Austin City Hall

Wow! Calling all photographers! The Austin city hall is a stunning piece of architecture. The whole time we strolled around the exterior, we kept saying how beautiful it would be for a civil wedding ceremony. The stone details on the exterior is so rustic and classy. Beautiful greenery as well. Nice spot to read a book or just hang out and have a chat. Also a great spot for an impromptu photo shoot!

Although I was initially going to City Hall for one reason, I found lots of important information needed to address the situation I'm currently trying to resolve. All the employees were very kind, supportive, and informative.

Welcome to Austin. Where you wait on hold when calling 911, we don’t have any police officers, we do major construction exclusively during rush hour, and have the highest taxes in the entire state for the awful services and schools provided. This city is an absolute joke!

I visited here in a Saturday. It was closed. So, I was unable to check what's the city hall is all about. I was there for the first time, so the underground parking directions were a little confusing. However, the security guard who was there was really helpful and gave the correct directions.

This city has purposefully silenced the people of Austin because they are afraid of what they have to say. Just stop the endless greed.

Pretty cool building and garden, contemporary and environment friendly, neat sculpture.

Austin overall was a great city to visit due to all the fun experiences available!

These images are on the property of my place of business. This was not a daily occurrence until the last year, and never at all before the last five years. It is sad that this once beautiful, community minded area has come to this. We are vigilant to take measures because we are afraid for our employee's safety. We now lock the clearly marked staff entrances due vagrants entering. Just this morning I placed a note on a cart full of clothing and bedding asking them to remove their junk from private property. The cart was parked behind our shed where there are two no trespassing signs clearly visible. I walked carefully to avoid the human defecation on the ground near the cart. In the past I have called 311, been in contact with police, and they can't do much due to the high crime in Austin and less staff and funds, so I don't bother calling anymore. This is not the Austin it was 10 years ago. It is very sad.

Today I am visiting Austin City Hall for a memorial service for a former Austin City Council member. In Austin, there is Mayor City Council Member structure. The memorial was held at the Austin City Hall because it is where the Mayor and City Council meets on a regular basis. The current building was completed in 2004, but looks relatively new. Mayor Kirk Watson shared some opening remarks. Congressmen, commissioners, representatives, senators and other politicians were all present to pay their respects. The room was packed with standing room only. Nothing but the most glowing comments were made. It was so heartwarming to hear how such a wonderful life he lived. This memorial caused me to reflect. Am I living my life where individuals would say wonderful things about me when I make my exit? Do I lead my life as a servant leader? Have I given to charitable efforts enough? Only will the people that I leave behind will get to determine the answer to these questions. Let us all live our lives in a way make a positive indelible impact on this world.

I'm a Resident, homeowner, paying thousands every in property taxes. Recently visited city hall for assistance with a few city services. Folks at city hall are mean, nasty and rude. Very unprofessional, unpleasant experience. Does the city of Austin send employees to rude school? Really unacceptable! Security guard at front desk seems to be trained to say "NO" and little else to residents requests for assistance and information. Also, I felt like I was treated like a presumed criminal. Austin City Hall is definitely not welcoming to city of Austin residents and taxpayers.

This is such a beautiful piece of architecture. I was drawn to the modern lines and shape of the building. Simply stunning. If you're someone who enjoys architecture and design this city hall building should be on your must visit list.

6 mins over your validated parking and they make you pay a whole hour, what a joke. The attendant wanted me to verbally tell him my credit card number which is sketchy at best. Do better Austin.

Parking garage review only. What happened, CoA? Six months ago when it was free, this place used to be a tremendous place to park. Brightly lit, lots of people coming and going. Now that it costs $5, it has become a dimly lit dungeon, foreboding to enter, much less park, den of thieves atmosphere. This is a crime scene waiting to happen. As my friend said, with the flickering light special effects, they could really make a horror movie here. I swear I already seen the chalk outlines rising up from the concrete. Fix it before something bad happens here!

I am so very proud to be a member of an organization that was personally praised by the Mayor this past week! I posted a Pic of the Proclamation that is so beautifully scripted but if you happen to have week eye sight I will rewrite it here. "Proclamation Be it known that Whereas Love-A-Bull is an organization committed to promoting responsible Pit Bull ownership through advocacy and education. They provide information to members and the public regarding spaying and neutering, adoption, training, and Pit Bull temperament and behaviour. and Whereas, The 450 member group is passionate about serving as role models of responsible dog ownership and work to eliminate negative stereotypes, dog fighting, abuse, neglect and breed specific regulation; and Whereas, This weekend, Love-A-Bull is hosting a Family Fun Day at Zilker Park with John Garcia, the rehabilitator of Michael Vicks dogs from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and a downtown Pet Parade on Sunday starting at City Hall. Now, There Fore, I Lee Leffingwell, Mayor of the City of Austin, Texas do there by proclaim October 24 - 25, 2009 as Love-A-Bull Weekend" I am so very proud of our Mayor and his personal Proclomation to our group!

