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The 23rd St. Renaissance Market Redevelopment Project

Charles D. Manning
May 10, 2001

For partial fulfillment of course requirements for GRG 374 Frontiers in Geography
Instructor Bella Bychkova-Jordan, (supervised by Dr. Knapp)

Contents
1.0 Introduction……………………………………...………………….………….4
1.1 Statement of Purpose…………………….…………………………………5

2.0 The Market in Time and Space…………………………………………………6
2.1 Psychological Impact on the Urban Landscape………...…………..………6
2.2 Physical Conditions and Boundaries………………………..………………7

3.0 Thirty Years of the Human Condition…………………………………………..8
3.1 The Birth of 23rd Street Renaissance Market……………………………..…8
3.2 An “Austintatious” Mural………………………..………………………….9
3.3 The Competition…………………....…………………………...………….11
3.4 The Congressional Church of Austin…………………………………….…12
3.5 The Vendors Vs. The Worms………………………...…………………..…14

4.0 Official Public Policy……………………………………………………………19

5.0 Examination of Public Opinion…………………………………...………….…21

6.0 Fulfilling Questions of Place………………………………………………….…21

1.0 Introduction
Residual space, that area between the stores and schools, offices, churches and theaters and all that is outside, which one may consider empty, but is actually not so empty at all, is a functional element of the urban landscape, one that provides its users a commodity that cannot be measured in gains or losses, and cannot be dealt on trade room floors. Just as breaths between words, these points of interlude symbolize a break in the continuity of contemporary existence. They are a place to relax, to contemplate, to meditate, to meet, to converse, to experience, to create, to recreate, to celebrate, or to share one’s creations with others. These places are as old as cities themselves, being included in the first urban plans of Hippopotamus, in ancient Greek and Roman plans, as well as in the famous “Law of the Indies” which governed the development of Spanish colonial settlements in the New World (Zucker, 1959).
These places have long been focal points of pedestrian activity, drawing shoppers, merchants, travelers, walkers-bye, students, artisans, philosophers and vagabonds alike. Austin, Texas has many places such as these, The Sixth Street Entertainment District, the vast allotment of public parks, the various plazas throughout the central business district, and the spacious greens of the University of Texas. However, the one space that deserves the most attention, due to its overwhelming functional role is the 23rd Street Renaissance Market. Home to the oldest and largest continually open, trades and crafts market in Texas (Heady, 1986), throughway for students moving from West Campus to the University, and the daily hang-out for transients, pan-handlers, drug dealers and mangy mutts with names like Spike and Rufus or Maphisto.

1.1 Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this research paper is to understand the history of and gauge public opinion about the 23rd St. Renaissance Market. First, the market will be defined in terms of its psychological impact on the urban landscape, its physical conditions and boundaries, and then its history and the continuing controversies that surround it. Following this diagnostic analysis, a comprehensive examination of public opinion will be discussed, including surveys of 75 people from the streets, schools, and residential areas near the market. Interviews of a female student and the custodian who has been responsible for cleanup of the area will be reviewed, and finally an investigation into official public policy regarding the market and its current state of affairs, including a brief discussion on the implementation of this public policy, and concluding statements on whether this policy will fulfill questions of place. At this point, the market, its role in the psycho-physical ecosystem of this area, the evolution of its existence, and its rapidly changing future will be thoroughly understood, as well as common thought on the market and the intimate relationships that define it as an organic place.

2.0 The Market in Time and Space
Urban space is a vital part of the community in whole: it lives, breathes and dies as does the city and the people who inhabit her. It can be a storybook, telling the history of a place and the times it has endured. It is a landmark; forever holding it’s ground in physical locality, never wavering in its hold on the human psyche.

2.1 Psychological Impact on the Urban Landscape
As one strolls down any corridor, she may see the beginning, the end, and that which falls between. The beginning and the end can be loosely defined as boundaries of either physical or psychological continuity. Where the street ends, or where “too far to walk” begins can both be defining points on a geographical scale. However, the area between takes more conditionality to understand. Each individual middle can only be understood by the conditions that define it, not by vague textbook generalizations, or by sophomoric evaluations based on mere observation. Experience in the element is the only true way to understand this space and the social dynamics that prescribe its existence. The 23rd Street Renaissance Market holds true to these postulates, it is in itself a true example of organic place, one born of human activity, spontaneous and free from idleness, an ever-changing mirror of the human condition.

