Sixth Street Historic District

Sixth Street is two things at once, and knowing which one you want will make your night. Historically it was Pecan Street, the commercial spine of nineteenth-century Austin, and the blocks between Congress Avenue and Interstate 35 still hold one of the best-preserved runs of Victorian and early-twentieth-century commercial buildings in Texas — limestone and brick storefronts with cast-iron columns, tall windows and decorative cornices, listed together on the National Register of Historic Places as the Sixth Street Historic District. By day you can see that heritage plainly: walk from the Driskill Hotel at Sixth and Brazos east toward the interstate and look up at the facades. By night, those same blocks become the city's most famous party street, nicknamed Dirty Sixth: a wall-to-wall run of bars, shot bars, dance clubs, live-music rooms and late-night food, aimed squarely at college students, bachelor and bachelorette parties and conventioneers, with cover bands and doormen calling in passers-by. It is loud, crowded and sometimes rowdy on weekend nights, police presence is heavy, and the street's safety layout has been reworked in recent years. West of Congress, West Sixth is a different world — cocktail bars, patios, restaurants and a slightly older crowd. And a major restoration of many of the historic buildings on the east blocks has been bringing new restaurants and refreshed storefronts, so expect some change and occasional construction. Visit for the architecture and a drink at the Driskill; stay late only if the scene appeals.

The district's history is the reason to give Sixth Street more than a passing glance. Pecan Street was the city's main commercial street from the early days of the capital; merchants, saloons, hotels and theaters lined it, and the ethnic diversity of the businesses — German, Mexican American, Black and Anglo merchants, among others — is part of why the National Register listing cites both architecture and heritage. The Driskill, opened in 1886 by a cattle baron, is the grand anchor; its lobby and bar are worth a visit even if you are not staying, and they make the most civilized vantage point on the street. As the city grew outward in the mid-twentieth century, the strip declined, and in the 1970s bars and clubs moved into the cheap old buildings, helping invent the Austin live-music scene and later the bar district it is now.

Navigating it well is mostly about timing and expectations. Afternoons and early evenings are the best time for architecture and an unhurried drink; the street becomes a crush late on Friday and Saturday nights and during big events, when parts of it may be managed for pedestrians and crowds. Bars range from dive to dance club, and genuine original-music venues are fewer here than on Red River or South Congress, so if live music is your goal, check listings before you commit. Keep an eye on belongings, drink responsibly, and use rideshare pick-up points on cross streets rather than trying to drive. West Sixth, beyond Congress, suits couples and groups who want cocktails and conversation, and the Warehouse District and Second Street District nearby add restaurants and more polished bars.

Sixth Street fits naturally into a downtown evening. Start with the bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset, walk up Congress Avenue to the Driskill for a drink in its ornate bar, wander east along Sixth to take in the facades and the energy, then peel off north to the Red River Cultural District, a few blocks away, for an original-music show. Or head west for dinner on West Sixth. For families, a daytime architecture walk with a stop at the Driskill and a look up Congress at the Capitol is perfectly pleasant; evenings on the east blocks are not family territory.