Back Room Politics

In honor of Washington's fumbling and posturing that was going on yesterday (and will continue to do so) I present a detail (actually most of the painting) from a painting by Rosemary Mahoney called "Texas Two Step" at the Driskill Hotel. A plaque says:

It is said that although Texas laws were passed at the State Capitol a few blocks to the north, the real wheeling and dealing in Texas politics took place in the lobbies and back rooms of The Driskill Hotel. 

Home to LBJ's White House press corps, and the scene of campaign events and election night vigils, The Driskill Hotel has earned the reputation of being the political capital of Texas. 

Some might disagree and say more happens at the Austin Club these days or even the Cloak Room (is that dive bar still open?) but I still think about a lot of oblivious men of a certain type making the rules in some back room.

Driskill in Gingerbread

This is the gingerbread Driskill for the holiday season.

Christmas at the Driskill

FFP poses in the lobby of the historic Driskill, done up for Christmas.

Christmas at the Driskill

Here is Linda with the magnificent tree at the Driskill Hotel.This one is always a visual treat.

Happy Birthday, Driskill, at Christmas

As mentioned earlier the Driskill Hotel is having it's 125th Birthday this Christmas season. Last Thursday they served this cake which looks like a pile of presents.

Celebrity bartender last night

Last night, the Austin Film Festival hosted a party at Ruth's Chris Steak House in downtown Austin--a short walk from where we live. The celebrity tending bar was Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, shown here on the right. The lovely lady on the left is Wendy, Ruth's Chris' professional bartender.

Ms. Nicholson is probably best known for her role in "Fletch," where she played the love interest of, yes, Fletch. She has also been in episodes of Seinfeld, Law & Order, Sex and the City and Boston Public. Central Texans know her best as "Tyra's mom" in Friday Night Lights, the terrific series filmed here in our area.

Austin Film Festival got a lot of good pr out of the party. There is still time to sign up for the Festival and for the Film & Food party, possibly the best bargain in town. For $85, you get unlimited food from twenty top restaurants and open bars. 7-10 pm, Wed, Oct. 21 at The Driskill. 478-4795 or http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/new/film_food. The auction will even have tickets to see American Idol and The Late Show with David Letterman. (Sorry, I had to get in a plug.)

Historic Ceiling

This is the ceiling of the historic Driskill hotel lobby.

A lady and her bass

We ventured out on a cold night a couple of weeks ago to hear our friend Liz sing at the Driskill Hotel bar. The only instrument accompanying her was this stellar bass player. I caught this shot of her crooning with my iPhone.

A Kodosky Party

At the Long Center on the east side before the ring stretches around to meet the west side you may have noticed a glass-enclosed room. This is the Kodosky Donor's Lounge. In this picture you can see the glass facade of Long Center reflecting Auditorium Shores. If you saw 'The Bat' (Austin Lyric Opera's and Esther's Follies take on "Die Fledermaus"), you know that the character throwing the party at the Driskill was "Jefferson Kodosky." So, yeah they kind of took off on a real person. But in name only. Above are the real Jeff Kodosky and his wife Gail, dear friends of ours, of opera and of the community of arts and education. Jeff is a graduate of U.T. and a founder of National Instruments. I have NEVER seen him in cowboy boots! But he laughed out loud at the character on stage sharing his name who was this bantam rooster guy in outrageous cowboy garb organizing a costume bash for 'the bat' to work his operatic drama of mistaken idenity and faux pas. Of course, the lounge was their gift to the Long Center.

Historic Temptation

We have shown the historic Driskill Hotel from a couple of angles. Yesterday we ate a late breakfast in their 1886 Restaurant between sessions of panel discussions at The Austin Film Festival. This is the glass window tempting you to come in for cake or coffee or something.

Your chariot awaits!

This carriage was waiting to take someone on a horse-drawn ride. It was stationed outside the south door of the Driskill Hotel.

Welcome Cutie Pie to the Neighborhood

One of the newest trailers in the SoCo neighborhood is Cutie Pie's weighing in with a tiny bright trailer selling tiny pies. The former nurse who owns the stand won a pie contest at the Driskill and decided to sell pies.

A welcoming sight

The check-in desk at the Driskill is always a pleasing place. They have a small tree behind it for Christmas cheer.

Old and New

This is the east side of the historic downtown hotel The Driskill between East Sixth and East Seventh Streets on Brazos. The modern face of downtown looms above in the form of the Frost tower. We showed a peek at the other side of the hotel from the terrace at the Norwood Tower a while back. This is the entrance a lot of car traffic uses and the portico leads to a fabulously restored lobby. If you are in downtown Austin, a walk through the hotel public areas is in order. You can enter through the bar on Seventh or the little casual cafe on Sixth but this is the most dramatic entrance.

Skyscraper Heritage

On our way to the historic Driskill Hotel for the annual Heritage Society of Austin awards luncheon I decided to shoot the historic Littlefield building on the northeast corner of Sixth and Congress to show you. When it was built (1910) there was a rivalry with the Scarbrough building across the street for tallest Austin building. Therefore, Littlefield enclosed what was originally a pergola on the top of his eight-story building to make it the current nine stories. I found a postcard seller's blog who had actually sold a card showing the pergola. I also found online several assurances that, when it was completed, it was briefly the tallest building between New Orleans and San Francisco. This was the tallest building in Austin for 19 years until the Norwood tower was built.

Today, my condo building is the tallest building in Austin but in a few months it should be surpassed by the Austonian which will be over five times the height of the Littlefield building.

Christmas Decor

This year the Christmas decor on Congress Avenue consists of thin strands of LED lights that change colors. I guess they save energy but even at night they don't seem very festive. On East Sixth (that's the Driskill on the left) some old school tinsel stars recognize the holiday. Meanwhile kilowatts and sanity are squandered in Zilker park at something we like to call the Trial of Lights. (It's really the Trail of Lights to its fans.) I suppose now that I live downtown I could walk to this attraction, but this time of year a traffic jam for going downtown always made us testy over this display.

Eloise would approve!

This fancy tree is in the lobby of the historical Driskill Hotel. Quite a sight!

Oh Christmas tree!

The Driskill Hotel, one of Austin's most historic places, always has a beautiful tree. Here you see Linda posing with it.  Merry Christmas to you!

Right Size Tree

The tree at the Driskill tops out just below the beautiful glass ceiling.

Winding Down the Holiday

Snapped this at the Driskill the Friday before Christmas week. I imagine the decorations (including this magnificent Gingerbread house) will be up through the New Year. I guess we will soon return to regular programming here. (And stop wearing Christmas colors!)