2.2 Physical Conditions and Boundaries
Located between Texas French Bread and what was once Bevo’s Bookstore, bordered by Guadeloupe Street and it’s shared alley with San Antonio Street, the 23rd Street Renaissance Market lies in the middle of one of Austin’s most renowned shopping districts, “The Drag”(fig. 2 & 3) Specifically designated as the area along Guadeloupe Street between Martin Luther King Boulevard and 27th Street, “The Drag” attracts literally thousands of people a day into the small corridor that lies directly across the street from the University of Texas at Austin, the largest in the Nation. It’s this marriage with the University that has ensured continued economic growth for the district and what supported the vitality of the market for the past thirty years. Vendor Cindy Haddock added that even today there are approximately 2,000 potential walking customers daily (Nolen, 2000).
The 23rd Street Renaissance Market actually sits on 23rd Street, except that the road is under about a foot of cement installed back in the Eighties. Along with cement barriers, and removable barricades, these new additions to the space prevent all but emergency traffic from entering. A historical marker, bulletin boards, benches, flower planters, trees, vendor tables, and people now compete for space instead of cars, and competition is stiff, but not as stiff as it once was.

3.0 Thirty Years of the Human Condition
Way before the street was closed, way back in the Seventies, hundreds of vendors and many more browsers and buyers crowded the wide sidewalks of “The Drag,” hoping to peddle some of their hand made crafts and in some instances their hordes of imports, such as Mexican made flip-flops, belts and assorted jewelries (Perera, 1997)(fig.1a, 1b & 2). With blankets spread and goods displayed, people flocked to soak up the rich ambiance of Austin nothingness and the cool flavor of the “be what you want, do what you do” movement. This was “slacking’ at its best.

3.1 The Birth of 23rd Street Renaissance Market
Due to the overwhelming popularity of the open-air street market, the Austin City Council established an ordinance to create a market for the vendors in 1972. The People’s Renaissance Market was born (fig. 4). The year before, 72 % of people in the inner city were in favor of closing 23rd Street all the way to San Antonio Street (TDT, 1983). Originally, the street was closed during operating hours and then reopened at night and during church hours on Sundays to compensate for The Congressional Church of Austin, located on the corner of 23rd Street and San Antonio Street, directly behind the market. The market’s proximity to this church and the closure of 23rd Street would be the source of much controversy in the years to come.

3.2 An “Austintatious” Mural
Perhaps the most visible and widely known detail of the Renaissance Market is the “Live Good” Mural, painted in December of 1974 by then UT students: Kerry Awn, Rick Turner, & Tom Bauman. Better known as the “Austintatious” Mural, painted on the side of the University Co-op’s north wall, where Texas French Bread now resides, it’s a glimpse at “Austin as it was in the Magic Era, …inspired by the music” or so says the market’s historical marker. The mural was dedicated to the memory of Roland DeNoie, former purveyor of Salvation Sandwiches, after his passing in the mid Eighties. This is perhaps the most interesting detail of the mural.
If one looks very closely at the bottom, right-center of the mural, she will find a bearded man standing behind what looks like a cart with a mushroom painted on it (fig. 6). That would be Roland DeNoie, a folk figure in the history of anti-establishment protests at the University in the mid Seventies. Salvation Sandwiches was a small business that operated out of the cart depicted in the mural. After losing its Health Department permit, the business continued to operate in and around the University including the Renaissance Market. The University condemned this action and refused to let DeNoie operate on University property. The student body gathered behind DeNoie in support and refuted the University’s exile of Salvation Sandwiches as another in a long line of institutionalized barbarisms. As the cartoon depicts (fig. 5), the student body were easily moved, and Salvation Sandwiches would become a permanent fixture in Austin lore.
The mural depicts many different scenes from Austin in the Seventies, including Dirty’s Hamburgers, The Ritz, and University Co-op, which all survive today. The drag-worms, bag ladies and musicians still dot the drag much as they did in that bye-gone era, and in 1982 the mural was updated with such pop-culture icons as the IZOD alligator and Pac-Man, not to mention infrastructural improvements like The Mopac Highway and the Eighties bust era skyscrapers of downtown. Muralist Kerry Awn describes the evolution of The “Live Good” Mural best:
Everything on there, in that whole mural, every little person and thing represents something. We didn't just go in and throw stuff on there. We always thought of it as a living thing we could update every few years. Kind of like a living mural. That's still what we think, and the mural needs a touch-up as it is. We could touch up the colors, brighten it up, add a few things like a cell phone. Put a sport utility vehicle in the hills. There's probably not even a salamander in there. To me, though, the Drag is still the same as it was back then. You can still go down and find some weirdos (Martin).

