get some shopping done and see why «keep austin weird» is our slogan lol if there is ever a place to experience the characters in Austin… the drag where you need to be.

R.I.P. Quackenbush’s
R.I.P. Les Amis
R.I.P. Texas Showdown Saloon
R.I.P. Bluebonnet Square
R.I.P. Inner Sanctum Records and the smoke shop
R.I.P. Sound Exchange
R.I.P. Varsity Theatre
R.I.P. Tower Records
R.I.P. Mad Dog and Beans
R.I.P. Europa books
R.I.P. Le Fun
R.I.P. Einstein’s
R.I.P. The Cadeau
R.I.P. Metro
R.I.P. Mojo’s
R.I.P. Peet’s Coffee & Tea
R.I.P. Rick’s Salon
R.I.P. Legs Diamond
R.I.P. Aveda Concepts Salon
R.I.P. CC’s Coffee
R.I.P. Texas French Bread
R.I.P. Nomadic Notions
R.I.P. Good Gaud
R.I.P soul and local flavor
R.I.P affordable real estate
R.I.P junkies (two recently ODed in one restaurant’s restroom, I overheard while buying my lunch…)
It sure ain’t what it used to be…

When out-​of-​towners come for a visit, you can bet yer butt that they’re gonna ask to be taken down to those quintessential spots that «Keep Austin Weird». You cringe a little when the request comes, but you oblige because it’s your home-​town duty to do so. The drag, however, is the one spot off this list that I probably dread making the tour of the most. It seems more like a memorial ground than a tourist spot to me.
Walking down that long stretch of Guadalupe, from 21^st to 25^th, I hardly remember what it looked like when I was a student at UT. And I’m sure those that came and went before me have all said the same thing. By the time I got there, Metro had taken over the old Quack’s spot, a fact that my Italian professor lamented on the regular. The Barnes and Noble, which I didn’t particularly care for, but whose magazine racks I often raided for updates on the latest fashion trends or celebrity gossip is now part of the UT Co-​Op complex. Tear drops fell from my eyes when the CC’s Coffee sign came down, and so went my favorite soy chai latte in town. :(Bye-​bye, Gap, you I don’t miss.
The most notable of the fallen soldiers, however, has to be the loss of Tower Records. It held steady for many years at the corner of 24^th and Guadalupe, a bastion amongst other businesses with less Austin flare (I realize it wasn’t local, but it had character). And then it fell, yet another casualty and a sign of our changing times. For a while it stood empty, and walking by you could still see the colorful prints on the walls that gave Tower a lot of its street cred and funk. And I almost wondered if it would stay empty as a symbol of all that the drag has traded in exchange for more dollah dollah bills. Intellectual Property, however, has now filled its space with books where Vinyl and CD’s once stood. And in fairness, it is cooler than the B & N.
At least the drag rats and Renaissance market are still holding strong. Like roaches, those parts of Austin will never die!