Benchmark Mortgage Central Texas

Founded in 1839, Austin was chosen as the capital of the Republic of Texas because of its central location, fresh water, natural beauty and the proximity of limestone and timber. Austin was named for Stephen F. Austin, a colonizer of the area. Austin has seven historical districts and 210 historical structures, including the Capital and the Governor’s Mansion Constructed from sunset red granite, the Texas State Capitol building in Austin is the largest state capitol in the United States.

 

With 200 live music venues and as many as 2,000 bands and performing artists, Austin is considered the Live Music Capital of the World.

 

Every spring and summer about 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats migrate to Austin, giving the city North America’s largest urban bat colony. Every night these bats emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge.

 

Austin is home to one of Texas’s largest sports stadiums. The University of Texas at Austin Longhorns athletic stadium holds more than 101,000 people. During football games at the stadium, UT-Austin fans display the Hook ’em Horns hand sign, created in 1955 by cheerleader Harley Clark.

 

Austin was originally named Waterloo when the city was officially chosen as the new capital of the Republic of Texas. The name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the “Father of Texas” and the republic’s first secretary of state.

Austin is home to America’s only Formula 1 race, the United States Grand Prix. The annual race takes place at the 3.4-mile Circuit of the Americas course located southwest of the city.

 

Austin has provided the filming location for a number of well-known movies in addition to Dazed and Confused. Boyhood, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Office Space, Miss Congeniality, Kill Bill: Volume 1, and Spy Kids were all filmed in Austin.

 

Austin is home to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. Located on the grounds of the University of Texas at Austin, the library and museum houses documents and artifacts related to the Johnson administration, including LBJ’s limousine and a re-creation of the Oval Office.

 

So many tech firms have come to town that Austin now has the nickname “Silicon Hills.” IBM kicked things off in 1967, followed by Texas Instruments, Motorola, 3M, Dell computers, and numerous others. Nowadays, Austin is one of the leading sites for venture capital funding in the nation.

 

The Percy V. Pennybacker Jr. Bridge in Austin, Texas, is a through-arch bridge across Lake Austin which connects the northern and southern sections of the Loop 360 highway, also known as the “Capital of Texas Highway.”

 

Austin City Limits, the country’s longest-running live music TV show, began broadcasting on October 14, 1974. A then-unknown Willie Nelson was the featured performer.

 

Austin is one of the sunniest cities in America. Out of 365 days, Austin gets an average of 300 days of sunshine!

 

Austin is ranked one of the most dog-friendly cities in the U.S. with its 12 off leash parks, dog friendly restaurants, and hotels.

 

Lake Travis is 63.75 miles long, has over 271 miles of shoreline and its maximum width is 4.5 miles. The lake covers 18,929 acres. As the “Crown Jewel” of the Central Texas Highland Lakes, Lake Travis is one of the most visited recreational vacation destinations in the state. Lake Travis’ limestone bottom results in it’s unique crystal clear blue waters, making it a freshwater haven for water enthusiasts.