3.3 The Competition
A frequent visitor to the market once said, “On a given day you might expect to find anything. That’s one of the nice things about the market. Because different craftspeople come out there at different times, there’s always the potential for surprise. Some of these artisans are true originals”(Heady, 1986). This was not always true for the Renaissance Market. When the free form market was begun in the early Seventies, there were no rules governing the vendors, but that would change as the city moved the market onto 23rd Street in 1972. On September 23, 1975, a drag vender’s license became available for $12 at the City Tax Office. Today the price of a vender’s license is two hundred dollars (fig. 7). These fees are meant to pay for advertising in the form of a brochure and to subsidize the cost of daily clean up by the Parks and Recreation Department. With the license, certain rules came into to effect that would cause great discomfort for many of the drag venders. The most important rule was that “artists who want to set up a booth in the market are required to make their own displays and sell the art themselves. No assistants, salespersons, mass-produced goods or imported goods are allowed.” This was the end of the importers in the Renaissance Market, and a new beginning for those who labored for the crafts they sold. A citizen board appointed by the City Council was formed, and from then on, any potential artist who wanted to sell on 23rd Street must have attended one of the monthly meetings to have their crafts inspected and verified for handmade authenticity (Perera, 1997).

3.4 The Congressional Church of Austin
In 1923, The Congressional Church of Austin moved to its current site, 403 W. 23rd Street (fig. 8). An intimate relationship would be born on that day. The CCA sanctuary sits just about twenty feet from the actual main area of the Renaissance Market, and only about two hundred feet from the University. CCA has long been associated as a haven for intellectuals and professionals, most of who work there at the University. This proximity has created two distinct controversies both born of the Renaissance Market. The First is the closure of 23rd Street, began in 1982 with the passing of a $20,000 bond proposal to improve the area, followed by a one-year trial closure in 1983 and then by a six-month closure extension. “The artists here are afraid to bring their children here because of the cars, all we’re asking for is a little protection from the automobiles and little shade,” said Walter Falk (TDT, 1983). In addition, Randy Eckols, an Austin artisan and member of the Save University Neighborhoods Association said, “We want to restrict vehicular traffic during daylight hours, six days a week, I have seen bicyclists hit or clipped (by cars). I saw a delivery truck bump into somebody. I don't want to see any little kids getting hurt” (Dyer, 1985a). Mayor Frank Cooksey, Council member Sally Shipman, and Council member George Humphrey showed their support of the bond proposal and conferred that the entire University area by Guadeloupe Street needed improvements because it has the highest volume of pedestrian traffic in all of Austin (Dyer, 1985b). In December 1985, the City Council voted to permanently close 23rd Street to automobile traffic.
The second problem, dealing with the presence of transients and the conditions they bring, prompted one church official to decree that “trash, beer cans, liquor bottles, cigarette butts, garbage, hypodermic needles, and other drug related equipment” thrown on and near church property made it impossible to conduct religious services and that the city fails to control these “ vagrants, pan-handlers, and drug abusers” whom are mostly responsible (Milch, 1988). Not to say that CCA is not doing their part, for fourteen years, the church housed the People’s Community Clinic, providing healthcare for transients including HIV testing and counseling. Not only that, but CCA is the home to Project PHASE, an organization dedicated to helping homeless youth make the transition to a more stable lifestyle (Palomo, 1997).
The two problems came to a head in 1986 when CCA filed a 2.8 million dollar compensatory lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the City of Austin for discrimination, charging that the city did not provide street access, adequate parking and hadn’t justly protected the church from vagrants. The minister of CCA, Reverend John Towery said, “We're the only church in town you have to go through an alley to get to. ... It's discrimination,” As a result, the church claimed, the property value of the CCA’s lot had dropped from $1,175,000 to $369,000. Towery went on to say, “No one would want to buy a piece of property where you have no access to the front.” The suit was justified by the claim that without due process of law, there is no legal standing to close the street for the purpose of a street market. The official reason for the closure given by Assistant City Attorney Walt McCool was that “the street was closed to protect pedestrians after traffic counts proved pedestrian use outweighed vehicle use on 23rd Street.” According to Terry Falk, a painter in the market, the vendors have long compromised with the church by leaving the market open on Sundays during church hours and that during the rest of the week, especially during daytime hours, the CCA is generally inactive, but the market is full of pedestrian activity. In addition, he said the claimed property value loss was in a sense hypothetical since the property was not actually for sale. Two million dollars of the suit was for punitive damages (Milch, 1988).

