Urban Renewal

ID: 597 ~ Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
This file appears in: Austin Avenue Pedestrian Mall
Urban Renewal

The mall contained not only department stores such as J. C. Penney and Goldstein-Migel, but also businesses such as Texas Life Insurance Company. City planners hoped to revive downtown by making it the center of all commerce and recreation.

This file appears in: Austin Avenue Pedestrian Mall

By Kurt Terry
Completed in 1970, the Austin Avenue Pedestrian Mall opened to high expectations. The City of Waco created the pedestrian mall in an effort to bring consumers back to the downtown district, closing down the street to automobiles and only allowing…