Best of Austin 2009

photo by Todd V. Wolfson

Long before the stretch of South Congress between Riverside and Oltorf was reincarnated as the revitalized and très funky SoCo we know and love today, there was the Austin Motel. Predating pretty much every other surviving business in the area – Earnest and Jennie Eck Stewart opened for business in 1938 – this most prized of all South by Southwest accommodations remains a year-round bastion of South Austin chic and retro cool. (Added bonus: You can hit the Continental Club's roof with a Lone Star if your windup's good enough!)