3.5 The Vendors Vs. The Worms
Fifty-one year University of Texas, Professor Emeritus William Livingston said the homeless issue began on “The Drag” in the Sixties. “They've been there quite a long time,” Livingston said. “[They came with] the emergence of the marketplace. Those [vendors] began as a set of students manufacturing and selling things. They were blocking the streets ... It led the vendors to move to the side street, which very quickly became a street that was no longer useable” (Life’s, 2000). It’s lasted thirty years, as much a fixture of the market as the mural and the vendors themselves. Cecile Hollyfield was very direct in her view of street people. “The fact is, we do our best to make them as unwanted as possible. It’s not the artist’s fault” (TDT, 1983). These unwanted people, known to most as “Drag worms,” have been regarded as a nuisance to the citizens of Austin, the students of the University of Texas, the merchants on the drag and the vendors in the Renaissance Market. Public opinion differs, but the majority of those surveyed would agree with these bold statements. According to Tracy Terrill, “their panhandling and listless presence defines, and according to some destroys, the image of the Drag” (Terrill, 1997). “The homeless seem to hang out here more than anywhere else,” Karlina Hartwell said. “They become obnoxious and rude and they're affecting our business.” Rick Doelitsch, manager of Bevo's Bookstore said, “I have tourists come in all the time and say they're scared to come down here. There've been times I've come in to work in the morning and [someone has] defecated in front of the door” (APD, 1995). “They're not doing anything. They're just hanging out there. It's not fair that students and visitors have to put up with them.” This from Susana Pina who also added that she has heard rumors that some of the youth on “The Drag” actually have wealthy parents and come down here simply for the fun of pan-handling recreation (Life’s, 2000). Around the corner at the Church of Scientology, director of special affairs and president of the University Area Partners, Cathy Norman, says, “Every morning we clean beer cans out of our flower garden” (Council, 1995).
The fear and animosity bred of the relationship between the transients and the market have led many to attempt curtailing their presence. Sgt. Howard Williams of The Austin Police Department said, “What we are dealing with is a conflict in community standards. We have one set of norms for the merchants, and one for the transients.” Organizer of the Crime Neighborhood Enforcement Team assigned to the Guadeloupe Street area, he and four other officers were sent here to evaluate the growing conflict among businesses, transients and UT students (APD, 1995). APD routinely patrols the Renaissance Market and have two undercover agents that watch for illegal activity including the very visible drug trade (Life’s, 2000). In 1986, undercover officers arrested a man at the corner of San Antonio Street and 23rd Street, right behind the market, for possession of twenty-five hits of LSD, an illegal hallucinogen popular among young people, especially ones that make their home on the streets (Brown, TDT, 1986). Austin police narcotics Sgt. Roger Huckabee said that the Renaissance Market is “an area where the people who sell these drugs are more readily accepted,” and that transients are involved. Sgt. Fleming, the park police officer assigned to the market area in 1985, said he investigated the area prior to the street closure and found “a lot” of LSD and marijuana trade, as well as non-drug related offenses committed mostly by transients (Wickson, 1985). “Yes there is heroin, acid, pot, whatever on the streets, but it comes in phases. Drugs on the street have a lot to do with what is popular among the college kids at the time. They have the money to bring it into town -- we are not the only ones.” This from “Jennifer” who says the demand from University students is a prime factor in the availability of these drugs in the area (Terrill, 1997).