Came here to Occupy Austin! The sleeping arrangements were actually quite nice! The amphitheater makes a great sleeping area. Cozier than Zuccotti Park looks to be, it has an overhanging that blocks out the sun. They've let one group set up a tent, when I was there. There was a healthy police presence, and I saw one guy get dragged away. Having the peaceful protester getting arrested knocked off a star or two. The building is beautifully done. It looks rather small for such a big city! Dallas' city hall is like ten times that size! It has nice works of art surrounding the building that was so pretty that I couldn't bring myself to chain my body to. Four stars!

Reviewing them for their coolness and coolest parking in DT. While I have never been in the offices. I love this place. First of all, did you know that it is shaped like an Armadillo from an aerial view? That pointy thing sticking way out over second street is supposed to be the tail. The outdoor space has an amphitheater that faces Caesar Chavez and they frequently do performances and live music there. There is a mezzanine at the top of those stairs that has hosted some pretty cool soirées including the VIP section during the Art City event that generally falls around the second week of April. They have cool sculptures scattered around the outside and lots of places to sit and enjoy the space, people watch, or Occupy Austin. Yes, it was the home of that and a bit chaotic during that time. But this is Austin. But my FAVORITE thing about City Hall... The Parking. And, I have to thank Errol M. for clueing me in to this gem a few years ago. Unless there is a big event (like SXSW), the cost to par there any evening is $5. It is free to park there before 5 on Saturday and Sunday (think Town Lake walk or run parking spot), and you will never pay more than $10 on a weekday. Hint, if you purchase something in that second street shopping district (coffee from Austin Java), they will validate your parking, and then it is $4. Shhhhhh... don't tell anyone! ;)

Huge bathrooms! No, really. Beautiful, huge bathrooms. A friend and I happened to be sick on the same day. We had just had our brunch at the Galaxy and were heading downtown for who knows what. A bathroom emergency hit (see Galaxy review: French Press Coffee) and we had to go! She said something about City Hall. That they had to have something! And wouldn't that be fun to check out?! The parking garage is odd, but there are tons of spots. First 30 minutes are free, so we went in to check out the bathrooms and to peruse the building, since neither of us had ever been there. After finding the bathrooms and marveling at the hugeness of them, we meandered back out to check things out. It's really a cool building! There's lots of Austin-y things to look at, history of the city, people to watch. Here's the key. You gotta go on a Thursday. That's when the council meets. And that's when the community gets to come out and share their piece--some of them through song! Things were a-bustle when we were there because many were there to talk about the homeless trailer park. And, AND, it means parking is free! I've lived in Austin most of my life, and I've never been interested much in the goings on down there...at least not on TV. But actually being there? That was really cool. We walked around, almost giddy with excitement at the cool art, the beautiful architecture, the nice people. What started out as a "quick bathroom trip" turned out to be a really cool learning experience for both of us. Go. Go now. On a Thursday.

FIGHT THE POWER. Want to get the mayor, and a half dozen council members in a room, as a captive audience? Sign up for citizens communication, and for 3 minutes, you can do exactly that. We went to talk about traffic concerns, but we were on the docket with an angry man in a dashiki (and his entire posse - TESTIFY) famous transsexual Jennifer Flowers and a woman who spent her 3 minutes of speaking time to read council a poem. If you want a problem dealt with, get organized, go to city council and bring it to their attention - you'll also be on cable access TV! (P.S. Councilman Brewster McCracken, your ass is so gone come your reelection.)

I don't wanna brag, but... Oh hell! I'm bragging! I went to the mayor's office!!!! It was for a charity event, but I got to nose all around Will Wynn's digs. HE HAS GOT IT GOIN' ON!!! The art, the view, the colors, the lighting. It was on top of City Hall and it was beautiful! If everyone worked in an environment like this, America would no longer be a third-world country. ;-)

City Hall is a beautiful and well located building right in the heart of the CBD. I am not qualified to review their services or offering. This review is SOLELY on the voting that is held in the building. I have voted twice in this precinct and it was a complete and total mess both times. They need someone to re-think this entire process and move it out of that tiny little room so that there is good ingress and egress for the process. That is a really big building--is that little room really the only spot that can be carved out on the few election days each year when temporary space is needed? Do they need to have three separate check in processes before you go to the voting machine? Really? If so, why not space them out so that there isn't a line jam between each step? You have a long line of people, maybe midway through the line, you could begin the process? Where is the wonderful League of Women Voters to get that City Hall voting process whipped into shape. It shouldn't be such a difficult process for citizens to vote in Travis County. So the rating--5 stars for a beautiful architectural structure, 0 stars for citizen voting! And the primary just happened so the voting is weighted higher than the architectural beauty!

