Sixth Street in Austin is often synonymous with vibrant nightlife and a plethora of bars, particularly between Congress and I-35. As partygoers reminisce about wild nights spent on the iconic street, they may overlook its rich historical significance.
Tatum Troutt posed a thought-provoking question to the ATXplained project: “What happened to make dirty sixth be filled with so many of the same type of bars when there is actually a lot of history there?” This inquiry invites a deeper look into the origins of Sixth Street, a place woven into the very fabric of Austin since its founding.
In 1839, Austin was laid out by Edwin Waller, who designed the city using a grid system. At the time, Congress Avenue was the main north-south thoroughfare leading to the Capitol. The other streets running north-south took names from rivers, such as Colorado, Brazos, and Red River, while the east-west roads featured tree names. Sixth Street was originally called Pecan Street.
Pecan Street had several advantageous features, being distanced from the Colorado River, which made it safer from flooding—a notable concern before the river was dammed to create Lady Bird Lake. Its relatively level terrain facilitated easier travel, and as Austin grew, Pecan Street became a crucial route for commerce and community.
By the late 1800s, Pecan Street emerged as a vital center for local businesses, earning it the title “Street of Dreams.”
However, the rich tapestry of history on Sixth Street is not limited to its commercial significance. The area is also marked by its diversity. Javier Wallace, owner of Black Austin Tours, highlights the historical presence of African American-owned businesses in the 400 block of Sixth Street during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He compares it to Fifth Avenue in New York City, emphasizing that this stretch became a hub for Black entrepreneurs and consumers.
During the city’s early days, many Black and Mexican residents settled around Waller Creek, which served as the eastern boundary of Austin at the time. Therefore, it naturally became a location for establishing businesses.
As the city expanded in the late 1800s, Pecan Street was renamed Sixth Street. The transition to numbering the east-west streets reflected Austin’s growth, and as a historic district designated in the 1970s, many of Sixth Street’s buildings have been preserved.
Walking along Sixth Street today reveals numerous historical markers, chronicling the diverse businesses that once populated it, including establishments owned by Chinese, Mexican, Jewish, and Lebanese communities in the early 1900s.
However, the narrative of Sixth Street took a turn after World War II, when it gained a reputation for being a seedy area rife with drugs and sex-related businesses. By 1980, the Old Pecan Street Association urged the City Council to intervene and prevent the street from becoming known as a “sex ghetto.”
Amidst this decline, music venues began to take root on Sixth Street during the late 1970s to the 1990s. Among these, Antone’s gained prominence as a launching pad for artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan. Other iconic venues included Steamboat 1874, Black Cat, Babe’s, The Cannibal Club, and Flamingo Cantina, contributing to the street’s growing nightlife scene.
Today, the predominant presence of bars on Sixth Street invites inquiry as to why it has become so uniform in its offerings. Bob Woody, a business owner who arrived on Sixth Street in 1983, posits a straightforward explanation rooted in economics. As property values have soared— with his own building’s value rising from $80,000 to an offer of $3.2 million in the course of a few decades—the pressure for tenants to generate revenue has increased.
Higher property values lead to increased taxes for building owners, which, in turn, raises rent for tenants. With the historic district limiting building heights to only one or two stories, proprietors are compelled to maximize their earnings in limited space, leading to a focus on appealing to a clientele that includes students and tourists seeking nightlife options.
In this setting, bars typically provide the highest profit margins.
As Sixth Street navigates its future, exciting developments are on the horizon. A company named Stream Realty has acquired 31 buildings along the street and aims to revitalize them while preserving the area’s historic character. Their vision includes attracting local residents to Sixth Street not just at night but during the day as well.
Paul Bodenman, a senior vice president at Stream, noted, “Downtown has over 15,000 residences and 10,000 apartment and condo units. It is truly a real urban downtown. … Our first priority is to create an environment where local downtown residents want to go to on a regular or daily basis.”
To reinforce this vision, Stream’s branding is leaning toward the concept of Old Sixth Street, drawing inspiration from the street’s historical legacy. Signs proclaiming, “The New Sixth Street is Old Sixth Street” can be seen across the area.
Whether the moniker “Old Sixth” will gain traction remains uncertain. However, the transformation of Sixth Street as envisioned by Stream Realty highlights a broader perspective of change permeating the area.
It is essential to note that the evolution of Sixth Street is an ongoing narrative shaped by its community. The character of the street has dynamically changed over time, adapting to the needs and desires of the people of Austin. Initially a hub for commerce and community growth, it became a significant locale for marginalized groups to forge their identities and enterprises.
In later decades, it became a space for nightlife and music. In contrast, recent years have witnessed it morphing into a landscape of happy hours and barhopping.
What will the future hold for Sixth Street? The answer remains elusive, but one certainty persists: as Austin’s “Street of Dreams,” Sixth Street will continually evolve, reflecting the aspirations of those who call the city home.
image source from：https://www.kut.org/austin/2025-04-24/6th-street-austin-tx-bars-entertainment-district-dirty-sixth-atxplained