University Area Partners, the organization of businesses, churches and university groups dedicated to improving the Drag environment, prompted by tension between businesses and homeless on “The Drag,” began their own crusade in 1995 when they hired a private security guard to patrol the area. They also formed a Homeless Teen-ager Task Force. Task force chairman Terry Nathan said, “We don't want people to feel like they're walking into an armed camp,” and that is where the hostility against transients wavers (Jayson, 1985).
“The fight is between the social service agencies and the merchants. The kids are just the catalyst that brings all this about. Police were stuck in the middle and wanted us to resolve this ourselves.” Nathan is joined in his sentiments by Oscar Lopez, former program coordinator for Project PHASE, “Project PHASE understands that these are our neighbors and we very much want to work with them. The task force is making genuine efforts to solve some of the friction between the groups” (Jayson, 1985). Januari Fox, Outreach assistant at Project PHASE describes the changing opinion of these homeless that has begun to gain favor in the minds of many area citizens:
Throwaway youth is a term that many people are not familiar with, yet it encompasses the majority of the youth who are homeless. Throwaway youth are kids who are not wanted. Their parents felt that they couldn't deal with them for whatever reasons, so they kicked them out. Another scenario might be that someone questions their sexuality, and instead of telling their parents for fear of the outcome, they leave. Or the parents might kick them out because of their sexuality. Or maybe being homeless is a better option than being mentally and/or physically abused every day at home. The bottom line is that we cannot even begin to understand where these kids are coming from, and what they have lived through (Fox, 1996).
However, it’s not just the businesses that feel the sting of the tension. Homeless Dawn recounts confrontations she has had with passers-by, “Sometimes they tell you ... ‘get a job,’ that's one of the things that pisses me off the most because you guys don't know. You've got an address, you've got ID, you know where your birth certificates are. There's a lot of kids that don't.” Dawn said panhandling is the easiest way to make money for the homeless. On twenty to twenty-five dollars a day, she can buy alcohol and enough food for herself and her dog, Bear (Life’s, 2000). Andrew Decker said, “We can't get jobs because we don't have a phone or a place to take a shower” (APD, 1995). “The kids also suffer from poor nutrition, fatigue, lice, colds and chest congestion,” Sharon Ingram, coordinator of health education for adolescents at People's Community Clinic, said, then added, “But spirits are usually up; I am always surprised at the resilience of spirit.” “I decide what is right for me; this is what makes me happy,” seventeen year old Al said. “We are not lazy, we just choose a different lifestyle. We are too smart to depend on the system. Laziness is when people are too lazy to think for themselves. We are using what people throw away every day, we are the ones who recycle. If people dropped a quarter they wouldn't care, they just don't want me to have it” (Terrill, 1997).
A major problem facing organizations trying to help these youth is the constant turnover of transients visiting Central Texas. Jason Mercado, one of the original founders of PHASE said, “The kids on the street are definitely getting younger. I look around and the faces constantly change.” “When you find out how many institutions and government agencies have failed to provide for them, it's sad,” said Cammille Clark, a counselor at PHASE. “People judge them on how they look and act, but it's a defense mechanism; they are vulnerable, hurt children with no protection” (Terrill, 1997). However, some protection does come, and from the least likely source of all, the vendors. In 1996, the vendors in conjunction with the Renaissance Market Commission held a blanket drive for the homeless in the area. “Homeless people like myself sleep outside, and at night it can get pretty cold,” 19-year-old, Charles Lee Jones said. “It makes me feel good that there are people out there that care enough to give the blankets” (McKenzie, 1996).