Pretty cool city hall - they have an outdoor plaza with live acts - made out of lots of recycled / green content. its a pretty green building. solar panels provide shade. secret - parking is free for two hours beats the 7$+ parking garages nearby or trying to find street parking.

I love the architecture at city hall! They hosted the Tibetan Monks who created a healing sand mandala for Austin. I went down there everyday to film the monks for our movie "Saving Aime"! The colors they used were awesome! After they gave us the sand from the mandala, they said prayers for Lady Bird Lake and blessed it. How cool is Austin?!?!?

Not really sure how to rate it. Its a Government building, I don't prefer all of the politics and the people who hold office and work there. The place is nicely designed and decorated.... seems they forgot that in the parking garage. The garage could truly use more lighting or other items to address possible safety concerns. The Security screeners do their job, but seem to be bouncing between a sign in desk outside the security area and the Xray inside the security area at 5pm and later when you attend evening meetings. Overall, its what you expect. A government building with functionality, good facilities, and not really in my opinion a need to rate it any higher.

The PARKING is key, while it's challenged by our new development off 2nd street. Have ALWAYS found a place to park, it's free and for us to utilize. Can't bring myself to go into the gift shop or Austin Java's newest post...just not ready for all of this newness, and have only been here three years, but CAN bring myself to dig the architecture...extreme and well-grounded at the same time. A success. Lots of activity in the front with free music in the evening and protests by our bevy of politically active citizens. Worth checking out and making noise in front of....

Wow. If anyone is going to be raped and murdered in a parking garage in this town, this will be the one. The lighting is so poor in there that at 2 in the afternoon I felt like the female victim in a slasher movie, being stalked through the parking garage after working late at the office. Please do something about the abundance of dark, shadowy corners and lack of safety before you get sued when someone is attacked and chopped to pieces on the way to their car.

Great place to park, but agree with Ardie S. that the parking garage is a crime scene waiting to happen. Back yo' Mace!

Really cool building. I suggest you go on the tour they offer and on a Sunday because it's less crowded. I think some of the highlights are the rotunda, all the governer portraits, the offices, and the solar panals. Looks impressive from the outside and even more impressive from the inside. I spend about four hours there just exploring. You'll never run out of things to look at.

This place is interesting. They hava alot of boring meetings here and enjoy really nice architecture and views of the TownLake. Much to walk to in the area. Just visiting the landmark is worthwhile, they boast the largest gallery space in town, they call it the "People's Gallery" it's a juried show.

Beautiful architecture, ample parking (validated), clean restrooms and a public art gallery. Not at all like other gov't buildings I'm familiar with. Security screening is fast and friendly and folks are happy to show you were to go. I've been there for evening events (you can rent it out) and the space is really nice for gatherings. Waterfall uses recycled A/C water for a cool feature in the parking area.

This review is of the parking garage, not the building. The earlier reviews led me to believe there would be plenty of parking here. However, apparently the garage now ropes off a lot of the parking so there were huge unused areas when I went today (12/2/14, 11:30 am), and only about two free very tight spaces. (There appeared to be a few spaces just before the ropes ended all further descent, but they turned out to require permits, and I left without parking, missing my event.) As well, the tight two way traffic was unnerving. I'll NEVER try to use this garage again. Why they rope off vast swaths of the garage (on every level, and before the bottom as well) is a mystery, but it's definitely hell to find a place, and if you do find one, good luck fitting into it! HORRIBLE.

APD rocks!I wrote a email to them about speeders on my road.They were out to my house in two days.I wrote it on Friday and they came on Monday.I thank all APD for the prompt response before people were hurt or killed.I am proud to live in Austin and have such a great police force.For how under staffed they are you would not know it by their response time.Keep it up APD you have my full support.

I'm impressed with the City Council we have under 10-1. I have not agreed with every single decision. And people are never ever going to agree with everything. But it's more willing to talk about the mundane items like traffic and housing affordability. These are BIG tasks which needed to have been addressed over time centuries ago.