WHERE DO WE GO NOW? Mid-September marks a year since we began this little weekly experiment and the question, as always, is about connection — how to bring Austin’s past present in a way that resonates. We used the summer break to cogitate. The first thought that bubbled up? Gratitude. THANK YOU for the year’s growth. Three Road Trips, the FSG collabs, the connections and intersections with counterculture icons ranging from The Austin Chronicle to Planet K. The community that supports Happy Heat is a fun one, and now that we have a better sense of our tribe, here’s what we’re serving up in year two — the categories that will define our content. FINDING THE GROOVE. Meanders that matter, filtered and subjective, laid out to encourage exploration — a couple stolen hours, a lazy weekend stroll. THE HERE AND THE NOW. New work commissioned from the city’s creatives. ONE MORE TIME. A ton of talented writers have covered Austin. We’ll mine the archives. HOW ART HAPPENS. Breaking down the process. THE STATIC IN THE CHANNEL. Links to the important sh*t. News that shouldn’t be missed.  We’re foremost a culture zine, but we can’t ignore the larger landscape — the players, pols and posers messing with our city and state. These issues will continue to inform what Happy Heat promotes and supports. If Men Got Pregnant , Billie Buck 2023 Finally, we’re migrating away from Substack.  Primarily so we can have more latitude with design and presentation.  The other issue is philosophical, the desire to ensure big tech doesn’t exploit and monetize our audience — y’all — as the platform grows and matures. Issues more precisely articulated by fellow Austin-based writer Andrea Grimes. We want a direct relationship with our readers. And the whole begging-for-support thing’s a drag. So Happy Heat’s taking a page from Grimes’ playbook — phase out the subscription model for a tip jar and stage a fundraiser or two to cover expenses. The new platform will be ready to share soon. Thank you again, and we hope you enjoy our debut ramble on the bridge between what was and what is.  Alan Berg, Publisher From seedy backwater to Soho House. A look at change in place and attitude. When construction of Interstate 35 was completed in 1962, the importance of South Congress as a primary artery into downtown lessened considerably. The previously bustling neighborhood transformed over time into a seedy area frequented by prostitutes and drug addicts. Matt Shiverdecker, Texas Monthly, March 2021 Crevices in the newly renovated Congress Avenue Bridge proved to be the perfect nesting place for Mexican free-tailed bats. By 1984, 750,000 or so lived under the bridge. People freaked out. Several petitions called for the bats to be exterminated. “Four persons have been bitten by bats in Austin in the past three weeks, according to Brackenridge Hospital records. Health officials say the fall migration of bats into Austin poses a higher-than-usual risk of rabies.” Austin American-Statesman, September 1984. 1986 - No No No — Bats are actually cool. The director of Bat Conservation International, Merlin Tuttle, quits his job and moves to Austin after reading of the hysteria. Texas Monthly promptly awards him a Bum Steer. courtesy Texas Monthly, Feb 1986 1986 - One Street, Two Personalities. To the north, you'll find the debutante, the glass and chrome Cinderella of a street, the Congress Avenue of beautification projects and business luncheons and all manner of big-city, fast-dollar la-di-da. But step across the bridge, now. Look south down The Avenue. That's South Congress Avenue, the FFA queen of Austin's major arteries. The dowdy stepsister to the shining Cinderella to the north. The Austin American-Statesman, June 1, 1986. The South Congress prostitution problem is said to be about 150 years old. The problem goes back to the times of the cattleman when they drove their herds Northward to the railroads and slaughter houses along the trail which later become known as So. Congress Ave., long before this area ever became part of the city of Austin. The South Congress Prostitution Problem , Officer Roger L. Behr, Austin Police Department. 1986 - Local Artists Ponder The Future. "I have a feeling South Congress is going to catch on. It's a place close to downtown that is surprisingly undeveloped. I get the feeling that any minute someone is going to say, 'Hey, we've got this low-rent stuff. Let's do something with it"  Robert Burns, Art Director, Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Continental Club opened in 1955 as a swanky private club featuring lounge acts with Vegas dreams. It was later a topless bar and day drinkers dive, resurrected as a rock club in the late ‘70s. But the 1315 address of South Congress wouldn’t be a truly magic number until the ‘80s when it became a black box clubhouse for a new generation of local alternative guitar groups like True Believers, Zeitgeist, Wild Seeds, Doctors’ Mob, Dharma Bums, T.I. and Glass Eye, as well as van-touring bands like the Minutemen, Replacements, Sonic Youth, 10,000 Maniacs and so on. Michael Corcoran, Overserved 1989 Richard Linklater shoots Slacker. The Continental Club is featured in the sequence where a bartender (Wammo) rambles about what it means to be an artist (“I’m an anti-artist”). You can still visit this premiere music venue for great live shows seven days a week. The Continental Club was also featured in Richard Linklater's film "Boyhood." Visit Austin Film Tourism Guide Slacker, courtesy Detour Filmproduction “The street's the same, but the idiots going up and down it are a lot different. We get all kinds of strange people. It used to be Austin people. Now they are coming in from out of town and out of state."  