Were it not for the presence of the unwashed and the half-educated, the formless, queer and incomplete, the unreasonable and absurd, the infinite shapes of the delightful human tadpole, the horizon would not wear so wide a grin.
F.M. Colby

4.0 Official Public Policy
In order to control these people’s behavior, The City of Austin passed a number of ordinances. One was a ban against public “sleeping, or making preparations to sleep, including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping.” However it was ruled that the portion of the code related to sleeping in public areas was constitutionally vague by Travis County Magistrate Judge Jim Coronado. “The ordinance was unclear because there were certain aspects of the wording that were not specific enough about who exactly would be in violation of the ordinance.” Therefore the ordinance was amended, leaving out the public sleeping portion. Diana George, a market vendor, agreed with this ruling, “It’s not only derelicts who sleep around the market,” she said. “People on their lunch break just fall asleep on the benches here sometimes, and we don't want them getting arrested” (fig. 9). She went on to say, “I really doubt that it will make that much of a difference. Sleeping is not a big deal. We should be encouraging no drinking and drugs here in the market” (Schoenewolf, 2000). Sean Smith, homeless on the drag, said “I fell asleep for 15 minutes on the sidewalk, and the police put me in jail for two days.” He claims the city already enforces law too strictly when dealing with transients (APD, 1995). “The truth is you have to have programs that help the homeless and you have to enforce good behavior,” former UT President Robert Berdahl said. “People have a right to be in a public place. We don't want to violate that right; we don't want the city to violate that right” (Council, 1995).
In March of 2001, a new “anti-aggressive solicitation ordinance” was passed by the City Council that restricts the way panhandlers can ask for assistance. With wording such as “fear and intimidation,” “obscene or abusive language toward the person being solicited,” and “reasonably likely to intimidate the person being solicited,” the ordinance is meant to deter solicitors from confronting passers-by in buses, crosswalks, banks, ATMs and in the path of anyone in general. Richard Troxell, president of House the Homeless, a local non-profit group that advocates the civil rights of homeless people, said the police could use unfair criteria, such as appearance, in enforcing the ordinance and identifying aggressive solicitation. He went on to say, “ There is no one here who hasn’t been approached aggressively by Girl Scouts, but is that aggressive solicitation?”(Carlisle, 2001). The third ordinance that seems to be directly targeting the homeless of the area, the alcohol consumption ordinance, is already in effect on Sixth Street, Barton Springs Road, the city's warehouse district, and several neighborhoods on the East side of town. The ordinance makes it a Class C misdemeanor to consume alcohol outside of a private establishment in the zone (Council, 1995). Kevin John Cawley, a veteran of the streets said, “If you sleep on the pavement all night and walk the street all day, you need a little anesthesia.” He disagrees with the ordinance and adds, “Sometimes they'll give you a bag of groceries, a bottle of beer, some work. Hopefully they'll just give you a bottle of beer” (Schneidmiller, 1993).

5.0 Examination of Public Opinion
Surveys of 75 people from the streets, schools, and residential areas near the market were conducted to assess public opinion regarding the 23rd Street Renaissance Market. Interviews of a female student and the custodian who has been responsible for cleanup of the area were also conducted. From these results, it is not clear whether a consensus exists for redeveloping the area. Some want it left just the way it is, some would like to see it completely overhauled into a larger public plaza with fountains, a bandstand, more trees and more places to sit. The only recommendation that can be made to support all parties would be to add more lighting at nighttime. Other ideas included: an informational kiosk; no increase in fees for vendors; keeping the rustic feel; more vendors; more organization among the vendors; better drainage; cleaning up but not changing anything; getting rid of the drugs, panhandlers; more space; more music. The interviews simply reiterated the same ideas and feelings found throughout this research.

6.0 Fulfilling Questions of Place
In May of 2001, The Austin City Council heard arguments for the redevelopment of 23rd Street from, and to include, the 23rd Street Renaissance Market. Student Government, in conjunction with the University Co-Op Bookstore and the University Partners have created a plan for 23rd Street that calls for the widening and smoothing of the sidewalks, increased lighting and improvements to landscaping (Drosjack, 2001). Funding for the renovations will be partially provided by the University Co-op, says president George H. Mitchell. The University Co-op after a recent buy out of Bevo’s Bookstore, now has a monopoly on property directly in contact with the market. The Co-op, according to the custodian who cleans the market on a daily basis, plans to power wash the walls and cement ground of the market twice a day, effectively preventing long stays by transients. Matt Hammond, Student Government President, said the renovations come in response to the safety concerns expressed by students living in West Campus. He continued by saying, “That's an area of highly concentrated student living, students who don't necessarily feel safe walking to and from campus at night,” Brooks French, who lives in West Campus, said she thinks safety in her neighborhood should be a major concern, having heard stories of neighborhood stalkers, and recently being the victim of a house robbery. She exclaimed “I'm going to campus now, but I'm coming home with a friend,” adding that she avoids walking alone at night(West, 2000).
The new policies that have been introduced in the past few years, and renovations forthcoming, all seem to escape the fact that these dilemmas of space have all been around for quite some time. Any scholar of public space, will undoubtably provide evidence that where a place is free, and not owned by anyone, controversy as to the use of this space will ensue. Who has the right to govern over that space? Really, no one. Safety is the only real question that is of impending importance, but where is there substantial evidence that the “Drag Worms” cause safety issues, or is it more likely that those who complain are simply accustomed to the sanctuary of suburban life. Will renovations to the market and 23rd Street kill the character that has long provided a link to the past? Definitely. The vendors, the worms, the church, the students, and the local businesses, all are part of a delicate patchwork of enduring history. How can that history continue should one remove any piece, no matter what importance the piece is presumed to have?
Bibliography

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Austin American Statesman 4.8.76.

