The Village Shopping Center’s 50th Anniversary (Margaritaville?)

 

The Village 1974 Grand Opening. Click to enlarge.

In Austin these days when an institution can stick around for 50 years, that's pretty remarkable. In fact 50 years is the official number that the Texas historical commission uses as the benchmark for whether something can be considered historic. So it's worth mentioning, The Village Shopping Center at 2700 West Anderson Lane is 50 years old this year. Known today as simply The Village, it started in 1973 with 30+ mostly local shops and businesses.

Probably the best known business in The Village is the Alamo Drafthouse. That movie theater began as The Village 4 back in the day when having multiple screens at the same theater was the new thing worth bragging about. Today's Cover 3 was originally the old Lock, Stock & Barrel, a popular club in Austin for local music. Rogers Optical remains today, and was one of the original businesses. Korea House, while not an original, has been around for 40 years.

With Jimmy Buffet’s passing this year it must be mentioned what is likely the most historic event tied to The Village; Buffet’s 1976 inspiration for his song Margaritaville came after consuming a few at Lung’s Cocina del Sur Mexican food restaurant, part of the original Village where today’s High Five is located.

While started in 1973, the grand opening was 1974. Headlines from the paper that year said "Village's Grand Opening Recalls Fabulous Fifties", going on to say The Village was built "… as an alternate to today's sterile malls .. a center that would be both interesting and fun to shop in. That's one reason why we chose small distinctive shops, rather than large department stores. Shopping used to be a big family event ... Everyone would climb into the old jalopy and head for town ... The Village was designed as a place the family can enjoy, instead of a place where you have to hassle [with] crowds ...". They thought 1974 Austin was crowded? If only they knew. The advertisement went on to say The Village was a place where "a family could spend an afternoon shopping, have dinner and take in a show [The Village 4] all in the same place."

Rather than a large enclosed mall, The Village was designed as an outdoor mall with interior courtyards with covered walkways, decks, a pond and an abundance of native plants and trees. Even today, at 50 years old, it is still a pleasant outdoor space to hang out. Epoch’s Coffee is one such popular outdoor hangout.

The character of The Village is changing with the times. It is today an eclectic mix of offices, small shops, restaurants, a dentist, chiropractic and holistic medicine and more. Some shops you would definitely not have seen 50 years ago, like Tribe, your local CBD shop. Probably not what one would consider a family shopping experience. Or maybe it is? Billd, a “financial solutions company”, and Common Desk, recently moved out leaving whole buildings empty while a new video game development company, Airship Syndicate, has moved in.

Having lived nearby off Shoal Creek where my kids were born, I have fond memories of The Village. With my kids now grown, the Alamo Drafthouse is still our go-to when we want to take in a show as a family. I only hope The Village can continue to adapt and stay around another 50 years.

Margarita anyone?