Off the Rails: The Rise and Fall of Austin's Streetcars

Austin History Center / December 11, 2018 - May 26, 2019

This exhibit documents the history of the operation of streetcars in Austin from 1875 to 1940. The chosen photographs and documents highlight the impact that the transit system had upon the city’s growth and development. Conflict with rideshare companies, issues of mobility and transportation, and electric light rail might all seem like modern issues, but the story of the streetcar proves otherwise and offers us an example of how Austin has attempted to deal with these questions in the past.

The exhibit will be on display at the Austin History Center through May 26, 2019.

Brothers in Arms: Forgotten Austinites of the Great War

Austin History Center, Holt Gallery / November 7, 2018 - January 27, 2019

The exhibit, commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War One, explores the lives of a handful of Austin individuals and families impacted by the war. Moving past unemotional statistics, the images and stories in the exhibit attempt to account for the more significant fact that each one of them had a name, a family, friends and a community from which they drew a personal sense of what mattered. The reception is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. The exhibit will be on display in the David Earl Holt Photo Gallery through January 27, 2019.

Paperweights from the Collection of Alvin and Marion Bates

New Non-Fiction, 5th Floor Central Library / July, 2018 - 

Al Bates volunteered for the Austin History Center for over 11 years. This exhibit features one of Al's many interests - collecting paperweights on road trips with his wife Marion. "Our paperwight collection began when Marion, as a child, received a small orange and yellow flower glass paperwight made in Ohio." An interest was sparked and as the years passed more and more paperwights were acquired. The collection highlights the process of making paperwights and the artists who created them.