Local Landmarks

They’re all over East Austin—the restaurants, buildings, parks and houses that everybody seems to know. Like El Jardin Alegre, a little spot of land where neighbors can grow their own corn, tomatoes, nopales, and squash. These urban gardeners say that getting down in the dirt and coaxing their own food from the soil makes them feel connected to the land like never before.
Each house in East Austin also tells a story. One such house, La Casa de la Señora Lopez sits on a hill overlooking downtown Austin. When the developers came knocking, Señora Lopez said no. She spent her life paying for her house, raising her children in her house, and living in her house. No matter how much money they offer, she’s determined to live out her life in her home.
Not all landmarks are entirely positive. Some are reminders of ongoing struggles for equality and social justice. The Holly Power Plant, which looms over Fiesta Gardens and the Lorraine “Grandma” Camacho Activity Center, has been controversial ever since it was built in the 1960s. And when an accident occurred in 2001, neighbors once again expressed their concern about its presence in East Austin.
These movies tell the stories behind places you may pass by every day.

These movies tell the stories behind places you may pass by every day.

Graphic Glass
The Austin Exodus
El Jardin Alegre: Community Growth
Geno’s Too Hot to Trot
George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center
The Green and White
Holly
The History of the Green and White Store
In Search of Public Art
In the Shadow of Downtown
It’s Just Art
The Juan and Only
King Tears Mortuary
La Casa Lopez
Letters for Las Manitas
Live Oak Rules!
A Look at the Locals
Nubian Queen Lo-La
Nuevo Leon
One in a Million
Pool Rats
Ruth’s Ladder
78702 Life Stories: A Place for the Kids
Sam’s Barbeque
Sam's BBQ (2003)
Screeners
Stories Alive
This is Our Lady’s House