Jay Thompson, Central Feed Store, Austin American-Statesman 1995 Guero’s Moves In “I thought at the time, the city can’t go west. The rich ones are over there. They’re not going to let you. It can’t go north because of the university and surrounding neighborhoods. It isn’t going to go east. No one would want to build over on the east side. So expanding out this direction was the only logical solution in my mind. I had no idea how quickly things were happening all over Austin. I was kind of right because the east side still wasn’t ripe yet so this area became successful and we were just kind of running along beside it.” Rob Lippincott, Co-Founder, Guero’s The motel was known as a “flop house” and was identified by the City of Austin Police Department as a place of prostitution and the drug trade. It was also home to a population of residents living week to week and day to day. Lambert bought the property in 1995 with a dream of renovating the motel into a boutique hotel room by room. In a self-produced documentary, Lambert is shown opening rejection letters in her quest for small business loans to fund the transition. Jennifer Suzanne Minner, 2013 1996 Bill Clinton visits Guero’s for the first time. Bill Clinton at Guero’s, 2018. Photo courtesy Lyndol Woodruff; CBS Austin. 1996 The Austin Ice Bats Arrive. Merlin Tuttle almost singlehandedly turns around Austin’s attitudes about the bats, and by the 90s crowds were gathering on the Congress Avenue Bridge to watch the nightly departures. When minor league hockey came to town, team owners jumped on the bandwagon. “It is simply amazing how quickly attitudes improve when people finally understand bats as they really are—sophisticated, beautiful, even cute, quite aside from their crucial roles as primary predators of insects, pollinators of flowers, and dispersers of seeds.” Merlin Tuttle, The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals 1999 The Austin Police Department releases a report on the “South Congress Prostitution Problem.” Several run-down motels serve the prostitutes; a porn theatre located at a very prominent intersection; empty buildings and store fronts provide places to loiter; dark side streets leading into neighborhoods; many businesses in the area are not thriving, but barely holding on; a small park across the street from the porn theatre is a hang-out for transients and winos. These elements create a physical environment that is not conducive for legitimate businesses, nor is it healthful for children—and there are several schools in the area. Also contributing to the problem is the mind-set of many area residents: tolerant, laid-back, "live-and-let live." The South Congress Prostitution Problem, Officer Roger L. Behr, Austin Police Department. 1999 Caught On Tape. Police set up a sting with undercover officers posing as prostitutes. They videotape the operation, arrest 40 johns in two days, and the whole thing makes the news. The hookers move further south. …not suggestive at all… In America, we come from this idea that, you know, everything is expendable, you use it up and then you move. Everything has to be new. So we left behind all of these really interesting pockets of architecture, really interesting buildings. Somebody was in the building, trying to do something, and you walk in, and you see, there’s something you feel. People leave their energy behind. Abe Zimmerman Abe Zimmerman by the marker bearing his name, 2022, photo by Alan Berg. Read more background here , but Abe Zimmerman and longtime partner Stan Biderman helped build a series of Austin institutions ranging from Book People to Threadgill’s. Zimmerman financed Liz Lambert’s renovation of the Hotel San Jose. They began working with a talented young architect, Michael Hsu, who shared their love of the central city. “Vaguely disorganized places,” like Burnet Road and South Lamar,  provide “different opportunities for different kinds of businesses.” Quirky old buildings provide “some kind of innate character that can add richness to the project, they have an air of authenticity to them. So a lot of times it’s not just an economic decision. It’s sort of an aesthetic, creative decision.” Michael Hsu, Architect Zimmerman and Biderman partnered with Guero’s owners Rob and Cathy Lippincott to develop the block adjacent to Guero’s. Michael Hsu led the design team. 2000s Bats Beloved. Austin’s bats bring in an estimated $10 million a year in tourist dollars, and their nightly flight is actively marketed as a major summer attraction. courtesy Visit Austin 2007 Robert Rodriguez stages a scene at Guero’s A birthday weekend, friends decide to kick things off with TexMex and margaritas. Directly outside though, on South Congress Ave, a sinister black car stalks their every move….. Grindhouse: Death Proof, 2007 The Texas School for the Deaf inspired Fargo creator and writer Noah Hawley, who lived nearby, to create Mr. Wrench, a professional killer who happens to be deaf.   As I was formulating the show, I kept seeing sign language around everywhere. And it's such a compelling and visual means of communication. But it's also a language that most people don't speak. So it creates an amazing amount of privacy for deaf people - to be surrounded by hearing people and to be able to communicate in a way that no one can really understand. Noah Hawley Watch how Hawley uses ASL to ratchet up the tension. “South Congress is a big street in many ways — wide, busy, full. But it still has a small-scale neighborhood feel when one walks its narrow sidewalks and shops. Buildings have to feel inviting.” Michael Hsu South Congress Avenue, 1930-39, courtesy Austin History Center *quotes edited for concision and clarity. How are we doing? We want to hear from you. Take this quick survey and help us make Happy Heat better. Go see something, tell us about it, we’ll share more stories next week. Let’s build something together. We’d be forever grateful for your help, and an easy way to do so is by subscribing to the Happy Heat Substack. What comes in goes right back out in artist commissions and live shows. To which you’ll get to come! 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