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Council May Ban Alcohol on The Drag, The Daily Texan, 06.22.1995

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Daily Texan, The. 01.30.1983.

Daily Texan, The. 07.01.1983.

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Figures

PICA 00536, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1973. (Fig. 2)

PICA 01208, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library,
John R. Van Beekum, 1976. (Fig. 4)

PICA 02931, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1971.

PICA 02936, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1971.

PICA 02940, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1971.

PICA 02945, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1971. (Fig. 1b)

PICA 03706, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1971. (Fig. 1a)

PICA 10378, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1977.

PICA 10572, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 1973.
Abstract

The 23rd Street Renaissance Market in Austin, Texas has been at the center of controversy for 30 years. Conflict between vendors, local property owners including nearby churches and businesses, loiterers, and the City of Austin has pressed issues into City Council chambers, Federal Court rooms, and the minds of local citizens. This paper will research the history of the 23rd Street Renaissance Market, including the origin, the physical morphology, the controversies, and the subsequent legislation. Public opinion will be gauged thru surveys and interviews to determine the success or failure of the market. Finally, the future of the market will be discussed in terms of “to redevelop or not to redevelop”.

The Renaissance Market Survey Results: Conducted by Charles Manning, 2001
(Some questions not answered completely)

How old are you?
18-24 25-30 30-50 50+
51 5 5 4

Why are you there?

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Faculty
12 11 8 15 2
Staff Work on the Drag Just Hanging Out Vendor Just Shopping
1 12 12 7 2

How many times a day do you come in contact with the RM?

2-3 times a week Once a day 2-3 Times a day All day
6 7 24 17

What do you do there?

Just Pass through Stop and Hang Out Check out the Vendors Sell
39 14 21 6

What do you like or dislike?

Violence Police Harassment Discrimination Against KIDZ Nice People
7 4 4 3
Smell Socializing Drugs Trash
8 9 9 4
Vendors Homeless Not enough parking Smokers
37 23 3 4

What would you change to make it better?

Peace Mural Trees Nothing
2 4 4 14
Make it larger Music Food Lighting
11 5 2 4
More places to sit No Loitering Policing Cleaner
3 7 8 7

If the RM were redeveloped, would you come?

Yes No Maybe
36 20 15

Interview with female UT Student about night-time in the RM
Conducted by Charles Manning, 2001

Stories from other girls
Asking for: a kiss, money
Calling names such as: princess, rich bitch and cussing in general

Has had several encounters
Can identify repeat offender
Makes her feel uncomfortable, nervous
Has been threatened by dope offering person

Doesn’t like: public urination, smell, aggressiveness of men, begging for money, cigarettes

Goes there 1-3 times a day because: short cut

Thinks the people of the RM give flavor and are not eyesores

Only worried about safety at night time

Would like there to be more lights

Likes that hanging out is ok
Likes that it is centralized to the Drag and UT

Doesn’t like how the people there try to get personal with her

She sees some of the so-called transients getting out of cars

Doesn’t like the dogs fighting, or the puppies for sale

Thinks it is really cool on the weekend, but needs to better lit.

Renaissance Market Custodian Interview
Conducted by Charles Manning, 2001

COA PARD
Cleans everything up, paints, trim trees

Takes about one hour

Things found

Crack pipes
Needles
Condoms
Dope
Used Hygiene products
Food
Cardboard
Shit, urine
Beer bottles and cans

It’s ok to sleep here

Burned tree at Christmas

Camera installation-blue wire

Rude, no manners

Gawk at women

Just like a homeless shelter
Should be called “RM homeless shelter”

Open use of drugs

Coop (George Mitchell) Buys Bevo's
In conjunction with SG (Matt Hammond) and University Area Partners,
Clean up